Airbus A340
A Cathay Pacific A340-600 in 2007
Role	Wide-body jet airliner Type of aircraft
National origin	Multi-national
Manufacturer	Airbus
First flight	25 October 1991
Introduction	March 1993 (delivery began in January 1993)
Status	Active service
Primary users	Lufthansa Iberia Virgin Atlantic Airways South African Airways
Number built	375 as of 31 January 2011[1]

The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engined wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner manufactured by Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It seats up to 375 passengers in the standard variants and 440 in the stretched -600 series. Depending on the model, it has a range of between 6,700 to 9,000 nautical miles (12,400 to 16,700 km). It is similar in design to the twin-engined A330 with which it was concurrently designed. Its distinguishing features are four high-bypass turbofan engines and three-bogie main landing gear.

Airbus manufactured the A340 in four fuselage lengths. The initial variant, A340-300, entered service in 1993, measured 59.39 metres (194.8 ft), followed by the shorter -200; the stretched A340-600 was a 15.91 metres (52.2 ft) stretch of -200. This particular variant was developed alongside the shorter A340-500, which would become the longest-ranged commercial airliner until the arrival of the Boeing 777-200LR. The two initial models were powered by the CFM56-5C, rated at 151 kilonewtons (34,000 lbf), while Rolls-Royce held exclusive powerplant rights to the extended-ranged and heavier -500/-600 models, through the 267-kilonewton (60,000 lbf) Rolls-Royce Trent 500. Initial A340 versions share the fuselage and wing of the A330 while the -500/-600 models are longer and have larger wings.^[2]

Launch customers Lufthansa and Air France placed the A340 into service in March 1993. As of October 2010, 379 orders have been placed (not including private operators), of which 374 have been delivered, with a backlog of five aircraft. The most common type were the A340-300 model, with 218 aircraft delivered. Lufthansa is the biggest operator of the A340, having acquired 59 aircraft. The A340 is used on long-haul, trans-oceanic routes due to its immunity from ETOPS; however, with reliability in engines improving, airlines are progressively phasing out the type in favour of more economical twinjets such as the Boeing 777.

When Airbus designed the Airbus A300 during the 1970s, it envisioned a broad family of airliners to compete against Boeing and the Douglas, two established US aerospace manufacturers. From the moment of formation, Airbus had begun studies into derivatives of the Airbus A300B in support of this long term goal.^[3] Prior to the service introduction of the first Airbus airliners, engineers within Airbus had identified nine possible variations of the A300 known as A300B1 to B9.^[4] A 10th variation, conceived in 1973, later the first to be constructed, was designated the A300B10.^[5] It was a smaller aircraft which would be developed into the long-range Airbus A310. Airbus then focused its efforts on the single-aisle market, coming up with the revolutionary family of airliners, later to be known as the Airbus A320, which was the first fly-by-wire commercial aircraft. The decision to work on the A320, instead of a four-engine aircraft proposed by the Germans, created divisions within Airbus.^[5] As the SA or "single aisle" studies (which later became the successful Airbus A320) underwent development to challenge the successful Boeing 737 and Douglas DC-9 in the single-aisle, narrow-body airliner market, Airbus turned its focus back to the wide-body aircraft market.

The A300B11 was joined by another design, the A300B9, which was a larger derivative of the A300. The B9 was developed by Airbus from the early 1970s at a slow pace until the early 1980s. It was essentially a stretched A300 with the same wing, coupled with the most powerful turbofan engine at the time.^[6] It was targeted at the growing demand for high-capacity, medium-range, trans-continental trunk routes.^[6] The B9 would offer the same range and payload as the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, but would use between 25% ^[6] to 38%^[7] less fuel. The B9 was therefore considered the replacement for the DC-10, and Lockheed L-1011 Tristar.^[8] To differentiate the programme from the SA studies, the B9 and B11 were redesignated the TA9 and TA11 (TA standing for "twin aisle"), respectively.^[9] In an effort to save development costs, the decision were taken for the two to share the same wing and airframe; the projected savings were estimated at US$500 million.^[10] The adoption of a common wing structure also had one technical advantage, the TA11's outboard engines could counteract the weight of the longer-range model by providing bending relief.^[6] Another factor was the split preference of those within Airbus and, more importantly, prospective airliner customers. Airbus vice president for strategic planning, Adam Brown, recalled,

North American operators were clearly in favor of a twin, while Asians wanted a quad. In Europe, opinion was split between the two. The majority of potential customers were in favor of a quad despite the fact, in certain conditions, it is more costly to operate than a twin. ...They liked that it could be ferried with one engine out, and could fly 'anywhere'—remember ETOPS (extend-range twin-engine operations) hadn't begun then.^[11][12]

In 1985, Jean Pierson was appointed managing director of Airbus Industrie. By theParis Air Show in June that year, more refinements were made to the TA9 and TA11, including the adoption of the A320 flight deck, fly-by-wire (FBW) control system and side-stick control.^[13] The adoption of a common cockpit design across the new Airbus series allowed operators to make significant cost savings; flight crews would be able to transition from one to another with only a week's training necessary.^[14] The TA9 would use the fin, rudder and circular fuselage sections of the A300-600, extended by two barrel sections. Components across the aircraft were modular, and exchangeable with other Airbus aircraft where possible.^[14] Airbus briefly considered a variable camber wing; the concept was that the wing could change its profile to produce the optimum shape for a given phase of flight. Studies were carried out by British Aerospace (BAe) at Hatfield and Bristol. Airbus estimated that 2% improvement in aerodynamic efficiency would be gained.^[15] The plan was later abandoned, which Airbus cited as being too expensive and difficult, given the risk involved, to develop.^[9] The A340 was intended to use the new superfan engines of International Aero Engines, but the engine's development was stopped. The engine nacelles of the superfan engine consisted of provisions to allow a large fan near the rear of the engine. As a result of the superfan cancellation by IAE, the CFM International CFM56-5C4 was used as the sole engine choice instead of being an alternate choice as originally envisioned. The longer-range versions, the A340-500 and -600, are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines.

On 27 January 1986, the Airbus Industrie Supervisory Board held a meeting in Munich, West Germany, after which the board chairman, Dr Franz-Josef Strauss, released a statement. It said, "Airbus Industrie is now in a position to finalise the detailed technical definition of the TA9, which is now officially designated the A330, and the TA11, now called the A340, with potential launch customer airlines, and to discuss with them the terms and conditions for launch commitments".^[13] The designations were originally reversed, however. The decision to redesignate them was because airlines could not overcome the fact that a two-enginejet airliner would have a "four" in its name, while a quad does not.^[13] Following the announcement by Dr. Strauss, in 12 May, the manufacturer sent sale proposals to five prospective airlines, which included Lufthansa and Swissair.

The A340 was launched in June 1987 as a long-range complement to the short-range A320 and the medium-range A300. At the time, Airbus's twinjets were at a disadvantage against aircraft such as the Boeing 747 because of the ETOPS problem as defined by the regulations—twin-engined aircraft had to stay within 60 minutes' flying distance of a suitable diversion airport, which prevented them from competing on long over-water routes. Furthermore, the existing ETOPS-immune widebodies in the 250–300 seat range, the DC-10 and L-1011 trijets, were aging, as they had been in service since the early 1970s.

In preparations leading up to production of the A330/A340, Airbus's partners invested heavily in new facilities. Filton was the site of BAe's £7 million investment in a three-story technical centre with an extra 160,000-square-foot (15,000 m²) of floor area.^[16] With £5 million, BAe also expanded the Chester wing plant, where the wings would be built, by 150,000 square feet (14,000 m²).^[16] The expansion allowed BAe to accommodate a new production line. However, it was in France where the most changes were taking place. Aérospatiale started building a new Fr. 2.5 billion ($411 million) assembly plant, adjacent to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, inColomiers.^[17] By November 1988, the first 70-foot (21 m) pillars were erected for the building, which was named the Clément Ader assembly hall.^[17] The assembly process, in the meantime, would feature increased automation—holes for fuselage/wing mating process, which would be drilled by eight robots.^[18] The use of automation for this particular process saved Airbus 20% on labour cost and 5% on time.^[18]

When the A340 first flew in 1991, engineers noticed that the wings were not strong enough to carry the outboard engines at cruising speed without warping and fluttering. To alleviate this, an underwing bulge called a plastron was developed to correct airflow problems around the engine pylons and to add stiffness.

The modified A340 began commercial service in 1993 with Lufthansa and Air France.^{[citation needed]}

During the 1990s, when airlines were looking for replacement aircraft for their 1970-era Boeing 747-100/200, Airbus investigated a stretched airframe in the form of the A340-400X,^[19] which was intended as a stretch to 70 metres (230 ft)^{[citation needed]}. This proved unpopular, as the CFM56 engines were at the limits of their growth capability and the range would have decreased to around 10,000 km (5,400 nmi). When this plan was discarded, a larger wing and engine combination was decided upon. Initially, Pratt & Whitney proposed an engine, but contract issues led Airbus to go with the Rolls Royce Trents in 1997.^[20]

The A340-300 entered service in 1993 with launch customers Lufthansa and Air France, followed shortly thereafter by the -200 and A330. Lufthansa's first A340, dubbed Nuernberg (D-AIBA),^[21] began revenue service on 15 March 1993.^[22] With the introduction of higher gross weight Boeing 777s, such as the 777-200ER and specifically 777-300ER, sales of the A340 began to decline. Over the last few years the 777 has outsold the A340 by a wide margin. Although the larger GE90 engines on the 777-300ER burn considerably more fuel than the Trent 500s, using only two of them compared to four Trents has meant a typical operating cost advantage of around 8-9%.^[23]

In January 2006, Airbus announced plans to develop the A340E (Enhanced). Airbus promoted that the A340E would be more fuel-efficient than earlier A340s and close the 8-9% disparity with the Boeing 777 by using Trent 1500 engines.^[23] Airbus has predicted that it will probably produce 127 A340 units through 2016, after which production will cease.^[24]

In mid-2008, with jet fuel prices doubled compared to the year before; consequently, the A340's fuel consumption led airlines to curtail very long flights of greater than 15 hours. Thai Airways International cancelled its 17-hour, nonstop Bangkok–New York/JFK route on 1 July 2008. All four of its A340-500 fleet are for sale. While short flights stress aircraft more than long flights, and result in more frequent fuel-thirsty take-offs and landings, ultra-long flights require an airline to fill an aircraft's fuel tanks to the maximum; this means that, en route, the plane is burning a lot of fuel just to carry fuel, a "flying tanker with a few people on board," Air France-KLM SA's chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told the Wall Street Journal.

While Thai Airways has consistently filled 80% of the seats on its New York City–Bangkok flights, it estimates that, at 2008 fuel prices, it would need an impossible 120% of seats filled just to break even.^[25] Other airlines are re-examining long-haul flights. In August, 2008, Cathay Pacific told the Wall Street Journal that rising fuel prices are hurting its trans-Pacific long-haul routes disproportionately; it will cut the number of such flights it offers and redeploy its aircraft to shorter routes such as between Hong Kong and Australia. "We will...reshaping our network where necessary to ensure we fly aircraft to where we can cover our costs and also make some money," Cathay Pacific CEO Tony Tyler told the newspaper.^[26]

There are four variants of the A340. The A340-200 and A340-300 were launched in 1987 with introduction into service in March 1993 for the -200. The A340-500 and A340-600 were launched in 1997 with introduction into service in 2002. All variants are available in a corporate version from Airbus Executive and Private Aviation.

One of two initial versions of the A340, the A340-200, with 261 passengers in a three-class cabin layout has a range of 7,450 nautical miles (13,800 km), or with 240 passengers also in a three-class cabin layout has a range of 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km).^[28] This is the shortest version of the family and the only version with wingspan measuring greater than the length of the fuselage. It is powered by four CFMI CFM56-5C4 engines and uses the Honeywell 331-350[A] APU.^[29] The plane was intended to open long and thin routes, especially over water. The closest Boeing competitor for this aircraft is the Boeing 767-400ER.

One version of this type (referred to by Airbus as the A340-8000) was ordered by the Sultan of Brunei requesting a non-stop range of 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km). This A340-8000 had an increased fuel capacity, an MTOW of 275 tonnes (606,000 lb), similar to the A340-300, and minor reinforcements to the undercarriage. Upon completion its final range was specified at 8,100 nautical miles (15,000 km). It is powered by the 34,000 pounds-force (150 kN) thrust CFM56-5C4s similar to the -300E. Only one A340-8000 was produced by Airbus – A340-213X (msn 204). It was delivered to Brunei-based HM the Sultan's Flight in November 1998, but never entered service and was parked unfitted at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg. The aircraft was later acquired in by Saudi Arabian VIP in February 2007 as it updated its widebody fleet, according to Flight's ACAS database.^[30] Besides the -8000, some A340-200s are used for VIP or military use. Examples of these users are Royal Brunei Airlines, Qatar Amiri Flight, Arab Republic of Egypt Government, Saudi Arabia Air Force, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the French Air Force. Other historical operators include Cathay Pacific, Philippine Airlines and Air Bourbon.

Following the specially-designed -8000, other A340-200s were later given performance improvement packages (PIPs) which helped them achieve similar gains in capability as to the A340-8000. Those aircraft are labeled A340-213X. The range for this version is 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km).

Due to its large wingspan, four engines, low capacity, and improvements to the A340-300, the -200 proved heavy and unpopular with mainstream airlines. Only 28 A340-200s were produced with several now in VIP service. South African Airways is the largest operator with six flying mostly on Cape Town routes. Other current operators include Aerolíneas Argentinas (4), Royal Jordanian (4), Egypt Air (3) and Conviasa (1). This version is now out of production.

The A340-300 flies 295 passengers in a typical three-class cabin layout over 6,700 nautical miles (12,400 km). This is the initial version, having flown on 25 October 1991, and entered service with Lufthansa and Air France in March 1993. It is powered by four CFMI CFM56-5C engines and uses the Honeywell 331-350[A] APU,^[29] similar to the -200. Its closest competitor is the Boeing 777-200ER.

The A340-300E, often mislabelled as A340-300X, has an increased MTOW of up to 275 tonnes (606,000 lb) and is powered by the more powerful 34,000 lbf (150 kN) thrust CFMI CFM56-5C4 engines. Typical range with 295 passengers is between 7,200 to 7,400 nautical miles (13,300 to 13,700 km). The largest operator of this type is Lufthansa with 30 aircraft. It was first delivered to Singapore Airlines in April 1996, though Singapore Airlines no longer operates this model. Two A340-300 were acquired by the Flugbereitschaft of the German Luftwaffe to serve as VIP transports for the leaders of the German government and the German President. Service entry will be 2011.^[31]

The A340-300 Enhanced is the latest version of this type and was first delivered to South African Airways in 2003. It received newer CFM56-5C4/P engines and improved avionics and fly-by-wire systems developed for the A340-500/-600.

The A340-300 is no longer in production with the last of 218 A340-300s delivered to a private Cayman Island company Klaret Aviation in September 2008, with the final airline delivery to Finnair in July 2008. The A340-300 will be superseded by the A350-900.

The A340-500 was introduced as the world's longest-range commercial airliner. It first flew on 11 February 2002, and was certified on 3 December 2002 with early deliveries to Emirates. While the KC-10 Extender is the longest-ranged production aircraft, the A340-500 was the world's longest-range commercial airliner until the introduction of the Boeing 777-200LR in February 2006. The A340-500 can fly 313 passengers in a three-class cabin layout over 8,650 nautical miles (16,020 km). The direct Boeing equivalent is the 777-200LR, which entered service in February 2006, exceeding the A340-500 as the world's longest-range commercial airliner. However, the Boeing 777-200LR is subject to ETOPS restrictions.

Due to its range, the -500 is capable of travelling non-stop from London to Perth, Western Australia, though a return flight requires a fuel stop due to headwinds.^[32] Singapore Airlines, for example, initially used this model in a two-class, 181-passenger layout for its Newark–Singapore nonstop route, SQ 21: an 18-hour, 45-minute "westbound" (really northbound to 70 nautical miles (129.6 km) abeam the North Pole; then south from there across Russia, Mongolia and People's Republic of China), 18-hour, 30-minute eastbound, 8,285 nautical miles (15,344 km) journey that remains the longest scheduled non-stop commercial flight in the world.^[33]

Compared with the A340-300, the -500 features a 4.3-metre (14.1 ft) fuselage stretch, an enlarged wing area, significant increase in fuel capacity (around 50% over -300), slightly higher cruising speed, larger horizontal stabilizer and smaller vertical tailplane. The A340-500/-600 has taxi cameras to help the pilots during ground maneuvers. The A340-500 is powered by four 53,000 lbf (240 kN) thrust Rolls-Royce Trent 553 turbofans and uses the Honeywell 331-600[A] APU.^[34]

The A340-500HGW (High Gross Weight) version has a range of 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km) and a MTOW of 380 tonnes (840,000 lb) and first flew on 13 October 2006. It uses the strengthened structure and enlarged fuel capacity of the A340-600HGW. The certification aircraft became the first delivery, to Thai Airways International, on 11 April 2007.^[35] Kingfisher Airlines had planned to use this model to operate nonstop flights from India to North America. However, in October 2008, Kingfisher transferred three of its five delivery positions to Arik Air of Nigeria, due to the worldwide recession. Arik Air received these three A340-500s in November, 2008, and placed them in service on its new Lagos–London Heathrow route and Lagos-Johannesburg route, with a nonstop route to New York added in January, 2010. Atlanta, Miami and Houston are planned to be added later.^[36][37] The A340-500HGW is powered by four 56,000 lbf (249.1 kN) thrust Rolls-Royce Trent 556 turbofans. Emirates is the largest operator, with ten aircraft.

Designed as an early generation Boeing 747 replacement, the A340-600 is capable of carrying 380 passengers in a three-class cabin layout (419 in two classes) over 7,500 nautical miles (13,900 km). It provides similar passenger capacity to a 747 but with 25 percent more cargo volume, and at lower trip and seat costs. First flight of the A340-600 was made on 23 April 2001.^[38] Virgin Atlantic began commercial services in August 2002.^[39][40] The most direct Boeing equivalent to the A340-600 is the 777-300ER.The A340-600 will eventually be replaced by the A350-1000, which will also compete with the 777-300ER.

The A340-600 is 12 metres (39 ft 4.4 in) longer than a basic -300, more than four metres longer than the Boeing 747-400 and 2.3 metres (7 ft 6.6 in) longer than the A380. It held the record for being the world's longest commercial aircraft until February 2010 with the first flight of the Boeing 747-8. The A340-600 is powered by four 56,000 lbf (249.1 kN) thrust Rolls-Royce Trent 556 turbofans and uses the Honeywell 331-600[A] APU.^[34] It also has an additional four-wheel undercarriage on the fuselage centre-line to cope with the increased MTOW. Airbus has made provisions for freeing additional upper deck main cabin space by providing optional arrangements for additional facilities such as crew rest areas, galleys, and lavatories upon the "stretched" A340 aircraft's lower deck.

In April 2007, The Times reported that Airbus had advised carriers to reduce cargo in the forward section by 5.0 tonnes (11,023.1 lb) to compensate for overweight first and business class sections. The additional weight causes the aircraft's centre of gravity to move forward thus reducing cruise efficiency. Airlines affected by the advisory are considering demanding compensation from Airbus.^[41]

The A340-600HGW (High Gross Weight) version first flew on 18 November 2005^[42] and was certified on 14 April 2006.^[43] It has an MTOW of 380 tonnes (837,756.6 lb) and a range of up to 7,900 nautical miles (14,630.8 km), made possible by strengthened structure, increased fuel capacity, more powerful engines and new manufacturing techniques like laser beam welding. The A340-600HGW is powered by four 60,000 lbf (266.9 kN) thrust Rolls-Royce Trent 560 turbofans.

Emirates became the launch customer for the -600HGW when it ordered 18 at the 2003 Paris Air Show;^[44] but postponed their order indefinitely and later cancelled. Rival Qatar Airways, which placed its order at the same airshow, took delivery of only four aircraft with the first aircraft on September 11, 2006.^[45] It has since let its purchase options expire.^[46]

* Data through end of January 2011. Updated on 3 February 2011. Source: (http://www.airbus.com/company/market/orders-deliveries/) ^[1]

As of January 2010, the A340 has not had a fatal incident, but there have been five hull-loss accidents:

• 20 January 1994 – Air France, an A340-211 (F-GNIAdisaster) was lost to fire during servicing at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
• 24 July 2001 – SriLankan Airlines, an A340-300 (4R-ADDdisaster) was blown up by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam terrorists while on the ground at the Bandaranaike International Airport.
• 2 August 2005 – Air France Flight 358, all 297 passengers and 12 crew survived a crash and fire after their A340-300 (F-GLZQdisaster) overshot runway 24L at Toronto Pearson International Airport while landing in a thunderstorm. The aircraft slid into Etobicoke Creek and caught fire. Forty-three were injured, one seriously; some passengers jumped nearly 20 ft (6 m) to the ground.
• 9 November 2007 – An Iberia Airlines A340-600 (EC-JOH) was badly damaged after sliding off the runway at Ecuador’s Mariscal Sucre International Airport. The landing gear collapsed and two engines broke off. All 333 passengers and crew were evacuated via inflatable slides, and there were no serious injuries. The aircraft was scrapped.
• 15 November 2007 – An A340-600 (F-WWCJ) was damaged beyond repair during ground testing at Airbus facilities at Toulouse Blagnac International Airport. During an engine test prior to the airplane's planned delivery to Etihad Airways,^[47] the unchocked aircraft accelerated to 31 knots^[47] and collided with a sloped concrete (exhaust deflection) wall, raising the nose of the plane several metres. The cockpit section broke off and fell to the ground from a significant height. The right wing, tail, and two left engines contacted the wall or ground. Nine people on board were injured, four of them seriously, and fire services were unable to stop one undamaged engine from running on accumulated fuel for almost seven hours.^[47] The aircraft was written off.^[48]
• 20 March 2009 – An A340-500 (A6-ERG) being used for Emirates Airline Flight 407 struck its tail multiple times during the takeoff roll from Melbourne Airport, when an incorrect flex temp was used,^[49] resulting in severe damage to the rear pressure bulkhead. The aircraft returned safely to the airport after dumping fuel. No serious injuries were reported among the 225 passengers. The aircraft was expected to be written off. However, as Flight EK-7608, it was flown to Airbus in Toulouse, France, for major repairs. This special, unpressurized flight was flown at 10,000 feet, lasting several days from 20 June 2009, with stops at Perth and Dubai. The repair estimate is 80 million U.S. dollars.^[50]

Sources: Airbus^[53] for -200 ^[54] for -300 ^[55] for -500 ^[56] for -600.

External image
Airbus A340-300 cutaway
Airbus A340-300 cutaway from Flightglobal.com

• Competition between Airbus and Boeing
• Comparison of commercial aircraft

Related development

• Airbus A330

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Boeing 747
• Boeing 777
• Ilyushin Il-96
• McDonnell Douglas MD-11

Related lists

• List of airliners
• List of civil aircraft
• List of Airbus A340 operators
• Wide-body aircraft

Notes

Bibliography

• Official Airbus Website on A330 and A340 airliners
• History and pictures of the Airbus A340-300
• Aircraft-Info.net - Airbus A340-200
• Airbus A340 production list
• Quito crash 9 November 2007
• Template:Google video

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