The Airbus A340 never gained the same iconic status as its larger sibling, the A380, and competitor, the Boeing 747. However, many aviation enthusiasts worldwide still go out of their way to fly the four-engine aircraft, as the type is still active with several passenger airlines. The oldest active A340 is now 32 years old, while the youngest is just over 13 years of age. In this video, we examine the active global A340 fleet and where travelers have the best chances of spotting or stepping onboard the now out-of-production jet.
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Flew one round trip with A340-300, aka 5APU. I was surprised how long it stayed accelerating on the runway but ultimately very similar experience as the 330
Air Jamaica had a a340 at one point
A340-600…. My favorite plane
Im guessing that Lufthansa will be the last operator of the A340
HZ-SKY is the most iconic
Flew a Turkish Airlines A340 from JFK to IST back in 2005. Such a fantastic plane to fly, and still one of my favorite flights of all time. Slow lumbering climb with those 4 underpowered engines doing their best "I think I can" version of aviation.
This kind of detailed post turns me on
Very interesting. I have also recently discovered an important status about the A340.
As of December 2023, at least a total of 127 Airbus A340 are still operational across 4 variants :
8 Airbus A340-200
64 A340-300
17 A340-500 and
38 A340-600
He did not mention Surinam Airways btw. I have never flown onboard the A340 but hopefully i will have a chance to get onboard the A340 in the near future.
The European Air Cargo A340-600 has virtually daily flights flying from Bournemouth England nonstop to Chengdu China. Generally departing 14-30 to 17-30 from Bournemouth, and landing from around 08-00 to 11-00 in the mornings at Bournemouth. They pass each other generally between 23-30 and 00-30 GMT, UTC within a few miles of each other coming into and out from China. Also, just before Christmas 2023, there was upto 9 flights a week between Bournemouth and Chengdu.
Saw one of Lufthansa’s A340’s last week at ORD 👍🏼
my favourite aircraft
I've always dreamed my country bought this plane , but it never happened
I believe that Lufthansa is one of the last airlines to fly the A340-600 in its original configuration. Once the 777-9 starts to arrive in (hopefully) early 2025, Lufthansa plans to retire both the 747-400 and A340-600 fairly quickly. The Lufthansa A340-300's will likely be phased out within the next few years by the equivalent A350-900.
A340’s greatest advantage as speciality aircraft/ VIP jets is its parts commonality with A330 which is still very popular
Lufthansa is also flying the -300 to Rio
I have flown on quite a few A340s in the past. I always loved flying with them. its a shame that so many airlines, especially in the western parts of the world, are retiring them. they still have a lot of life left to fly as VIP or government jets. not sure about cargo as they where never developed to become one, except for their counter part, the A330. I hope to fly again with one before they are fully retired.
Some company in china just bought the A340-600s from Thai Airways a several months ago and the first aircraft just ferried out from u-tapao pattaya to China last month they said they will modify the aircraft to cargo.
Last time I flew A340 was with PR from London LHR to Manila, Philippines
I didn’t see Surinam Airways on the list, with a single A340-300 operating between Paramaribo and Amsterdam.
I’ve only had one A340 flight, and it was on a then-brand new A340-600 with Virgin Atlantic in 2005. That was one long airplane and I loved every minute of it.
There was an airline that went bankrupt while operating a 340, owning to high fuel bills. That was Shaheen Air.
Said goodbye for now to the A-340 in Dallas a few months back as a Lufthansa 777 assumed the route during the peak travel season, hope to see it return a few more times before they retire
pretty sure i`ve seen Iberia`s A340 flying in my home country. San Jose, SJO, Costa Rica. Edeweiss as well
Surinam Airways also has one that's flying from Suriname to Holland
Eswatini has an A340?!?😮
Such beautiful machines A340 and A380!
Looking forward to see if A380 are going to be the future “sanctioned country” jet
At the time of this comment, 1 more Lufthansa A340-600 has returned to service. That leaves 2 -300 (D-AIGS and D-AIGW) and 1 -600 (D-AIHV) still in storage
Certainly one of the best looking subsonic aircraft of all times, I flew on a Virgin A340-600 in 2012 from DC to.LHR, entering the aircraft at the front and walking along to the economy section at the back made you appreciate the length of this monster, I had plenty of opportunity to explore the cabin as there were under 70 passengers on the flight, Its such a pity that the 346 didn't sell in higher numbers, I hope to take a flight with Lufthansa before they are finally retired.
SAA is expecting another a340-300 sometime soon, increasing their fleet size to 2. (Pretty sure this is the only passenger airline who is expecting additional a340 aircraft)
I wonder what happened to the Virgin 340 600. The first airline to fly the type. My company was the first to touch that aircraft when it came to jfk.
For many years, even I have a decent job & money (+ planning for having a family, business, or anything else), I wouldn’t have a chance to fly with them because of their retirement (just like the MD-11’s, MD-80’s & 90’s, etc.).
you forgot surinam airways, they operate one A340-300
The A340-500 and A340-600 are cool planes, but the A340-300 ist so underpowered with its tiny engines that it is embarrassing . Airbus should have started the A340 program with bigger engines not with the small A320 engines.
worst type ever by a landslide
My guess is the last operators will have routes to and from Australia over the Pacific and/or Indian Oceans.
I frequently see the South African A 340 take off from Accra Ghana and I recognize it even without seeing it just by the sound of it's four engines.