Airbus A340 Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Airbus A340

Role	Wide-Body Jet airliner
National origin	Multi-country origin
Manufacturer	Airbus
First flight	25 October 1991
Introduction	15 March 1993 with Lufthansa
Status	Not made anymore, but still used by airlines
Primary users	Lufthansa Iberia Virgin Atlantic South African Airways
Produced	1993-2011
Number built	377
Unit cost	A340-200: US$87 million (1989) A340-300: US$238.0 million (2011) A340-500: US$261.8 million (2011) A340-600: US$275.4 million (2011)
Developed from	Airbus A300
Variants	Airbus A330
Developed into	Airbus A350 XWB

The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engined widebody commercial passenger airplane manufactured by Airbus S.A.S. a subsidiary of EADS. It is similar in design to the twin-engined A330.

There are 4 variants of this model: The A340-200 (which is the shortest), the A340-300, the A340-500 and the longest one the A340-600. The A340-600 is the second longest passenger plane in the world.

Having four engines, the A340 uses more fuel than many other aircrafts. However, that also mean it does not have to pass the ETOPS (extended range twin operations) test to fly long range.

The Airbus A340 is no longer in production as it was replaced by the more efficient Airbus A350 XWB.

Images for kids

Compared to the A340 quadjet (flying), the lighter A330 (on ground) has two engines and no centre-line wheel bogie
The A330/A340 shares a common flight deck with the A320.
An A340-200 demonstrator at the 1992 Farnborough Air Show
The A340-600 was the longest passenger airliner until the introduction of the Boeing 747-8 in 2010
The 9.2 aspect ratio and 31° sweep of the A340-600 wing
Air Lanka was the Asian launch customer of the aircraft.
A South African Airways A340-300 with 2-wheel centre-line bogie on final approach at Perth Airport in 2018
Eight-abreast, 2-4-2 economy cabin
Airbus A340 family
French Air Force A340-200 at Toulouse–Blagnac Airport
Lufthansa Airbus A340-300 from above
Slightly longer than the −300, the −500 has a larger wing, larger Rolls-Royce Trent 500 turbofans and three 4-wheel bogies for the main landing gear, it was introduced by Emirates in 2003.
The A340-600 has five doors per side
Remains of Air France Flight 358 at Toronto Pearson International Airport
This A340-600 was written off after a ground testing accident prior to delivery for Etihad Airways.

Airbus A340 facts for kids

Images for kids

See also