Airbus A340-300

Quad Jet· 1 globally registered

The Airbus A340-300 was the first ultra-long-range widebody designed from the outset with four engines for extended overwater operations, entering service with Lufthansa and Air France in 1993. Developed in parallel with the twin-engine A330, the A340 shared the same fuselage and wing but mounted four CFM56-5C turbofans to meet ETOPS-wary airline demand for quad redundancy on transoceanic routes. At launch, it could fly up to 7,400 nautical miles nonstop, enabling direct city pairs like Paris to Singapore or Frankfurt to Buenos Aires that were previously impractical for twins. The -300 variant, stretched to seat 295 in three-class configuration, became the workhorse of the family with 218 delivered. Its service ceiling of 41,000 feet and cruise speed of Mach 0.82 made it competitive with the Boeing 747-400 on range while burning less fuel per seat, though the advent of ETOPS-180 and later ETOPS-370 for twins like the 777 and A330 eventually eroded the business case for four-engine airliners. By the 2010s, rising fuel costs and the efficiency of modern twins led most carriers to retire their A340 fleets early, with Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, and Swiss among the last major operators. The type remains notable as the final generation of long-haul quad-jets purpose-built for commercial service, bridging the era between the 747 and the twin-engine dominance that defines today's intercontinental network. SkyMeter has tracked 274 flights across 30 airframes and 1 operators over routes, with the largest observed operator.