With the oldest active Airbus A340 airframe now over 30 years old,
the four-engine type continues to operate commercial passenger service in various
corners of the world. The type also continues to be active with governments and private operators,
operating as comfortable long-haul transportation for the rich and powerful. Today, we examine the
various operators of the A340 and what plans lie ahead for the aircraft type.
At the time of this video’s production, it appears that as
many 72 Airbus A340s are listed as active by Planespotters.net. It's worth noting,
however, that some of these may be parked indefinitely, waiting to be phased out.
The oldest of these airframes, at a little over 31 years of age, is an A340-300 operated
by Iran's Aseman Airlines. This aircraft is registered as EP-APA and has manufacturer's
serial number (MSN) 002. Originally built and used as a testbed/demo aircraft,
the jet was first 'delivered' to Airbus in February 1992 before being 're-purposed'
as a standard passenger aircraft in 1997 with Virgin Atlantic. This aircraft eventually made
its way to Iran Aseman Airlines in 2012 and has been flying with the carrier ever since.
According to FlightRadar24.com data, the jet is only deployed on the airline's Tehran-Istanbul
route these days, but it also served the popular Turkish tourist destination of Izmir in 2022.
On the other end of the age spectrum at a relatively 'youthful' 12 and a half years
is the A340-500 registered 9K-GBB (MSN 1102). Flying for the State of Kuwait as VIP transport,
this aircraft first flew for Airbus in 2010 and was then sold off to its current operator in 2013.
Flying as government or VIP transport, the aircraft doesn't appear to be too active
as it has only conducted two flights in 2023 (assuming no flights are hidden!).
Visible flight tracking data at the time of production notes that
the aircraft's most recent trip took place in early March with a three-day round-trip
journey to Rome. Prior to this, the A340 also conducted a trip to Rome,
spending about 16 days in the Italian capital in mid-late December.
Covering the main scheduled operators around the world, German flag carrier
Lufthansa is currently the largest operator of the Airbus A340, as the airline has 27
A340s in its fleet. This breaks down to 17 A340-300s and 10 of the larger -600.
In January, we reported on the airline's plans to reactivate more A340-600s than
it had originally planned. Explaining their rationale, a spokesperson for the airline said:
"We're bringing back the Airbus A340s to show this is how you react to growing
premium demand - not only in the business but also in the private travel sector."
Without any first class-configured Airbus A350-900s or active A380s (yet),
the only operational aircraft offering first class would have been the airline's 747-8 fleet.
The airline determined, however, that the jumbo jet’s premium cabins
aren't sufficient given the demand Lufthansa has been experiencing.
The other major operator is fellow Lufthansa Group member, SWISS. While the operator
has already retired 10 A340-300s, it still operates five of the same variant. In January,
the airline announced it had begun installing its new premium economy class on its A340 fleet.
At the time of making this video, three of the five jets have been reconfigured with this cabin.
While the installation of a new cabin is a sign that the airline
will be committed to operating the quadjet in the short-term, we know that it has plans
to replace the jets - something we will cover in a later section of this video!
And Yet another Lufthansa Group member is also operating the A340. Interestingly,
leisure airline Edelweiss will be adding an A340 to its fleet in the near future. Indeed, the
carrier noted earlier this year that it expects to take on another A340-300 aircraft in July.
The airline currently has four of the -300 variant in its fleet at the moment.
In late February, Bernd Bauer, CEO of Edelweiss, spoke to AeroTelegraph about its upcoming plans
and noted that the A340 could feature in the Edelweiss fleet for a few more years, saying: "In
theory, we can operate the A340 until 2030, 2031, but we want to replace it until 2026 or 2027."
Without going into the same level of detail, other scheduled operators of the A340 are as follows:
Aseman Airlines (of Iran) has One A340-300
Azman Air (of Nigeria) has a single ex-Virgin Atlantic A340-600
AZAL Azerbaijan Airlines is listed as having Two A340-500s, although the
carrier has an additional A340-600, but this is for government/VIP use.
Conviasa (of Venezuela has One A340-300 and two A340-600s. Planespotters.net
notes that the carrier is due to take a third A340-600, which will come from Mahan Airlines.
And speaking of Mahan Airlines, the Iranian carrier has Five A340-300s and four A340-600s
Kam Air (of Afghanistan) has Three A340-300s
Spanish carrier Plus Ultra operates Two A340-300s
South African Airways has just One A340-300
And finally, Syrian Arab Airlines has Two A340-300s.
While potentially operating less frequent services, the A340 also features in the
fleets of several charter airlines as well. The roles of charter airlines are broad and range
from wet-lease offerings for conventional passenger services, all the way to high-end
luxury transport. Here are a few notable examples when it comes to active A340s.
Saudi Arabia's Sky Prime Aviation has one A340-200 in its fleet. According
to the company's website, this aircraft is available as a luxury private jet rental,
and is configured to accommodate just 77 passengers. The jet is fitted with two
bedrooms and, according to photos, includes at least one extremely spacious lavatory.
Fellow Saudi private jet rental firm Alpha Star is also listed by Planespotters.net as
having an active A340 in its fleet. Previously operated by Sky Prime,
this A340-600 strangely fails to appear on Alpha Star's website as part of its offerings.
Another private luxury operator, registered as the Las Vegas Sands Corporation (but is
also known as Sands Aviation) has a single A340-500 in its fleet.
Aeronews took a tour of the aircraft while it was at the 2019 Dubai Airshow. While no
photos were allowed to be taken inside, a post to Facebook notes that this aircraft
is fitted with a quote-unquote "lavish interior" that includes nine bedrooms,
eight bathrooms, as well as a dining-room and a quote-unquote "relaxation area".
Far less lavish is charter and wet-lease operator Hi Fly and its six A340-300s.
Some of these jets are still listed as "preighters," as some of their
cabins are still modified to be temporary freighters rather than passenger transport.
And speaking of preighters, Malta-based AirX and it's one A340-300 has also had
its cabin stripped of its seats to make room for pallets and boxes. The
company's website notes that the jet was previously used for VIP transport.
Moving on - the A340’s ability to fly long-haul operations and offer a generous amount of
cabin space has seen it chosen by numerous governments for their VIP transport needs.
The current list of active government A340 operators is as follows:
As mentioned previously, the Government of Azerbaijan has one A340-600 (via Azal)
The Algerian Government has One -500 While the German Air Force has Two -300s
The Iranian Government has One A340-300 And the Egyptian Government operates One A340-200
(although this is set to be retired this year) The Government of Turkey has One -500
And the Kingdom of Eswatini has One -300 The Libyan Government operates One -200
While Qatar Amiri Flight has three A340s: One each of the -200, -300, and -500
The Royal Thai Air Force has One A340-500 And Saudi Royal Flight and Saudi
Arabian Government each have one A340-200 And finally the State of Kuwait has two A340-500s
While it appears that there are dozens of A340s active in the skies today,
we can expect numbers to steadily decline in the years to come.
This isn't exactly a new trend but is something that has been going on for years. Last year,
Venezuela's Conviasa ended its A340-200 operations,
reportedly having stripped its one -200 for parts in Iran. The jet currently
has been given the rare status of "derelict" by Planespotters.net.
In December 2022, it was announced that SWISS would be replacing its A340s with
the Airbus A350-900 from 2025. The five A350-900s set to join the airline will
come from a large order placed in 2019 by the Lufthansa Group for 45 A350s.
While no exact dates have been offered, we can expect something similar with Lufthansa,
as it moves to secure more modern twinjets to replace its quadjet fleet.
And when it comes to VIP aircraft, we reported earlier this year that
the Thai government approved an expenditure equivalent to $276 million (spread over four
years) to replace its lone Airbus A340-500. The replacement aircraft is expected to be
delivered in 2026, but no further details have emerged regarding potential types.
The Thai government appears to be following in the footsteps of the Egyptian government,
which plans to retire its A340-200 sometime this year.
Taking its place will be a modified Boeing 747-8i, which was originally ordered by Lufthansa.
While the trend of retiring relatively inefficient A340s for modern twinjets
appears to be a global trend, it's clear that certain operators of
the type will have no choice but to continue flying their existing A340s.
The prime example is Iran, which has had its aviation industry
somewhat stunted and hindered due to ongoing sanctions against the country.
Unable to accept deliveries of new aircraft, Iran's carriers have been
forced to keep their old quadjets running. Thus, you'll see airlines like Iran Air,
Aseman Airlines, and Mahan Air still operating the Airbus A300 and A310,
as well as fairly old variants of the Boeing 747 - alongside their A340s, of course.
So what do you think of the current state of the A340? Have you flown on one recently - or
have plans to fly on one in the near future? Let us know by leaving a comment!