Airbus · Widebody · In Service
Airbus A340-300
Joe Ravi — CC BY-SA 3.0
The Airbus A340-300 is a long-range, wide-body quadjet airliner developed concurrently with its twinjet stablemate, the A330. Sharing a common wing structure, fuselage cross-section, and digital fly-by-wire flight deck philosophy, the A340 program was launched by Airbus to capture intercontinental market share and bypass historical ETOPS limitations on trans-oceanic routes.
Powered by four CFM International CFM56-5C turbofans, the -300 variant became the baseline long-haul workhorse of the family, accommodating around 295 passengers in a typical three-class configuration. Although high fuel burn associated with four-engine operations ultimately led to its commercial eclipse by modern high-bypass twinjets, the A340-300 left a permanent legacy on global long-haul network development.
By The Numbers
The Airbus A340-300 proved to be the most popular variant of the European manufacturer's four-engine widebody family, accumulating 218 deliveries out of 377 total A340 aircraft built during a production run spanning from 1991 to 2011. Designed to bypass strict twin-engine ETOPS regulations on long-haul transoceanic routes, the -300 quickly became a staple for major international carriers seeking a dependable long-range workhorse.
Today, the aircraft is a rare sight in commercial skies as operators phase out aging quadjets in favor of more efficient twin-engine types like the Boeing 777 and Airbus A350. European legacy and leisure carriers remain among the few holding onto the type, with Lufthansa operating the largest remaining commercial fleet, alongside specialized operators like Swiss leisure carrier Edelweiss Air.
Manufacturing
Where It's Built
Final assembly of the Airbus A340-300 took place exclusively at the Clément Ader Final Assembly Line in Toulouse-Blagnac, France. As part of a concurrent design philosophy alongside its twin-engine stablemate the A330, the A340 shared an identical basic airframe, wing structure, and wide-body fuselage cross-section. Major structural components and sub-assemblies were manufactured across the Airbus partner consortium: fuselage sections were fabricated primarily by Deutsche Aerospace (DASA) in Germany and Aerospatiale in France, while the signature supercritical wings were engineered and built by British Aerospace (BAe) in the United Kingdom.
Flight deck architecture and digital fly-by-wire flight control systems were integrated utilizing advanced avionics suites developed collaboratively across European electronics houses, drawing heavily on hardware and software standards mature from the A320 program. Power was supplied by four CFM International CFM56-5C turbofans hung on specialized pylons. Because the A330 and A340 were developed as an integrated dual-program sharing tooling, ground equipment, and major structural commonality, Airbus did not isolate a distinct, standalone public development cost exclusively for the A340 model. Historical industry estimates place the combined twin-and-quad development investment in the multi-billion-dollar range, though precise, official program figures were proprietary to the consortium partners.
Notable Operators
Watch
Airbus A340-300 In Action
SAS Scandinavian Airlines A340-300 (OY-KBI Rurik Viking) heavy take-off at Narita JAPAN
Airbus - Airbus A340
Sources & Further Reading