I love all this talk from people about the A340-600. Most of these people have no idea what they are talking about and are blabbing on about complete rubbish. The -600 would have to be one of the easiest of the Airbus wide bodies to fly and is incredibly stable and much more forgiving in the landings than its shorter fuselage cousins. Take-offs and taxiing require a little more attention to detail but once mastered are fairly straight forward. Yes it is long but so is the B777-300. The problem with the A340-600 is it is treated as the same aircraft type as the A340-300 by airlines and the regulators, i.e. common type endorsement. The reality is they are two completely different animals requiring different techniques and more importantly precautions. Coupled to this the added complexity of “Mixed Fleet Flying” (A330/A343/A346) where you may end up flying the -600 only once or twice a year and it is a recipe for disaster. This is where the problem with the aircraft lies and not in some perceived flaw in the aircraft design.