The unloved A340

[Less Hair]

The A340 originally had been designed for some PW large diameter wonder engine that never became available. This is why Airbus had to mount four A320 engines instead that were not exactly overpowering it, especially the early A340-200. Given its turbulent history it finally sold not that bad and lived quite some time. However the later A340-600 and -500 were a strange move to counter the 777-300ER fast and dirty. The real bestseller and clear star was the lower profile workhorse A330.

[BonnieLass]

I had the pleasure of flying aboard the A340 twice within a 3 week period December 2004 / January 2005 with Iberia.

The December 2004 was from MAD to SCL and the January 2005 was from EZE to Madrid - essentially I took a Cape Horn cruise that started in Valparaiso and ended in Buenos Aires. The flights were brilliant, so much room to move compared to other aircraft and when it came to the inevitable "demented trampoline" effects when flying over the Andes on the outward flight and the equally "demented trampoline" effects of flying over the north eastern coast of Brazil due to severe thundertorms offshore, the aircraft was far more stable than most of its contemporaries.

I always try for an overwing seat with a window since I like watching outside more than the inside....the storms down over Fortaleza were exceptionally harsh, which is often the case due to the equator causing upsets with the air (or something similar as told to us by the flightcrew when we encountered turbulence in that area).

As for the A340 itself, I cannot fault it and I totally understand why it is still in service, its a lovely aircraft to fly in....spacious, quiet and even in the worst "demented trampoline" conditions, a pleasant experience for pax.

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by BonnieLass

so much room to move compared to other aircraft

If you ever getto fly in an A330, you will notice that it has the same spacious interior.

[Less Hair]

It is not THAT spacious as the window seat headroom is limited by the circular (structurally efficient) cabin diameter. This is why the A350 has steeper sidewalls.

[Andy_S]

Originally Posted by Less Hair

It is not THAT spacious as the window seat headroom is limited by the circular (structurally efficient) cabin diameter. This is why the A350 has steeper sidewalls.

I've never really understood why people describe the interior of a modern civil airliner as "spacious". It can only be as spacious as the seating intensity allows, and airlines don't make money by leaving lots of empty spaces in the cabin....

[BonnieLass]

Originally Posted by DaveReidUK

If you ever getto fly in an A330, you will notice that it has the same spacious interior.

Originally Posted by Less Hair

It is not THAT spacious as the window seat headroom is limited by the circular (structurally efficient) cabin diameter. This is why the A350 has steeper sidewalls.

Originally Posted by Andy_S

I've never really understood why people describe the interior of a modern civil airliner as "spacious". It can only be as spacious as the seating intensity allows, and airlines don't make money by leaving lots of empty spaces in the cabin....

What you often forget when describing the spaciousness of an aircraft is that every airline...OK, almost every airline...has different seating layouts. Some go for the "battery hen" setting and others go for the "free range hen" setting. The "free range" has significantly more knee and elbow room than the "battery hen".

Fortunately the A346 that I had pleasure in flying aboard with Iberia had the "free range hen" setting and thus I enjoyed way more knee space and elbow room than I had with the Iberia A320 that I had tween LHR and MAD and return which definitely had the "battery hen" setting...ie...very squished.

It also has to be said that different sized pax have different experiences.....myself being a tad under 6ft tall and relatively below average in weight found the spaciousness to be very good on the A346 (compared to a contemporary such as the B777 for example).

[Andy_S]

Originally Posted by BonnieLass

What you often forget when describing the spaciousness of an aircraft is that every airline...OK, almost every airline...has different seating layouts.

So not unique to aircraft type then.

Originally Posted by BonnieLass

.....found the spaciousness to be very good on the A346 (compared to a contemporary such as the B777 for example)

But as you just observed, different airlines have different seating layouts. Just because you had a good flight on the A340 with Iberia doesn't necessarily mean you will have the same experience on every A340.
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[S.o.S.]

When describing cabin space, perhaps add which cabin you were in?

This is similar to the highly amusing 'concept cabins' that we sometimes see in manufacturers PR. Not to mention the coining of the word 'densification' for the Y in BA 777-200s. Sometimes, just to get to an urgent appointment at short notice, one has to be in Y.

[cavuman1]

Originally Posted by DaveReidUK

If you ever getto fly in an A330, you will notice that it has the same spacious interior.

With my well-developed presbyopia (old man vision) I read your post as "if you ever 'ghetto' fly in an A330...", which brought forth images of under-dressed passengers sporting do-rags, third-world briefcases (boom box/ghetto blasters), gold teeth grillz, pants halfway down, and 38-cal. sidearms! Your typographical error coupled with with my fading eyesight gave me a laugh, and I will take all the laughs I can get. Thank you, DaveReidUK!

- Ed

[barry lloyd]

The A340 gets my vote. I flew on a few, but the most memorable was from Mount Pleasant (Falklands) to Ascension and then several days later on to Brize Norton when it was briefly operating the Falklands Air Bridge. Having done most of my overwater flying in four-engined aircraft (yes, I'm that old!), I felt totally reassured sitting in a half-full (half-empty?) A340 of Hi Fly for both long overwater sectors. Nice cabin crew, too!

[BonnieLass]

Originally Posted by S.o.S.

When describing cabin space, perhaps add which cabin you were in?

This is similar to the highly amusing 'concept cabins' that we sometimes see in manufacturers PR. Not to mention the coining of the word 'densification' for the Y in BA 777-200s. Sometimes, just to get to an urgent appointment at short notice, one has to be in Y.

For the sake of clarification.....my experiences aboard the two Iberia A346 aircraft were in economy (my normal / usual method of travel since finances do not allow for the more luxury end of the aircraft), hence the comparison to the battery hen being all squished up vs the free range hen where a little more knee and elbow room can be available dependant on whether the airline in question uses high density seating or not.

[Charlie_Fox]

I liked the idea of the "downstairs" toilets on the LH A340-(500?) I once flew on from Munich to Beijing. Not much headroom for anyone over 1m65, though.

[ATSA1]

I flew on a couple of A340s with SAA both the -300 and the -600..

The only thing that stood out, was the very long take off run and slow climb out of JNB...

Apart from that, loved the 2-3-2 seating, (Economy) meaning that the Wife and I could sit together, without a 3rd person to deal with.

[BonnieLass]

Originally Posted by ATSA1

I flew on a couple of A340s with SAA both the -300 and the -600..

The only thing that stood out, was the very long take off run and slow climb out of JNB...

Apart from that, loved the 2-3-2 seating, (Economy) meaning that the Wife and I could sit together, without a 3rd person to deal with.

There are a couple of A340's that run in and out of AMS and are often caught by the YT spotters....and there are always comments about the way that it takes ages for them to leave the runway, almost as if they really don't want to fly. One spotter caught a really good go-around by one of the Suriname A340 on a very crosswindy day at AMS

You Tube

[fdcg27]

We've flown both the A330 and the A340 and found both to be perfectly fine.
The 2-4-2 seating is nice and allows us to select an outboard pair of seats.
We did catch a Lufthansa A340 IAD to FRA in the summer of 2024 since I wanted to grab a flight on one before the airline retired them.

[PAXboy]

I do know of the close similarity of the 330/340 which was sensible and smart. I've only been in the 330 with TK and was in C, so it was all fine for space. The on board TK experience was great. The on ground the full opposite - and then some.

[Repos]

I'm just someone with an interest in aviation so putting side all considerations of comfort or economy I'm still a sucker for the look of a four engined big jet . I was a teenager when the 747 came into service and still see it as a majestic aircraft. The 707, DC8, and super 60, and more the big Antonovs etc. I think the A380 would have been magnificent if it lived long enough to stretch to it's full potential. I completely understand the economics but in reference to the thread title, aircraft are 'loved' for various reasons and if you are paying good money then comfort is a priority, however some planes are loved in spite of their flaws.

[justapax]

Originally Posted by Repos

I'm just someone with an interest in aviation so putting side all considerations of comfort or economy I'm still a sucker for the look of a four engined big jet . I was a teenager when the 747 came into service and still see it as a majestic aircraft. The 707, DC8, and super 60, and more the big Antonovs etc. I think the A380 would have been magnificent if it lived long enough to stretch to it's full potential. I completely understand the economics but in reference to the thread title, aircraft are 'loved' for various reasons and if you are paying good money then comfort is a priority, however some planes are loved in spite of their flaws.

Don't write off the A380 quite yet. Emirates have a contract with RR to maintain the engines until 2040. The aircraft will be around for a while yet.

[reynoldsno1]

The only thing that stood out, was the very long take off run and slow climb out of JNB...

Used to ply the AKL-HKG-AKL route with Cathay fairly regularly in the mid-2000's. I was always grateful the earth is curved on departure ...

[Asturias56]

Poeple forget that they sold (by historical standards) quite well - over 380 sold - far more than say the TriStar