Airbus A340-300
The first A340 to fly — and the one most airlines bought · First flight 1991 · In service 1993
The A340-300 was the first A340 to fly: the prototype took off from Toulouse on 25 October 1991. It shares its 63.69 m fuselage, wing and cockpit with the twin-engined A330-300, but four CFM56-5C engines freed it from the twin-engine overwater rules of the day — its big selling point on long, thin routes in the 1990s.
It entered service with Lufthansa and Air France in March 1993, typically seating 250–290 passengers in three classes. A heavier -300E (Enhanced) with up-rated CFM56-5C4 engines stretched the range to roughly 13,500 km; Lufthansa became the largest operator, with 30 aircraft.
With 218 delivered it is by far the most common A340, flown by airlines such as Swiss, SAS, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic and South African Airways — and Lufthansa kept flying it long after most rivals had switched to big twins.
