Philippine Airlines no longer flies quad-jets or four-engine planes. It is, however, interesting to look back at some of Philippine Airlines’ previous aircraft, one of which is the Airbus A340. The aircraft was a mainstay on Philippine Airlines’ long-haul routes for most transpacific passengers. It augmented PAL’s fleet of Boeing 747-400s at the time.
In 1997, Philippine Airlines ordered the Airbus A340 as part of a $32 billion fleet modernization plan. More Boeing 747-400s, A330-300s, and A320-200s were also included. The A340 was supposed to be used on PAL’s long-distance routes. In 2014, PAL ordered four more ex-Iberia A340-300s to supplement the airline’s long-haul fleet. In 2018, the planes were retired and replaced by the more modern Airbus A350-900.
Philippine Airlines operated 14 A340-300s in total, including four A340-200s and ten A340-300s. They were also the last A340 operator in Asia.
All about the Airbus A340
The Airbus A340 is a four-engine wide-body jet airliner manufactured by Airbus Industrie. The first A340 took to the skies in 1991, and 20 years later, having fulfilled all orders, Airbus announced that the model would no longer be manufactured.
The A340 is a low-wing monoplane design with two engines on each wing, similar to the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8. The A340 has three variants: the A340-200 and A340-300, which are shorter, and the A340-500 and A340-600, which are longer. In fact, until the introduction of the Boeing 777-300, the A340-600 was the world’s longest airliner.
Airbus’ first long-range aircraft
Airbus’ first true long-range aircraft was the A340. It was positioned as a viable option for airlines looking to replace their aging Boeing 747-100 and 747-200 fleets. The A340 was created in tandem with the Airbus A330, a twin-engine jet airliner. Both aircraft used the same wing, fuselage sections, and systems, saving Airbus an estimated $500 million in development costs. The cockpit designs are the same across all Airbus aircraft, which saves customers money because they can switch flight crew between types with only a week of training.
When the program was announced in the late 1980s, the dependability of jet engines was reaching new heights. However, many twin-engined airliners were still undergoing stringent ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) approval processes, so carriers with long over-water routes were hesitant to commit to large twin-engined airliners for these routes. The Airbus A340, as well as the Boeing 747, McDonnell Douglas DC-10, and Lockheed L1011 Tristar, were all exempt from these constraints. There was also a market preference divide, with Asian carriers preferring four engines, US carriers preferring two engines, and European carriers split between the two.
However, everything changed when Boeing introduced the Boeing 777, the world’s first ultra-long-range twin-engine aircraft. Airlines found that operating aircraft with two large engines rather than four was more cost effective. The 777, particularly the 777-300ER, changed the game. It carried more passengers but was more efficient than the A340. Airlines began to transition from the A340 to the B777, effectively ending the A340 program. So, with all 375 orders fulfilled, production of the A340 ended on November 11, 2011.
The A340 was eventually replaced by the more modern A350.
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