It's easy to recognize the Airbus A340. The four engines, the winglets that point away from the plane and, for the streched versions, the incredible long fuselage. It's like wings and a tail have been mounted onto a sewer tube. That comparison is pretty harmful for the plane, really, but the fact is that the A340-600, with a fuselage of over 75 meters, is the longest commercial aircraft you can get today.

The development of the jet started in the eighties. The first sketches were published in 1981, followed by the introduction of the new plane in 1987. The company intended to enlarge their portfolio upwards, with a larger plane. The A320 was suited for short distance flights, the A300 for medium trips and the A340 was supposed to carry passengers on the real long journeys, up and till 16.700 kilometers away from the airport the plane took off.
Airbus recognized the project as a profitable one, because they only had two-engined aircraft, which was a big disadvantage. Especially, because their was a law in the 1980s, the so-called >ETOPS-regulation, that said that aircraft that only had two engines, should have a diversion airport within 60 minutes of flying at all time. Crossing the Atlantic was impossible. Airbus noticed market share being taken away by Boeing, that didn't suffer from the rules with its 747. Two major tri-jets (the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed TriStar) were scheduled for replacement. Airbus thought that was a perfect rol for their A340!

That way, the design and manufacturing of this four-engined aircraft started, next to the production site of the A330 in Toulouse, France. The design of the cockpit was completely different from what was usual in that time. As it happens, the flightdeck looks more or less like a overgrown computer-game. Instead of a solid, large steering column (which was normal), Airbus uses joysticks. Although they're a bit more expensive than the ones you use playing Flight Simulator, they're still joysticks. All instruments are projected on digital screens. Just like in the Boeing 757 and 767, pilots that fly the A340 can transfer to the A330 without extra certifications. Even the cockpit of the smallest Airbus, the A318 / A319 / A320 / A321 is almost identical so pilots can switch planes with minimal training (which means little cost).

Airlines have multiple choices when ordering an A340. Besides all kinds of options affecting the arrangement of the furniture and multimedia, four versions have been introduced.

A340-200 (1987)

The smallest A340 that is buyable. It seats about 250 passengers, which make it a great plane for long-distance flying with a small number of passengers. It's a pity not much flights meet these conditions, and the -200 didn't sell as expected. The financial damage is recovered with the introductio of the A330-200. After a while, the -200 was upgraded with a longer range. The special request of the Sultan of Brunei, who'd like his jet to fly further than he could before, was granted. The executive board of Airbus liked the idea to make this adjustment to the 'normal' aircraft. In total, 28 A340-200's have been built. There aren't more to come, since the plane is no longer produced.

A340-300 (1987)

This relative was introduced at the same time as the smaller -200, but turned out to be much more popular. It carries almost 300 people a distance of over 13.000 kilometers. The engines are the same as the -200 is fitted with. The A340-313E has more powerful engines. Although the type is different, both machines come from the same maunfacuter: CFM International. Besides the -E, the only version that is still produced, is there an -X-model: a heavier A340. Lufthansa has 30 of these planes, the largest number with a single carrier. You can see these planes at Amsterdam Schiphol as well, although these are flown by Cathay Pacific. Each day, a plane arrives and departures.

A340-500 (1998)

A record-breaking plane is the Airbus A340-500. When it was launched, this aircraft had the longest range. Meanwhile, the Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner has broken the record, but the -500 still has many qualities. Compared to the -300, it has been stretched for 4,3 meters, and has seating capacity for 313 (instead of 295) travellers. In addition, the wings are larger. This version also flies a little faster. It's true that not many have been delivered yet (26 in August 2007), but it doesn't stop Airbus from introducio a new version: the A340-500HGW. HGW is short for High Gross Weight and the adjustments include a stronger fuselage and bigger fuel tanks.

A340-600 (1998)

It was the intention to replace (the early versions of) another four-engined aircraft with the -600: the Boeing 747. Pros are more cargospace combined with an equal number of passengers (380) and lower 'costs per seat'. That results in cheaper tickets: good news! The plane, that measures 75,30 meter in length en 17,30 meters in height, was introduced with Virgin Atlantic Airways in August 2002. The -600 also comes as a HGW-version, that offers the adaptations of the -500HGW plus more powerful engines.