Airbus A340 (all variants) — safety record, routes and airlines

The Airbus A340 (all variants) has 4 occurrences in our most recent five-year window, which puts its type score at 60 of 100. It has 7 hull losses and 73 recorded occurrences in total. That is a summary of the public safety record, not a prediction about any individual flight — the full arithmetic is on the methodology page.

Only in small numbers. Lufthansa and SWISS retain limited A340 fleets, and a handful of other carriers still operate isolated frames. Most major operators have already retired the type in favor of the A350 or 787. If an A340 matters to you, check the operating aircraft at booking and again close to departure, since equipment swaps are common.

Four-engine fuel burn cannot compete with modern twins like the 777, 787, or A350 on the same routes. Once ETOPS rules made long overwater twin-engine flying routine, the economic case for four engines on passenger long-haul disappeared. Maintenance cost per seat-mile is also significantly higher, which is why fleets have shrunk so quickly.

The A340-300 typically seats 260 to 295 in three classes. The longer A340-600 carries roughly 320 to 380 in three classes and was historically used on high-demand long-haul routes. Range is around 7,400 nautical miles for the -300 and about 7,900 for the -600 depending on payload.