In recent years, quadjets like the Airbus A340 have become an increasingly rare sight. Philippine Airlines is just one carrier that recently ceased services with the -300 variant, doing so in 2019. Its relationship with the type lasted more than two decades, with the aircraft involved having a variety of career paths. Let’s take a closer look at their busy service lives.
When did they arrive
According to data from ch-aviation.com, Philippine Airlines operated a total of 10 Airbus A340-300s over the years. The first four of these quadjets joined the Manila-based carrier in 1997, at which point they still had their original French registrations. In fact, they kept these for over a decade, only changing to Philippine registrations on the following dates.
- F-OHPJ joined on May 30th, 1997, became RP-C3430 on January 15th, 2008.
- F-OHPK joined on June 24th, 1997, became RP-C3431 on July 30th, 2008.
- F-OHPL joined on September 24th, 1997, became RP-C3432 on February 11th, 2008.
- F-OHPM joined on October 22nd, 1997, became RP-C3434 on July 7th, 2008.
Philippine Airlines‘ remaining six A340-300s came to the airline somewhat later. They did so in 2013 (four aircraft) and 2014 (two aircraft), arriving on a second-hand basis from Iberia. Spain’s flag carrier had received these aircraft brand-new between 1999 and 2002.
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The end of the line for some
2013 and 2014 were also the years in which Philippine Airlines’ first four A340-300s left the carrier. After between 16 and 17 years in the Philippines, they had served the airline well. None have gone on to find another owner. Three are stored in Greenwood, Mississippi, while RP-C3431 has been scrapped at Clark International Airport in the Philippines.
Some of the more recent acquisitions also appear to have taken to the skies for the last time. Philippine Airlines ceased operating the A340 family in 2019, and this was when RP-C3441 went into storage. It is presently awaiting scrapping in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Meanwhile, RP-C3437 is also in storage at Istanbul Atatürk under the registration N332FY.
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New leases of life for others
While six ex-Philippine Airlines A340-300s have reached the end of the line, the other four remain active today. One aircraft, which bore the registration RP-C3439 and left Philippine Airlines in October 2018, now flies for Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas as EC-NBU. Data from RadarBox.com shows that it last flew from Quito to Madrid on September 26th.
Meanwhile, the remaining three aircraft from Philippine Airlines’ former A340-300 contingent have joined Afghanistan‘s Kam Air. Two of these quadjets (now registered as YA-KME and YA-KMH) did so in 2018, with YA-KMU (formerly RP-C3435) following a year later.
The ongoing situation in Afghanistan has meant that Kam Air‘s operations have become rather fragmented and sporadic. While RadarBox doesn’t appear to hold any data for YA-KMU, it does show that YA-KME flew out of Afghanistan to Šiauliai, Lithuania on September 15th. Meanwhile, YA-KMH flew from Abu Dhabi back into Afghanistan on September 24th.
What are your memories of flying on Philippine Airlines’ Airbus A340-300s? Did you have any particularly good flights onboard these quadjets? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
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