Why Has The Airbus A330 Been More Successful Than The A340?

The A330 and A340 were Airbus’ next-generation of long-haul aircraft, capable of carrying over 400 passengers across the globe. However, despite being released within a year of each other, the A330 has fared far better, with over 1,100 more deliveries. Let’s understand why that has been.

While the A340’s production run ended a decade ago, the A330 is nowhere near its retirement. Photo: Getty Images

All about the engines

The A340 first took to the skies in October 1991, highlighting Airbus’ new flagship aircraft. Less than six months later, another jet made its introduction: the A330. While retaining several common features, the two differ on one key point: the number of engines. While the A340 is a quad-engine aircraft, the A330 is a twin-engine jet.

This strategy is not surprising given the time. The A340 was after the market share seized by the Boeing 747, which dominated long-haul travel. The four engines allowed the plane to fly on ultra-long-haul routes with space for over 320 passengers (three-class). Meanwhile, the A330 was looking to compete with the Boeing 767 and 757 families, which had grown in popularity thanks to ETOPS.

The A340 and A330 targeted different segments and geographies of the market, explaining their close launch. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

So what went wrong for the A340 and right for the A330? While the former produced its last aircraft in 2012, the latter has been relaunched as the A330neo in 2017, likely giving it years more worth of orders.

Efficiency

The A340 saw strong sales early on, with airlines like Lufthansa, Air France, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, and many more. At first, four engines remained the norm for most long-haul routes, with near ETOPS guidance largely affecting transatlantic routes. This meant the 747 and A340 played an important role in getting passengers to further away destinations.

However, this changed with the introduction of the Boeing 777. With ETOPS-180 at launch, the twin-engine aircraft provided the range needed to fly all long-haul routes. This proved to be a great challenge to Airbus since the A340 seated the same number of passengers but was far less efficient due to the four engines.

The A330 had the range but not the capacity to meet the needs of long-haul carriers. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

The A340’s sales fell sharply after the 777’s entry into the market, especially as the second-generation variants entered. However, the A330 did not follow this path and had secured its own major market.

Do it all

While the A340 was restricted by its efficiency, the A330 was a jack-of-all-trades for airlines. With a long-range and long fuselage, the aircraft could comfortably seat 300 passengers (in a two or three-class layout), making it the perfect choice of dense regional routes and select long-haul destinations.

As the 767 and 757 aged, the A330 retained its popularity and saw orders skyrocket. While Boeing later released the 787 to capture this key market, Airbus’ offering has done extremely well, with over 1,600 orders in the 28 years since it entered service.

The A350 captured the best of both aircraft types and is now the go-to twin-engine aircraft for long-haul flights. Photo: Vincenzo Pace/Simple Flying

Meanwhile, the A340 only saw 377 deliveries in its 20 years of flight. The type has primarily faded from fleets in recent years, especially due to the pandemic, but fans can still find the type flying with Lufthansa and a few more operators.

What do you think about the story of the A330 and A340? Let us know in the comments!

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