Hello. I flew on LH505 03NOV GRUMUC which was operated by an A340-642X. Questions: what the X in front of the aircraft type means? I know LUFTHANSA has both the A340-642 and the A340-642X, but most of the long hauls GRUMUC are being operated by the X type. What are the differences between the two, if any? Also, is it possible to know the registration number of that particular aircraft? And, does LH has a version with Economy and Business cabins only? Thank you.

[Edited 2012-11-25 05:43:37]

[Edited 2012-11-25 05:47:35]

Lufthansa also flies aircraft labelled as the A340-313X. The -X variant refers to what Airbus calls the A340-E family. Aircraft that are labelled with the -X have a higher MTOW, and has engines with a greater thrust rating IIRC. The length of the GRU-MUC route is likely what dictates the deployment of the enhanced aircraft.

Lufthansa has a total of 24 A346s, of which 11 are the -X variant. They are registered D-AIHP thru D-AIHZ.

Thanks a lot for the explanation. So, it makes sense that most of the types being used for the long MUCGRU run are -X variants. But they also use the non -X on certain flights. I know the LH505 on 03NOV was operated by an -X type for sure, because it had the newly refitted F class, which was just wonderful. Is it possible to know registration of that particular aircraft?

Acording to Libhomeradar D-AIHW had the honours.

http://www.libhomeradar.org/database...page=1&qid=17931188&sid=5016148799

So is this what is known as the A340-600HGW?

Airbus A340-600HGW Makes First Flight (by WINGS Nov 18 2005 in Civil Aviation)

The X applies to any high gross weight variant nowadays yes... HGW/IGW/ETC don't exist in official nomenclature.

Not all A340-300Xs are Enhanced, btw.

NS

My question is, will the A380 series see an -X variant in the next 5 or so years?

[Edited 2012-11-25 15:29:54]

Quoting gigneil (Reply 5): Not all A340-300Xs are Enhanced, btw.

Didn't the A340-300E(nhanced) enter service after the A340-300X?

As I understand it, the A340-300E offers the same Weight Variants as the A340-300X, but uses the CFM56-5C4/P* engines as opposed to the CFM56-5C4 and comes with the cockpit and certain systems similar to the A340-500/-600.

The /P is a PiP'd version of the engine with a 1% reduction in SFC.

That's right. The A340-300X was available for quite some time prior to the Enhanced models - the first of each were an A330-200 for Qantas and an A330-300 for Northwest, with A340s coming much later.

NS

Thank you all for the explanations. Well, what can I say? The -X type has more thrust & power than the regular -600. But give any A-340, -600 or -300, over the stormy South Atlantic than any twin-engined (A-330 or 767 or 777) anytime. And Lufthansa is a plus! Thank you for the registration of the machine I flew on.

Quoting Independence76 (Reply 6): My question is, will the A380 series see an -X variant in the next 5 or so years?

BA's A380 will be -X variant if I am corrected

The biggest difference is that A340-642s will have Rolls Royce Trent 556s, while A340-642Xs will have Rolls Royce Trent 560s. An extra 4,000lbf per engine. More power = more payload = happier accountants.  

Quoting davidho1985 (Reply 10): BA's A380 will be -X variant if I am corrected

Airbus is actually offering a few different higher weight versions of the A380. I'm not sure which version(s) will get the -X appendage and which won't. BA is defiantly getting one of the higher weight versions.

Quoting zkojq (Reply 11): BA is defiantly getting one of the higher weight versions.

I'm sure Boeing is chagrined by British Airways defiance.

Quoting davidho1985 (Reply 10): BA's A380 will be -X variant if I am corrected

The MTOW difference between the "baseline" and "-X" versions of the A330 and A340 were much larger in comparison to the MTOW differences from WV002 to WV006 and WV008. As such, I would expect Airbus to not use a "-X" variant for BA's planes (WV006).

I would expect Airbus to add the "-X" suffix when MTOWs are in the 585-590t range.

Thank you for clearing up the 'X' on A340s.

I'm on my first 300-series flight in January and was going to ask the same question about 313Xs....no need to now.

So, working on the basis that the 313X is slightly more powerful than 'standard', does this mean I won't need to bring my extra-strong elastic to catapult it off the runway????     

Quoting Prost (Reply 12): I'm sure Boeing is chagrined by British Airways defiance.

   In my defense, it was rather late when I made that post.

Quoting Stitch (Reply 13):

True, but maybe by the time offers a 585-590t Weight Variant, Airbus will have 'enhanced' the A380 and thus giving them the E suffix. In this case, new deliveries would become A380-843Es or A380-862Es.