gilesdavies From United Kingdom, joined Dec 2003, 2883 posts, RR: 1 Posted (2 years 4 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 11771 times:
Very simple short question...
Is Airbus no longer offering the A340-300 as an aircraft they build anymore?
Just found the following exert on Wikipedia: The A340-300 is no longer in production with the last of 218 A340-300s delivered to a private Cayman Island company Klaret Aviation in September 2008, with the final airline delivery to Finnair in July 2008. The A340-300 will be superseded by the A350-900.
I know many people on here slate the A340-300, due to its relative high costs, compared to other aircrafts currently available. But I thought it was still an aircraft available to purchase, if someone desired to purchase them...
ML86 From United States of America, joined Apr 2010, 45 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (2 years 4 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 11642 times:
I'm almost sure the A343 never officially closed production. www.airbus.com posts the A343, A345, and A346 under "aircraft families", while the A340-200 is featured under "out of production aircraft". Not the clearest answer but the assumption is that the 343, a345, and 346 are still available for purchase.
seabosdca From United States of America, joined Sep 2007, 4277 posts, RR: 4 Reply 2, posted (2 years 4 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 11600 times:
The real question is why anyone would purchase a meaningful number of A343s when the 235 t A333, the 789, and the A359 are all available as near-direct replacements, all with large efficiency improvements and the 789 and A359 with significant capability improvements.
Whether Airbus are offering them anymore or not (and I agree it costs Airbus essentially nothing to keep them on offer), it's hard to imagine any more orders.
Most gorgeous aircraft: Tu-204-300, 757-200, A330-200, 777-200LR, 787-8
AeroWesty From United States of America, joined Oct 2004, 18871 posts, RR: 64 Reply 3, posted (2 years 4 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 11577 times:
Quoting gilesdavies (Thread starter): Is Airbus no longer offering the A340-300 as an aircraft they build anymore?
Interesting question. When I saw it I thought, didn't Finnair just order some not too long ago? Then I looked it up, and AY's order was in 2005, nearly 6 years ago. Finnair Orders A350 + 3 Interim A340 (by Killjoy Dec 7 2005 in Civil Aviation)
Where did the time go? Sheesh.
I wonder which airline was the last to order the A340-300?
ML86 From United States of America, joined Apr 2010, 45 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (2 years 4 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 11478 times:
Quoting AeroWesty (Reply 3): I wonder which airline was the last to order the A340-300?
According to airfleets.net, Finnair was the last major airline to receive the 343, taking delivery of a 340-313E in July of 2008. The 343 last frame listed on the site was a A340-313E, delivered in Sept 2008 to a customer called "Bourkhan Group".
trex8 From United States of America, joined Nov 2002, 3970 posts, RR: 14 Reply 5, posted (2 years 4 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 11459 times:
Quoting seabosdca (Reply 2): The real question is why anyone would purchase a meaningful number of A343s when the 235 t A333, the 789, and the A359 are all available as near-direct replacements, all with large efficiency improvements and the 789 and A359 with significant capability improvements.
If A were able to deliver an A343 in the next 2 years - which they probably can't as someone who has been pretty accurate here about A factory production slots said sometime in the last year there are no further A340s planned for the line beyond the orders held then so there are probably no long lead items in the production pipeline- and you need something with say greater than 5000+nm range with full payload and dont want a 772ER then none of the other planes are viable due to range insufficiency or lack of delivery slots.
AirbusA6 From United Kingdom, joined Apr 2005, 1911 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (2 years 4 weeks 23 hours ago) and read 10595 times:
When they are busy churning out A330s from the same line, it would take a very large A340 order to make it worthwhile disrupting the production line, so it would be a great surprise to see further A340 sales. I'm sure there will be plenty of frames coming up on the secondhand market soon, if anyone needs a topup.
it's the bus to stansted (now renamed national express a4 to ruin my username)
Burkhard From Germany, joined Nov 2006, 4249 posts, RR: 2 Reply 7, posted (2 years 4 weeks 22 hours ago) and read 10455 times:
Quoting AirbusA6 (Reply 6): I'm sure there will be plenty of frames coming up on the secondhand market soon
This soon still is some years away - and the largest A343 operators ( LH, IB ) have decided to not replace them soon.
But I share the view that the A333 has got so powerful that there are not so many jobs left only an A343 can do, and there are enough A343 built to cover these longest routes. Total number of flights that are above 5500 miles is not so big, and if the A332 can do this with a better margin than the A343 there is no reason to buy A343s.
I read that the A343 was using 100% the same lines as the A330, so since these are sold out for years no chance to get a slot. The A346 I read were done in another building, so there is a btter chance to get an A346 in 2013 than an A343, but again I doubt for any order. LH will receive its 748I before that, and IB just opted for A333 if I remember right to free their A340s for the longer missions.
goblin211 From United States of America, joined Jun 2010, 1209 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (2 years 4 weeks 14 hours ago) and read 4795 times:
Seems to me that the a343 aren't being built new anymore. I think the airlines are just waiting for the better options soon to be on the market i.e. 350 and 787.
trex8 From United States of America, joined Nov 2002, 3970 posts, RR: 14 Reply 10, posted (2 years 4 weeks 12 hours ago) and read 3838 times:
There are no definitely no orders in the pipeline for the A343 or A346 per A website which shows there are still 4 outstanding orders for A345 not yet delivered. 2 for Kingfisher and 2 VIPs ?
Viscount724 From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 21495 posts, RR: 24 Reply 11, posted (2 years 4 weeks 10 hours ago) and read 2365 times:
Quoting trex8 (Reply 10): A website which shows there are still 4 outstanding orders for A345 not yet delivered. 2 for Kingfisher and 2 VIPs ?
The Kingfisher A345s have been cancelled for practical purposes but since the aircraft have been built and Kingfisher still has contractual requirements until Airbus finds a new customer for them, Airbus still shows Kingfisher as the customer. See Reply 3 in this thread from January. Status Of Four Outstanding A340-500 Orders? (by VirginFlyer Jan 19 2011 in Civil Aviation)
Sponsor Message: 
From United Kingdom, joined Dec 2003, 2883 posts, 
From United States of America, joined Apr 2010, 45 posts, 
From Germany, joined Nov 2006, 4249 posts, 
From Netherlands, joined Aug 2004, 2477 posts, 
From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 21495 posts, 
Printer friendly format 
