The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner built by Airbus, developed alongside the twin-engine A330 from initial orders placed in June 1987 and sharing the eight-abreast economy cabin cross-section of the earlier A300. The A340-300 first flew on 25 October 1991 and entered commercial service in March 1993 with launch customers Lufthansa and Air France, and Airbus fitted the aircraft with four CFM56 turbofan engines specifically so it could fly long trans-oceanic routes without being bound by the twin-engine ETOPS restrictions that applied to the A330. Airbus delivered 377 A340s before ending production in 2012, and a substantial number remain in active service with operators such as Lufthansa.
Facts
SignificanceA four-engined long-range airliner developed in parallel with the twin-engined A330, sharing its wing. 1 Manufacturer or Builder In the Other Atlases
- Also in Business Atlas: Airbus, manufactured by there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Airbus A340
WikipediaLead section, first sentence
The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus.
Lead section, entered-service sentence
It was certified along with the A340-200 on 22 December 1992 and both versions entered service in March 1993 with launch customers Lufthansa and Air France.
Lead section, parallel-development sentence
In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel with the A330 twinjet.
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