Now Extinct: The Airbus A340-500

This past month, the A340-500 was used by just one airline: Azerbaijan Airlines from Baku to Moscow Domodedovo. With the aircraft’s retirement from this route, there are currently no more scheduled routes being flown by the aircraft. The type has never been popular because of its niche role, and it is now all but extinct in a commercial sense.
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#aviation #flight #avgeek #airlines #flying

[@nadimsadek22]

I flew from Singapore to Newark on Singapore Airline's A340-500. It was very weird. Three cabin crew changes. Three cycles of eating, watching a movie, sleeping. I felt I'd missed a part of my life when I landed. But it was very memorable. It was nice aircraft, and the fact that it was all business class made it different visually - little pods the whole way round the aircraft.

[@visionist7]

How much hold luggage was allowed per passenger? 2 x 32kg?

[@AlphaSpotting]

I had the pleasure of flying with the A340-500 from Istanbul to Azerbaijan back in 2019. I recall the airplane being overall outdated and the air-con was not working properly but no complaints when flying such a beautiful airplane!

[@AlphaSpotting]

@Schlomo Baconberg haha 😄 I meant the interior and such

[@AlphaSpotting]

@Schlomo Baconberg indeed 😂

[@Militaryfic]

I envy your great great memory!

[@zokeaye]

There are rumors that Conviasa will be receiving A340-500’s sometime this year. They just got an A340-300.

[@spongebubatz]

That would be cool, together with their A340-200 they would be a dream airline for an avgeek, but who knows whether they will keep their A340-200

[@نادرالیراحمان]

I think they are second hand though

[@spongebubatz]

@@نادرالیراحمان that’s the only way possible

[@betelgeuse227]

They got it

[@AviationLBA]

@@spongebubatz Their A340-200 is now derelict at Tehran Imam Khomeini.

[@xrecovery9]

Good News! 4K-AZ85 is back in service!!!! AZAL is now planning a Dubai route as well. 4K-AZ86 is still currently in storage though...

[@robm3074]

This Azer paint scheme has got to be the most beautiful of any airline in the world. The shades of blue and the shades of turquoise (?) are magnificent together and they compliment the aircraft very well..

[@natechandra7756]

Goodbye A340-500 thanks for your 18 years of making the aviation world more colourful.

[@ericee2214]

@British Airways Boeing 747-436 That's not the right place to say this...

[@aviationandcars556]

Glad I managed to spot the Las Vegas Sands A345 a few weeks ago at LHR

[@BA-dr5fs]

i saw it aswell

[@jovanholland36]

They flew it to lax

[@ythinder]

Mee too!! What a treat!!!

[@michaelrmurphy2734]

A casino has an airplane? What for?

[@fs10inator]

@@michaelrmurphy2734 Employee/VIP transport

[@anxiies]

Rest in Peace A340-500. We won't forget you and we will *ALWAYS* remember you. 💝

[@scoodles_1083]

That’s sad, was hoping to be able to fly one once.

[@michaelrmurphy2734]

It is a BIG plane.

[@tawagb1880]

I flew on one hahaha

[@michaelrmurphy2734]

@@tawagb1880 Lucky you!

[@robertfairburn9979]

I flew on them twice and did not like it all, felt it was very cramped.

[@Toothily]

There’s still -600s and -300s flying. Not many though,

[@thihal123]

I flew on A340 on South African Airways from Washington DC to Johannesburg. Very comfortable and very lovely in flight experience

[@alialiyevv]

I have flown in this exact aircraft (4k-az85) from Baku to Istanbul in 2019. It is sad to see this aircraft retiring, especially being the only operator:) I hope they have only suspended service for a short period of time, not retired.

[@plutoooooooooooooo]

They removed them from service recently :(

[@WysteriaGuitar]

That Azer A340-5 is a beautiful livery, too bad she's retired.

[@Star737_yt]

Hey, we still have A330 at least. They have very similar design as the A340.

[@donaldstanfield8862]

Very flattering livery!

[@battleshipiowa2052]

At least we still have A340-300 and A340-600

[@WysteriaGuitar]

Yeah love the A340-6

[@cwa4584]

idk if you guys know but 4K-AZ85 is active and doing that route again

[@davidwilliams9326]

So sad to see these go. I had the pleasure to fly HKG-YYZ in an Air Canada 340-500 quite a few years ago. I travelled in J Class and it is honestly one of the nicest aircraft I have ever flown in.

[@MarcvanExel]

The only A340 I ever flew on was the A340-200 with Cathay Pacific AMS-HKG and return. That was a nice aircraft, very quiet.

[@donaldstanfield8862]

I love how the outboard engines look far out on the wing compared to other four-holers!

[@Boeing773B]

Flew it on the SIN-EWR route when I was 15. At that time they announced they were retiring the service and I was lucky enough to get a seat on one of the last few flights.

[@arjunpadmakumar2961]

Wow!

[@declan-kayodekeegan1598]

I flew the A340-500 for Arik Air that operated 2 of the type leased from HiFly.. Good memories on it 😊

[@danielkennedy118]

I was a passenger on the A340-500 non stop flight between Los Angeles and Bangkok for many trips. It was one of the most comfortable economy class rides you could get. The deluxe economy class was superb. Never took the business class. Was sad to see Thai Air retire that nonstop A340-500 flight. Does not matter now as I no longer travel.

[@nikobellic8246]

i feel like its very lucky to actually see an a340 nowadays im so glad i got to see the Lufthansa a340-600 and Turkish airlines a340-300

[@mariuspontmercy2736]

Being from Melbourne, Australia, my main memory of the A340-500 was that time at Melbourne Airport in 2009 that an Emirates flight crew told their aircraft that it was 100 tonnes lighter than it actually was, then overran the runway by 150m on the takeoff roll, took out a bunch of navigation stuff off the end of the runway, then barely managed to not crash the plane before circling back for an emergency landing.

[@donaldstanfield8862]

😬😳 Wow

[@johniii8147]

Emirates seems to be good at that.

[@plutoooooooooooooo]

Were you on Emirates 407?

[@spongebubatz]

Never got to fly on any A340 at all, but I’m happy that I got to see one of every variant! For the -500 it’s HS-TYV operated by the Thai Air Force

[@siggarette6366]

I live near Chiang Mai airport. This plane (RTAF A340) performs touch-and-go regularly and it’s engines roar incredible sounds simlilar to the RR trent 700.

[@tadeuveloso3773]

I flew this machine as a cabin crew for Tam Brazilian Airlines! The best aircraft to work in our fleet

[@DDMDutchDIYMechanics]

Flew with Thai Airways from BKK-LAX way back in 2007 on the A340-500, back to BKK on the -600 as their -500 was grounded due to some technical difficulties. Awesome aircraft, just amazed me that they flew NONSTOP for 17 hours! Also, there were windows in the lavatories, never saw that anywhere else before flying the A345!

[@arizonatsunami]

This channel creates content that only the most geeky aviation enthusiasts would find interesting.........and I absolutely love it!!!!!!!!!

[@borednes]

its really sad to see the retirement of such classic planes...

[@ericee2214]

Live on A330! Goodbye A340... even though not all of them are retired its days are definitely numbered :(

[@richardneilan2392]

My longest flight ever was onboard a Thai Airways A340-500 from BKK to JFK. 18+ hours, but quite enjoyable. And, as they say, "Smooth as Silk."

[@magnustan841]

I live in Singapore and I remember the A345 service SQ22 and SQ26 flying to the US almost every day. I even tried to go and see the final services leave Singapore, but departure time was too soon after I finished school for the day.

[@AlexDoesStufff]

the a340-500 was the first plane i flew on. i was 7, now im 14

[@donaldstanfield8862]

Keep flying blue skies

[@AlexDoesStufff]

@@donaldstanfield8862 yes

[@narwhal77]

the lufthansa a340 coming to my hometown airport jfk was truly amazing and seeing a lufthansa a330 instead saddened me

[@bilalahmed2123]

Practically the same plane less two engines, and I believe shorter wing span.

[@Tobu9105F]

I know thats sad

[@jorgemoll5994]

I love the A 340s. I have never flown on an A-340 500, but I have flown on A-340 300 from AF and A-340 600 from Iberia. I will miss them.

[@marv6017]

It’s a shame the AB340 was not more popular or emerged at the wrong time? I flew on it multiple times from MIA to Madrid route over 10 years ago. It was a comfortable and spacious cabin in BC and a beautiful bird. Will be missed!

[@Randomvideos-zi7pe]

its the -500 and -600 that came at the wrong time. The -300 was very popular until the rise of the 787

[@jacob1029]

Thats a very impressive livery for such a small airline.

[@gabrieldufay2212]

THE MORE BEAUTIFUL COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT ,JUST PERFECT SIZE, HARMONY

[@stradivarioushardhiantz5179]

There are only 9 ACJ340-500 worldwide; 1. Saudi Royal Flight; T7-SAU 2. Qatar Amiri Flight; A7-HHH 3. Royal Thai Air Force; HS-TYV 4. Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force); I-TALY 5. Turkey; TC-CAN (ex: TS-KRT) 6. Algeria; 7T-VPP 7. Kuwait; 9K-GBA 8. Kuwait; 9K-GBB 9. Las Vegas Sands Corporation; VP-BMS

[@dunit4907]

Love You A340-500. You will stay in our Hearts. We will miss you. We wish you come back.

[@danvalentine2997]

Emirates Sydney - Christchurch in First on the A345 some years back. Lovely plane. Had the whole cabin to myself which made it even better :)

[@cockyrooster361]

340-5 was the nicest looking passenger plane ever made...

[@nezbrun872]

The A340-500 was also used for the launch of the Emirates F suite that's still in use today on most of Emirates' fleet that has a first class cabin. That F suite found its way onto the A380 and eventually the 777 fleet too, and only recently has there been a very limited roll out of the "game changer" new F. I was lucky enough to travel on Emirates' A340-500 routes from Dubai to Australia and New Zealand in the mid 2000s about a dozen times in the F cabin, it really was quite an upgrade from the old La-Z-Boy style in the F cabin of the rest of Emirates' fleet at the time. There wasn't any other product like it at the time, and it still cuts the mustard.

[@AvianCrave]

I like how there is a AZAL A340-500 :), rest in peace :(

[@thehighlander959]

I flew Emirates A345 from Dubai UAE to Tripoli Libya on many occasions. A very comfortable flight in Business Class.

[@ericee2214]

Good news: There is still one scheduled flight on May 26 according to FlightAware.

[@skylineXpert]

I usually had a great time on the a340 in general, albeit i only flew on the -300 and outside in particular. Maho beach was fun

[@WonderfulAircraft]

I'll miss the A340. I understand why it's not popular, but the look of a single deck widebody aircraft is so rare now that's it's sad to see it go

[@Chris58851]

Goodnight sweet prince, I flew with A345 on special trip BKK to NRT once and had a great experience onboard.

[@Tomi.762]

A moment of silence for the beautiful A340-500

[@donaldstanfield8862]

Noooooo!

[@valmirsallahu4209]

I was on the HiFly A340 but from Copenhagen to JFK. I have no idea why the aircraft got switched from a 787-9 to a A340 but I wasn’t complaining. I believe it was due to the RR engine problems at the time. Once on board it was severely outdated, no working IFE, dirty seats, no working outside camera, and broken foot rest like every other seat. Other than that it was a nice experience to be on a rare airline. Would I recommend you fly on it? No absolutely not. If you want to fly on a340 just to fly on a a340 then yes. I am honored I had the opportunity to fly on this bird over the Atlantic.

[@stuartd8233]

Not flown the A340-500 but have in SriLankan airlines A340-300, best business class seats ever.! Soft, plush, wide, so comfortable you just sink into them, like the seats in the old Citroen DS. Love Airbus wide bodies, so much space.

[@abhinavkalyan2880]

so sad about the type's extiction but u guys give really extensive coverage on aviation good work guys thanks for making so many nice aviation videos.

[@davidh9844]

Flew with Singapore in their original Premium Economy, non stop LA to Singapore in 2004 on the A345. Pleasant aircraft, significantly reduced seating throughout. Superb food and service - typical for Singapore. Biggest surprise was how much louder the aircraft was compared to the 343. The noise factor was a major turnoff for seeking out the aircraft in the future. The 15+ hour flight was a breeze, amazing what a little in cabin comfort and some decent food can do for a flight. But for total comfort, today you travel on an A350 or an A380 (if available...).

[@Prodagist]

Got to fly on one of these beatiful aircraft with Air Canada in the 3 short years that they had them. Sad to see these aircraft go, but im overjoyed that I got the chance to sit on one, even if I was too young to remember much of it. Easily the coolest aircraft Ive ever been on.

[@netpop]

Former Thai Airways A340-500 is now still in active with Thai Royal Air Force serving for the state VIPs

[@spongebubatz]

There’s also the Las Vegas Sands A345, both aren’t flying for the flying public though

[@kreidefelsen]

Still one of my favourite airplanes...sad its gone ( .__.)

[@meow1990_2]

I was scheduled to fly the AZ A340-500 two years ago but they rescheduled it to a B787! :(

[@emesshots1161]

I think I flew the A340-500 from Baku to New York. That flight, and Azerbaijan airline in general, was one of the nicest, and comfortable flights I’ve ever been on.

[@josecarlosalvarezalonso3020]

Sad. Beautiful bird that carried us from Spain to USA years ago safety and confortable.

[@danieldeaconu2211]

Wee will miss you a340 500 i can remember when i flight from Moskau to azerbajan

[@MayankPawar27]

Firstl! Hi Simple Flying! 👋

[@reddead_73]

How sad. The A340 is such a beautiful aircraft that airbus has ever produced. What’s even more sad is that it will probably never fly again. The a340 is truly the most graceful aircraft to ever fly. May it’s legacy be remembered. I understand that the a340 isn’t fuel efficient for some airlines, but there is something so special about this beautiful aircraft. I hope the a340 continues flying for some airlines in the future.

[@jfmezei]

You forgot Air Canada as 340-500 operator. It had initially ordered it to fly/open new long haul routes (such as the routes to So-Pac inherited from its purchase of Canadian Airlines), When AC entered bankruptcy protection (CCAA in Canada equivalent to Chapter 11 in USA), Air Canada tried to cancel the contract, but Airbus countered in courrt that finances were in favour of AC accepting 2 340-500s and operating them instead of older aircraft, this generating revenue and saving on fuel, versus paying cancellation penalties and having no revenue potential from those cancellation penalties. The judge agreed and AC got 2 A340-500 at a discount and operated them between 2004-2007. (it emerged from CCAA in 2004). The caveat: the "discount" AC got was because instead of getting the new A340-500s it had ordered, it got some test aircrtaft with unusable fuel capacity and thus regular range compared to normal 340.

[@emaheiwa8174]

Such a beautiful plane 😥. I used to wait till 0830 AM every thursday to watch an A340 300 of Iberia flying over Buenos Aires

[@julosx]

These last years, Iberia would rather fly A340-642 for these routes. It's sad to not see them anymore, especially given the 642 was the latest variant along with the 313. Quite a few of them are barely older than 10 years old !

[@turbofanlover]

The A340 is still my fav Airbus aircraft. Nothing else comes close on the Airbus side. I'm really gonna miss the old girl.

[@donaldstanfield8862]

Sad, it's a beautiful aircraft!

[@TomGD]

I was gonna plan to enjoy the AZAL A340-500, but sadly COVID really jacked up a lot of plans. I guess I shall never enjoy it anymore ;(

[@georgemukasabukenya1462]

I used to fly on A340-500 on Ebb to Dxb several times between 2012 and 2014

[@ZalmaiPashtun]

Flew it on KBL - DXB route on Emirates in 2015, very quite cabin

[@loucassavva3532]

Not gonna lie. I'm more sad that the A340 is being retired than I am that 747s are being retired

[@Tobu9105F]

Same bro but for me, the 767 is also quite sad

[@richardmorris319]

I flew this from Baku to Dubai 3 or 4 years ago, it was dated inside but glad I did.

[@alyshaputri1665]

I love a340-500 ITS beautiful long range four engine and one of the longest range airliner

[@ralphsmith242]

It is a classic example of the costs of government subsidy for new aircraft types. A commercial aircraft manufacturer would never have built the A340; a lot of money would have been saved.

[@Emperorvalse]

I always loved the proportions of the A340-500. Seems so beautiful but of course doesn't change the economics of the ULR layout required meaning very poor returns.

[@donaldstanfield8862]

It's a beautiful aircraft.

[@Jabid21]

RIP A345. It was my favorite a340.

[@henrykaung9064]

Can't even believe thd A345 is going outta the passenger jet market! Never was able to spot one but it's a really amazing plane! I hope there will be some freighters still flying!

[@spongebubatz]

The A340 never was a Cargo plane, there are only some temporary "preighters" of the -300 and -600 around! The A340-500 is still around as a VIP plane of e.g. Las Vegas Sands and the Governments/Air Forces of Thailand, Qatar and Kuwait!

[@Sacto1654]

The problem: the A340-500 consumed quite a lot of fuel per passenger for its very long routes (like the ones Singapore Airlines does). That's why that airline dropped the A340-500 eventually and once the A350XWB-900ULR became available, that airline took several to fly the same very long routes.

[@spongebubatz]

It’s important to say that the A340-500 was so fuel thirsty SQ didn’t even wait for a replacement and the A350ULR only reintroduced the route instead of taking it over

[@Sacto1654]

@@spongebubatz Singapore Airlines never really made money flying the A340-500 on these routes despite changing the cabin configuration a couple of times.

[@taaaaaaaaa12]

I flew on an a340-600 not 500 but the 600 was great. It’s such a cool looking plane.

[@donaldstanfield8862]

Love how the engines are spaced, looks amazing

[@dennisdevries2745]

Still flies on the route. Just saw it on FR24

[@jarnotrulli849]

In fact it only returned on the 28th July 2022

[@il_dalla]

Most underrated Airbus ever

[@gregsmith3410]

"Under" lol..😆😆

[@ant2312]

@@gregsmith3410 glad you think its funny no one else does

[@gregsmith3410]

@@ant2312 who cares what u think..my biggest fan.😆😆

[@Real...MADRID-o4q]

I remember seeing an A340 Iberia airlines aircraft in 2020.

[@ElectricGalaxy]

If I had a airline, all my aircraft would be A340 and 777 and maybe the 787

[@oskarkuczowicz5954]

So bankruptcy?

[@dubrovink66]

As a passenger, i would prefer you choose 2-4-2 config planes only.

[@julosx]

If I had an aitrline it would be quad jets in general for long haul travels, like the A340, 380 and Boeing 747.

[@ant2312]

@@oskarkuczowicz5954 where did he say he was bothered about making a profit bone head

[@framkrittin3470]

One of Thai airways A340-500 (HS-TLC) became Royal Thai Air Force A340 (HS-TYV) but the others A345 of Thai still parked at Don Mueang Airport. (A346s were moved to U-Tapao airport)

[@bilalahmed2123]

Oh man, I thought at the end Qatar was bringing back their A340-600’s back into service.

[@jemabetaout5763]

2:35 A340-500 and my hopes shares similar fate, getting smaller and eventually replaced with nothing but retirement.

[@agoldmanbkk]

Used to fly it from BKK-JFK or LAX with Thai when they ran the non-stop routes. I miss those flights. Unfortunately, even with a full flight, TG lost money every time that plane took off.

[@Papershields001]

I was getting a burger at that in and out at LAX one dreary foggy night and an A340-500 burst out of the clouds trailing tip vortices. It was a very cool looking airplane that night.

[@arjunpadmakumar2961]

Must have been an SQ a345!

[@donaldstanfield8862]

Awesome planespotting location, must be popular with that lot!

[@lucascalma605]

It's sad to hear that Azerbaijan Airlines the last A340-500 operator has retired the said type, ending every -500 operators all over the world.

[@kNo1bdy]

People be crying over the a340 500 but no one talking about the md90.

[@gteixeira]

Because the mad dog was retired a few months ago already.

[@ant2312]

the A340 didn't kill people

[@gteixeira]

@@ant2312 A lot of people talk about Hitler to this date and that was exactly because he killed people.

[@kNo1bdy]

@@ant2312 what do you mean

[@gregsmith3410]

Let's have a pity party for a plane that sold 30 units..boo hoo.. honestly ,who cares..like Boeing delivering the last 767 400... another niche aircraft..no one cares about...

[@grahamstevenson1740]

A lovely aircraft killed off by ETOPS. Virgin Atlantic pilots referred to their 4 engines as 'hair dryers' but they did the job fine. I flew in one courtesy of Lufthansa FRA-LHR when they needed a larger aircraft to fit in tons of returning exhibition goers. Spacious and comfy were my impressions, something that the 777 failed to deliver for me.

[@Echo024]

I remember the interview with Kennedy Steve who said handling the A340 was a pain since it was basically a metal tube with 4 hair dryers under the wings.

[@davidwilliams9326]

That was probably a -300, they were very underpowered.

[@ryanstevens6010]

This was probably my favorite variety of A340 but it was horribly inefficient. I remember the special lightweight baggage containers SQ used in order to make those long flights, first with 180 seats, later reduced to just 100. No cargo was carried on those flights, for obvious reasons, making even less money for them; it’s said that airlines lose money above the floor but make money below it. They would have been better off with a 777-200LR, which wasn’t yet available, but even so very few people were willing to pay the premium for the extra room and to save a couple of hours.

[@adityakoli2002]

Glad I got to spot it in Dubai

[@wsly1001]

It would be very very rare if the A340-500 meets the A340-300

[@FundierteForelle]

I once flew the a340-500 with emirates from dubai to the seychelles! The business class was super outdated.

[@ca1mello]

Yes. CPT to DXB on Emirates. Excellent experience.

[@Iffy350]

No one thought of scooping these up for cargo use?

[@giuseppersa2391]

Utterly heartbreaking stuff

[@KTo288]

I live under the Heathrow flight path and the A340's four engines and long thin fusealages were always instantly recognizable in a world now made up of twin jets.

[@ianendangan7462]

I only flew in an A340 with Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Jakarta in 2002.

[@j3l01andersonleeyichun5]

I hope they can make a airbus a340neo, once this aircraft is very stable and this aircraft can resistance turbelence

[@nilzenjohnladaban9054]

A very sad year for all quad aircraft....... even i don't flew the a340-500 all quad will be missed

[@julosx]

The 340-500s are mainly government planes like the Thai and the Koweiti ones.

[@Yazennnnnn]

This is sad news:/ glad I got to fly it twice from Abu Dhabi to Istanbul and back with Etihad some years ago. However, just yesterday an Emiri Kuwaiti A345 flew over my house so I guess it technically not extinct fully.

[@done-ahhh578]

Airbus built a whole line of quads. The A340 family + the A380. Just in time for the decline of the quads. Tragic. An example of heindsight being 20:20. Atleast the A330 and A350 family are popular. The A330 and A340 were sister programmes so hopefully the A330 success offset the A340s failure in the long run.