IATA 342ICAO A342

Airbus A340-200

Airbus

TravelerPulse profile

Long-range four-engine widebody built for ultra-long routes.

First flight

1992

Category

Wide-body jet

Seating

239–303 passengers (typical two-class)

Range

~15,000 km

Engines

Four CFM International CFM56-5C2/5C4 turbofans

Status

Retired

The Airbus A340-200 is the shorter-fuselage variant of the original A340 family, designed for ultra-long-range operations with a reduced passenger capacity compared to its longer sibling, the A340-300. It entered service in the early 1990s and was developed concurrently with the twin-engine A330, sharing a common fuselage cross-section and many systems. Powered by four CFM56-5C turbofan engines, the A340-200 offered airlines the ability to operate extended-range international routes without the ETOPS restrictions that applied to twin-engine aircraft at the time. Its range of approximately 15,000 km made it suitable for some of the longest non-stop routes in commercial aviation. Only 28 aircraft of the A340-200 variant were built, making it the least-produced member of the A340 family. It was eventually outcompeted by more fuel-efficient twin-engine widebodies and was withdrawn from most airline fleets relatively early in its service life.

Notable operators

Major operators included South African Airways, Lufthansa, and Air Mauritius, with limited fleet sizes across all carriers.

Notable facts

›Only 28 A340-200s were ever built, making it the rarest variant in the A340 family.
›It shares a common type rating with the A340-300, reducing airline crew training costs.
›The A340-200 entered service with Lufthansa and Air France in early 1993.
›Its four CFM56 engines provided redundancy beneficial for transoceanic routes before ETOPS rules were relaxed.
›The aircraft's range enabled non-stop service on some of the longest city pairs of its era.