AIR WIKI

The A340-300 flies 295 passengers in a typical three-class cabin layout over 6,700 nautical miles (12,400 km). This is the initial version, having flown on 25 October 1991, and entered service with Lufthansa and Air France in March 1993. It is powered by four CFMI CFM56-5C engines and uses the Honeywell 331–350[A] APU,[56] similar to the −200. Its closest competitor is the Boeing 777-200ER. The A340-300 will be superseded by the A350-900.

The A340-300E, often mislabelled as A340-300X, has an increased MTOW of up to 275 tonnes (606,000 lb) and is powered by the more powerful 34,000 lbf (150 kN) thrust CFMICFM56-5C4 engines. Typical range with 295 passengers is between 7,200 to 7,400 nautical miles (13,300 to 13,700 km). The largest operator of this type is Lufthansa with 30 aircraft. It was first delivered to Singapore Airlines in April 1996, though Singapore Airlines no longer operates this model. Two A340-300 were acquired by the Flugbereitschaft of the German Air Force to serve as VIP transports for the leaders of the German government and the German President. Service entry will be 2011.

The A340-300 Enhanced is the latest version of this type and was first delivered to South African Airways in 2003, with Air Mauritius implementing the A340-300 Enhanced as part of their fleet in 2006. It received newer CFM56-5C4/P engines and improved avionics and fly-by-wire systems developed for the A340-500 and −600.