A340 troubles, the latest news...

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Ancient Mariner
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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Ancient Mariner » Wed Mar 18, 2009 9:14 pm

Ken Pilot?
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Very funny, but no.....not that Ken Pilot.

This Pilot who looks after his Crew.
J. Crew Group Inc. has named Ken Pilot as CEO effective Sept. 9. He replaces Mark Sarvary, who left the company in May.
Per

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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby flyboy2548m » Wed Mar 18, 2009 9:16 pm

Anyone? Anyone?
I suspect you mean Gordon Bethune.

Anyway, it's always dangerous to extrapolate from one example, as you of course well know.
And as you, of course, know at least as well, one example out of a hundred may be insignificant, but one out of only five or so may of somewhat greater relevance. As Sir Winston Churchill would have said, you're a modest man with much to be modest about.
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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Dummy Pilot » Wed Mar 18, 2009 9:39 pm

Former Continental CEO Gordon Bethune:

Image






I'm not saying that either is doing a bang-up job, but it's worth noting that the CEOs of the two largest airlines in the US are both licensed pilots (American's Gerard Arpey and Delta's Richard Anderson).

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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby flyboy2548m » Wed Mar 18, 2009 9:46 pm

I'm not saying that either is doing a bang-up job, but it's worth noting that the CEOs of the two largest airlines in the US are both licensed pilots (American's Gerard Arpey and Delta's Richard Anderson).
That may be, but Mr. Arpey only holds a PPL as I believe does Mr. Anderson, whereas Mr. Bethune holds a CPL with B757/767 type as well as an A & P.
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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Schorsch » Wed Mar 18, 2009 11:28 pm

I highly doubt any pilots would have picked that disaster of an airplane, but thank you for playing.
Thank goodness. As bad as things are in the industry, things would be a heck of a lot worse if pilots were in charge.
We would have more aircraft with three and four engines and cockpits with 4 guys sitting inside.
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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Dmmoore » Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:54 am

Prior to deregulation, "MOST" airline presidents and CEO's were either former military pilots or dreamers with a vision for aviation's future. After deregulation, the aviation environment changed, most former pilot executives were not equipped to cope with the financial realities of the new environment.

And then there were Carl Icahn and Frank Lorenzo. Two men bent on destroying airline and airline employees lives.
Don
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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Verbal » Wed Mar 25, 2009 4:51 pm

Hey, I just noticed the text on the packaging perfectly describes flyboy. Not really.
Ken_pilot.jpg
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Maybe it should read, "Pilot changes into drunk, naked date in the woods!" There, that's better.
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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Verbal » Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:00 pm

Qatar Airways Limps On With Airbus A340s
February 15, 2010

Emirates cancelled their order for A340-600s when it became apparent that is was a gas-guzzling monster whose future was about as clear as mud. Rival Qatar Airways has stuck by this delinquent and now pays the price.

And we’re not talking about the 25% higher fuel burn it has either – Qatar Airways has added more revenue seats to its A340-600s and removed the weighty cabin lounge furnishings as it attempts to better compete for high yield traffic with Emirates and Etihad Airways.

As my learned colleague Doug McVitie eloquently put it, the A340-600 “is a piece of spaghetti with wings.”

Almost a year ago, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, said "If I could, I would throw them away. These planes are not efficient at all."

A far cry from his 2006 comments saying that "We look forward to seeing passengers…on this [A340-600] wonderful aircraft."

Amazing how the same thing can be so awful in just three years.

With a backlog of just seven airplanes left, Airbus’ A340 has languished from the moment the 777 entered service. As Qatar Airways takes more 777 deliveries, and from next year 787s, the A340s will quickly be disposed of. Oil price rises, the chase for fuel efficiency and strong residual airplane value means that these A340s will be stood down never to return to active service.

It is clear that the investment made on this and sister ship A340-500 has produced nothing but a loss, however, now that Airbus has been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century with a long range, twin aisle, twin engine family in the A350XWB, the sales success so far of that airplane has won 25% more orders in contrast to the A340 before assembly of the first example has even been completed.

It may have taken Airbus a while to realise that twins, not quads are the way forward - the A340 will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Not quite the legacy Airbus had hoped for with its first quad-jet, but then its second quad-jet in the A380 hasn't set the world alight either.
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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Sickbag » Wed Feb 17, 2010 10:09 am

Qatar Airways Limps On With Airbus A340s
February 15, 2010

Emirates cancelled their order for A340-600s when it became apparent that is was a gas-guzzling monster whose future was about as clear as mud. Rival Qatar Airways has stuck by this delinquent and now pays the price.

And we’re not talking about the 25% higher fuel burn it has either – Qatar Airways has added more revenue seats to its A340-600s and removed the weighty cabin lounge furnishings as it attempts to better compete for high yield traffic with Emirates and Etihad Airways.

As my learned colleague Doug McVitie eloquently put it, the A340-600 “is a piece of spaghetti with wings.”

Almost a year ago, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, said "If I could, I would throw them away. These planes are not efficient at all."

A far cry from his 2006 comments saying that "We look forward to seeing passengers…on this [A340-600] wonderful aircraft."

Amazing how the same thing can be so awful in just three years.

With a backlog of just seven airplanes left, Airbus’ A340 has languished from the moment the 777 entered service. As Qatar Airways takes more 777 deliveries, and from next year 787s, the A340s will quickly be disposed of. Oil price rises, the chase for fuel efficiency and strong residual airplane value means that these A340s will be stood down never to return to active service.

It is clear that the investment made on this and sister ship A340-500 has produced nothing but a loss, however, now that Airbus has been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century with a long range, twin aisle, twin engine family in the A350XWB, the sales success so far of that airplane has won 25% more orders in contrast to the A340 before assembly of the first example has even been completed.

It may have taken Airbus a while to realise that twins, not quads are the way forward - the A340 will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Not quite the legacy Airbus had hoped for with its first quad-jet, but then its second quad-jet in the A380 hasn't set the world alight either.

Linky?
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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Verbal » Wed Feb 17, 2010 6:44 pm

"I'm putting an end to this f*ckery." - Rayna Boyanov

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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Sickbag » Wed Feb 17, 2010 7:01 pm


Thought so :The organisation with 250,000 'experts' working for it.
Carry on.
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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Verbal » Wed Feb 17, 2010 7:48 pm

Carry on.
Up The Khyber?

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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Sickbag » Wed Feb 17, 2010 10:41 pm

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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby capslock » Fri Feb 19, 2010 5:43 pm

Qatar Airways Limps On With Airbus A340s

And we’re not talking about the 25% higher fuel burn it has either – Qatar Airways has added more revenue seats to its A340-600s and removed the weighty cabin lounge furnishings as it attempts to better compete for high yield traffic with Emirates and Etihad Airways.

As my learned colleague Doug McVitie eloquently put it, the A340-600 “is a piece of spaghetti with wings.”

Almost a year ago, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, said "If I could, I would throw them away. These planes are not efficient at all."
Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, does it? Emirates and Etihad are also operating a bunch of 345 and 346. If Qatar is at a disadvantage, then due to "weighty lounge furnishings", two few seats or using them on the wrong routes. Also, if their business model is to sell planes before they are five years old, it doesn't make sense to badmouth a model they still want to sell.

Also, in LH, which was until recently a very profitable airline, 34x are the mainstay of the longhaul fleet. They use them even on routes such has FRA-BOS where a 332 or 333 would be more efficient. I have often wondered why they have so many 343 and 346 (50+) vs. only about 15 332/333 planes, and why they have chosen to replace aging 342/343 with 346 rathern than 33x or 77x if the 346 was really as inefficient as some say. At least with the 33x, commonality could not have been an issue.

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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby B77W-QOTS » Sat Feb 20, 2010 12:10 pm

Seems down the track EK are going to dump their A345's (well from Australian routes) MEL goes to all B77W's from October.
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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby J » Fri Nov 11, 2011 3:06 pm

Airbus Discontinues A340 And A350 Sees Further Delays

* * * *
Airbus terminated production of its four-engine A340 jet which began in 1993, as a result of Boeing’s twin-engine 777 models. Airbus reported terminating the program will lead to a $261 million savings. The Airbus A340 held the record for the longest civil aircraft until Boeing came out with the 747-8 jumbo jet.

Bertrand Grabowski, managing director of the transport group at DVB Bank SE, among the biggest aircraft financiers in Europe said “In an environment where the fuel price is high, the A340 has had no chance to compete against similar twin engines, and the current lease rates and values of this aircraft reflect the deep resistance of any airlines to continue operating it”.

http://avstop.com/news_november_2011/ai ... delays.htm

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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby 666 » Sun Nov 13, 2011 2:01 pm

So now airlines that can't do ETOPS are stuck with 380s, 748s, and second hand 340s from Qatar?

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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby OldSowBreath » Mon Nov 14, 2011 4:57 pm

I wonder if old A340 pilots sit around and reminisce, "What was it doing then?"

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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Gabriel » Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:34 pm

So now airlines that can't do ETOPS are stuck with 380s, 748s, and second hand 340s from Qatar?
Well, Aerolíneas Argentinas is switching from it's mixed wide-body fleet of 6 A340 and 3 B-747-400 to a single-type fleet of 13 A340.

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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby J » Mon Apr 20, 2015 2:40 pm

I guess airlines don't prefer 4 engines for the long haul after all.

Thai Airways retires Airbus A340-600s

Thai Airways International has formally retired the Airbus A340-600 aircraft from service.

The type operated its last flights on the Frankfurt-Bangkok, Singapore-Bangkok, and Zurich-Singapore routes on 28 March, information on FlightRadar24 shows.

Flghtglobal’s Ascend Fleets database shows that the Star Alliance carrier had operated six Airbus A340-600s. It took delivery of its first of the type (HS-TNA) in June 2005, and its last in October 2008 :o .

In response to queries from Flightglobal, the airline says these aircraft will be sold off accordingly. Services previously operated by the A340-600 has since been replaced with other aircraft types.

FlightRadar24 indicates that five of the six aircraft were moved from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International airport to Utapao International airport on 1 April.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... 0s-410839/

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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby reubee » Tue Apr 21, 2015 12:16 pm

I guess airlines don't prefer 4 engines for the long haul after all.

Thai Airways retires Airbus A340-600s

Thai Airways International has formally retired the Airbus A340-600 aircraft from service.

The type operated its last flights on the Frankfurt-Bangkok, Singapore-Bangkok, and Zurich-Singapore routes on 28 March, information on FlightRadar24 shows.

Flghtglobal’s Ascend Fleets database shows that the Star Alliance carrier had operated six Airbus A340-600s. It took delivery of its first of the type (HS-TNA) in June 2005, and its last in October 2008 :o .

In response to queries from Flightglobal, the airline says these aircraft will be sold off accordingly. Services previously operated by the A340-600 has since been replaced with other aircraft types.

FlightRadar24 indicates that five of the six aircraft were moved from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International airport to Utapao International airport on 1 April.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... 0s-410839/
Lan Chile have recently replaced the A340 on Santiago (SCL)-Auckland (AKL) with 787. There is a lot of water, and not a lot of alternates in the South Pacific Ocean.
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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby J » Mon Jun 11, 2018 1:58 pm

The following video shows an LH at FRA this morning (June 11) with fire damage caused by a burning tug. The video states the 18-year-old plane was not occupied by passengers and the damage "seems limited." I suspect an A340 of this age with what looks like skin damage (and I assume damage to the avionics bay) is as the Germans say, KAPUT.

https://youtu.be/cvjHCrop6G0

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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Gabriel » Mon Jun 11, 2018 11:13 pm

The following video shows an LH at FRA this morning (June 11) with fire damage caused by a burning tug. The video states the 18-year-old plane was not occupied by passengers and the damage "seems limited." I suspect an A340 of this age with what looks like skin damage (and I assume damage to the avionics bay) is as the Germans say, KAPUT.

https://youtu.be/cvjHCrop6G0
Yes, LH reported the cockpit was massively affected by smoke damage.

Of course, not reported by LH, but other parts were massively affected by fire damage.
If the first 30 ft of the plane can be economically cut clean and replaced, then it can be saved. So it can't.

Couple of videos in there too:
http://avherald.com/h?article=4b9bfba4&opt=0

The aircraft seen after the fire was put out by emergency services (Photo: Jacdec):
Image

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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby flyboy2548m » Wed Jun 13, 2018 9:21 pm


If the first 30 ft of the plane can be economically cut clean and replaced, then it can be saved. So it can't.
Noted. Is that from two airline mechanic youtube videos or is it just your own opinion backed by decades of airliner repair experience?
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Re: A340 troubles, the latest news...

Postby Not_Karl » Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:08 am

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