Quick Links A brief history of the Airbus A340-200 So what led to the Airbus A340-200's lack of commercial success? The bottom line when it comes to the Airbus A340-200 When Airbus launched the Airbus A340 in 1987, many industry analysts predicted that the aircraft would become one of the most successful. This young European manufacturer, with something to prove, had demonstrated its capabilities for building intercontinental aircraft when it introduced the Airbus A300 in the decades prior, a jet that, despite its shortcomings, introduced several innovations such as the two-pilot cockpit. Get all the latest aviation news from Simple Flying! When determining which aircraft they would produce next, market analysts suggested that the manufacturer enter either one of two markets.
The first set of analysts argued that the manufacturer should continue to target the mid-capacity long-haul segment, by building on its previous work on the Airbus A300. This line of thinking centered around the belief that, in the long term, the need to improve fuel efficiency would soon require almost all long-haul aircraft to just have two engines, as these reduce operating costs significantly for airlines. In 1985, aerospace regulatory agencies began to introduce Extended-Range Twin-Engine Operational Performance Standards (ETOPS).
These certifications allowed air carriers to operate nonstop flights across large stretches of ocean water with twin-engine jets, something which had previously just been .
