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~~I'm a classics collector - so I find myself in something of a humble pie position in that my last box of models included a pair of A340s which I would usually not consider to be classics at all. Plus I have only just started getting a few European models at all and now alongside an Iberia delivery colours DC-10, Aer Lingus delivery colours 747, Swissair Caravelle, CSA IL-62 etc I have an Austrian A340!
My feeble justification is that both of my new A340s are series 200s which are nowadays considered obsolete. Only 28 were built and nowadays only 9 remain in service (with Aerolineas Argentinas, Royal Jordanian and SAA) though several frames have found uses as private or military aircraft. Plus the Austrian aircraft is in a classic scheme which it wore for only a couple of years when newly delivered.
The A340-200 was the first A340 into service and was designed for long-thin routes and is roughly comparable in size to the classic tri-jets. Range for the type is very impressive: up to 15,000 kms at MTOW (only 200kms less than a roughly similarly sized 787-8) though 10,000 kg heavier at Operating Empty Weight its MTOW was 40,000 kg more. Its time in the limelight was short though - and improvements to the A340-300 closed the range gap and of course being larger it has lower CASM. Further improvements to the A330 and the advent of the 777-200ER sealed its fate entirely (and that of the A340-300 too).
Still there's no denying that the A340 is a beauty and the series 200 in particular looks great as its wingspan is in fact greater than its fuselage length!
I must also say that I was a critic of AC when they started making the big buses but they have produced a range of lovely models which often fit into the past twenty years and so are unlikely to be made by Phoenix or Gemini. So bravo to them (though I could do with less current ones) their A340s are a triumph and I am very pleased to own a pair (especially at the prices I got them at).
Here they are:
Austrian Airlines OE-LAG
Aside from a short-lived agreement with Sabena from 1969-1971 Austrian only became an intercontinental airline when they received their first A310 in 1986. Initial services connected Vienna with New York and Tokyo via Moscow. Fleet expansion continued from 1995 when the first two A340-200s arrived which were followed by a trio of A340-300s. In 2006 mounting losses saw the entire Airbus long-haul fleet sold and many international destinations stopped. The pair of A340-200s were both sold and leased by the French Air Force where this aircraft has become F-RAJA.
Austrian Airlines Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Austrian Airlines Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Austrian Airlines Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Austrian Airlines Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Conviasa YV1004
Following Viasa’s bankruptcy in 1997 Venezuela remained without a national carrier until the creation of Conviasa in 2004. The airline leased a single A340 in 2007 to take over the Damascus-Tehran route from Iran Air. This service flown for political reasons was routed via Madrid and flown twice weekly. Later the A340 was also flown to Madrid and Damascus on direct routes and also Buenos Aires. The aircraft was withdrawn in mid 2012 after suffering a collision with an Aserca MD80 and the airline’s long-haul routes have since been flown with various wet-leased 747s, 767s, 777s and A330s. Originally F-GLZD from October 93, one of six delivered to Air France, this airframe later saw service with Air Tahiti Nui and Air Bourbon as F-OITN and from April 2005 with Air Europa as EC-JGU ‘Pedro Duque’. She is currently stored at Bordeaux awaiting scrapping.
Conviasa Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Conviasa Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Conviasa Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Conviasa Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
My feeble justification is that both of my new A340s are series 200s which are nowadays considered obsolete. Only 28 were built and nowadays only 9 remain in service (with Aerolineas Argentinas, Royal Jordanian and SAA) though several frames have found uses as private or military aircraft. Plus the Austrian aircraft is in a classic scheme which it wore for only a couple of years when newly delivered.
The A340-200 was the first A340 into service and was designed for long-thin routes and is roughly comparable in size to the classic tri-jets. Range for the type is very impressive: up to 15,000 kms at MTOW (only 200kms less than a roughly similarly sized 787-8) though 10,000 kg heavier at Operating Empty Weight its MTOW was 40,000 kg more. Its time in the limelight was short though - and improvements to the A340-300 closed the range gap and of course being larger it has lower CASM. Further improvements to the A330 and the advent of the 777-200ER sealed its fate entirely (and that of the A340-300 too).
Still there's no denying that the A340 is a beauty and the series 200 in particular looks great as its wingspan is in fact greater than its fuselage length!
I must also say that I was a critic of AC when they started making the big buses but they have produced a range of lovely models which often fit into the past twenty years and so are unlikely to be made by Phoenix or Gemini. So bravo to them (though I could do with less current ones) their A340s are a triumph and I am very pleased to own a pair (especially at the prices I got them at).
Here they are:
Austrian Airlines OE-LAG
Aside from a short-lived agreement with Sabena from 1969-1971 Austrian only became an intercontinental airline when they received their first A310 in 1986. Initial services connected Vienna with New York and Tokyo via Moscow. Fleet expansion continued from 1995 when the first two A340-200s arrived which were followed by a trio of A340-300s. In 2006 mounting losses saw the entire Airbus long-haul fleet sold and many international destinations stopped. The pair of A340-200s were both sold and leased by the French Air Force where this aircraft has become F-RAJA.
Austrian Airlines Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Austrian Airlines Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Austrian Airlines Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Austrian Airlines Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Conviasa YV1004
Following Viasa’s bankruptcy in 1997 Venezuela remained without a national carrier until the creation of Conviasa in 2004. The airline leased a single A340 in 2007 to take over the Damascus-Tehran route from Iran Air. This service flown for political reasons was routed via Madrid and flown twice weekly. Later the A340 was also flown to Madrid and Damascus on direct routes and also Buenos Aires. The aircraft was withdrawn in mid 2012 after suffering a collision with an Aserca MD80 and the airline’s long-haul routes have since been flown with various wet-leased 747s, 767s, 777s and A330s. Originally F-GLZD from October 93, one of six delivered to Air France, this airframe later saw service with Air Tahiti Nui and Air Bourbon as F-OITN and from April 2005 with Air Europa as EC-JGU ‘Pedro Duque’. She is currently stored at Bordeaux awaiting scrapping.
Conviasa Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Conviasa Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Conviasa Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
Conviasa Airbus A340-200 by rstretton, on Flickr
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