Originally Posted by
Admiral Ackbar
Yes the A330/A340 program was a complete failure (can't mention one without the other since it was the same program but you know that). Believe the 330 is the most operated widebody in the world.
The 340 was a failure. The 330 was not. But because of commonality, the overall program was not a failure.
ETOPS180 (which Airbus should have seen coming to be fair) killed the 340 (pilot commonality must have been another Airbus weakness for this type) as it did all quads.
I don't really believe the issue was about not having seen the ETOPS extensions coming. But more about the (very misguided) perception that crossing oceans on two engines was somewhat scary. A number of airlines would not buy long range twins. Virgin Atlantic was one of the most vocal.
But also, the 340 was significantly underpowered because there were no other suitable engines. And not as efficient as if it would have been a design optimized for four engines. Specifically, the wings were overdesigned for the 340 because it was shared with the 330, with more concentrated loads hence requiring a stronger wing.
There was probably also a range issue initially with the 330. Which progressively improved as they introduced higher gross weight versions.