Summary

  • Emirates operated a total of 18 Airbus A340s between 2003 and 2016, becoming the first airline to operate the ultra-long-range A340-500 model.
  • The A340s were gradually phased out of Emirates' fleet, with some being scrapped, stored, or transferred to other operators.
  • Today, Emirates' passenger fleet consists of 119 Airbus A380s and 134 Boeing 777s, marking a significant shift from the A340 era. The A380 has become the headline act for the airline.

It has now been around seven years since UAE flag carrier Emirates retired its last Airbus A340 in 2016. It was the end of an era for the popular quadjet, of which Emirates had 18 over a 13-year timeframe. But what exactly happened to all of those Airbus A340s, and where are they now? Let's take a closer look and find out.

Emirates' A340 story in a nutshell

Data from ATDB.aero shows that, between late 2003 and late 2016, Emirates flew a grand total of eight leased Airbus A340-300s and ten examples of the A340-500 model. In October 2003, when the first A340-500 touched down in Dubai, Emirates became the first airline to operate the ultra-long-range aircraft. According to Scoop, Emirates CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum stated in 2005 that:

"The presence of longer-range aircraft in our fleet reflects our business strategy, which focuses on medium and long-haul routes. The quantum leap for Emirates came when it became the first airline in the world to operate the ultra-long-range Airbus A340-500."

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Emirates Airbus A340 Landing In Malta
Photo: InsectWorld/Shutterstock

Back in the early to mid-2000s, Emirates was the largest customer for the Airbus A330/A340 family in the world, having ordered 54 aircraft that include A330-200s, A340-500s, and A340-600s. Today, its passenger fleet looks rather different, with ch-aviation.com showing that it consists of 119 Airbus A380s and 134 Boeing 777s.

A340 arrivals and departures at Emirates

The first Airbus A340 to join Emirates' growing fleet arrived at the Dubai-based UAE flag carrier in October 2003. Bearing the registration A6-ERB, the aircraft was a brand-new A340-500, direct from Toulouse, powered by four Rolls-Royce Trent 500s. Following this, a further three A340-500s joined the fleet by the end of 2003.

From January 2004, the A340-300s began to arrive. Over the course of 2004, eight A340-300s and a further four A340-500s arrived at Emirates. The final two, A6-ERI and A6-ERJ, both Airbus A340-500s, arrived in August and September of 2005, respectively. This completed the fleet of 18 A340s that Emirates would operate.

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Emirates Airbus A340 Taxiing In Moscow
Photo: Nordroden/Shutterstock

Between November 2014 and March 2015, the four A340-500s that arrived in 2003 were withdrawn from Emirates' service. After this, they went to Toulouse, France to become the property of Airbus Financial Services. Three of the four were scrapped, while the fourth saw a little more movement after its spell at Emirates.

Specifically, A6-ERD, was ferried to Johannesburg where a new owner, Global Aviation Operations, awaited. Global is a South African lease company that provides wet, damp, and dry leasing to worldwide operators. After its transfer, the aircraft was re-registered as 2-RLBC, and it is now sitting in storage in Johannesburg.

Emirates Airbus A340 Front Profile
Photo: InsectWorld/Shutterstock

In 2004, 12 A340s were delivered to Emirates. That's a hectic delivery schedule, but Emirates always thinks big. Eight of those 12 A340s delivered in 2004 were leased A340-300s. Nine years later, in 2013, four of those eight A340-300s were returned to the lessor. The planes were A6-ERQ, A6-ERS, A6-ERR, and A6-ERT.

Old Emirates A340s got scrapped, stored, or sometimes put into service elsewhere

An Airbus A340-500 also left the Emirates fleet in 2013, namely the example bearing the registration A6-ERF, which was scrapped in 2014 at Ras Al Khaimah Airport. The remaining four leased A340-300s stayed with Emirates until 2016. Then they too went back to the lessors, before joining Hi Fly Malta. Of these, one remains active, another is being converted to carry cargo, and two are lying derelict.

All in all, that still leaves ten ex-Emirates Airbus A340s unaccounted for. Some of those ten planes have since been scrapped, such as A6-ERA, which was bought by Universal Asset Management in 2019 but later broken up in Lourdes, France. Meanwhile, A340-500s A6-ERB, A6-ERC, and A6-ERE all were broken up in 2018.

Emirates Airbus A340 Taxiing Past A380 In Dubai
Photo: Mehdi Photos/Shutterstock

Meanwhile, A6-ERG is in storage at Lourdes. According to the Aviation Safety Network, this aircraft suffered a severe tail strike on take-off in Melbourne in March of 2009 due to an incorrectly calculated take-off weight. The quadjet was just four years and five months old at the time, and was out of service for seven months.

Like A6-ERD, A6-ERH went to Global Aviation Operations in South Africa, and is now in storage in Johannesburg. This is also the case for A6-ERJ, whereas A6-ERI is reportedly in storage in Teruel. Emirates' final Airbus A340 flight was operated by A6-ERE in 2016, flying from Kabul back to its Dubai hub.

Shortly after this, Emirates also phased out its last Airbus A330 widebodies, and subsequently became the first airline to operate only Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s. Out of a modest fleet of 18 A340s, Emirates now has none, but the airline has come a long way since 2003. The A340 was part of the story, but never became the Emirates story - that headline act probably belongs to the A380.

What are your memories of Emirates' Airbus A340 fleet? Did you ever fly on one of these quadjets back in the day? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

Sources: ATDB.aero, Aviation Safety Network, ch-aviation.com, Scoop

  • Emirates, Airbus A380, Penultimate
    Emirates
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    EK/UAE
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Dubai International Airport
    Year Founded:
    1985
    CEO:
    Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum
    Country:
    United Arab Emirates
  • rsz_airbus_50th_years_anniversary_formation_flight_-_air_to_air
    Airbus
    Stock Code:
    AIR
    Date Founded:
    1970-12-18
    CEO:
    Guillaume Faury
    Headquarters Location:
    Toulouse, France
    Key Product Lines:
    Airbus A220, Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A350, Airbus A380
    Business Type:
    Planemaker