Lately, I've been flying one of today's most ultra-modern (ultra-haul) airliners to my heart's content...🙂...you know the iniBuilds A359 (see my earlier post, if you wish). But humankind is not satisfied, so, they are working on even more "ultra" twinjets, which, btw, are not too far away. If all goes as planned, Delta will be the first to fly the A350-1000 next year in 2026 and, likewise, Lufthansa will be flying the 777X (777-9) first also in the year 2026. BTW, do note how the nationalities of (launch) operator and maker for each type are a bit odd (reversed maybe...🙂...) And when would these guys realize that for some of us more experienced...🙂...folks around here, just staying awake a few hours for simming is already taking a toll, so, actually flying 20+ hours and seeing 2 sunrises on the same flight is bit of a daunting task...

I'm neither a RW pilot nor have ever been an aspiring one...with day-time jobs as remote from pilotage as possible. Nonetheless, as a pure aviation enthusiast, my mind often wanders to aspects of aviation that are currently neither practical nor prevalent. So, I find the 3-engined and 4-engined airliners of yesteryears many times more fascinating than those ubiquitous twinjets of our modern era, especially the ones with those stupendously gigantic engines (also ungainly to an equal measure...🙂...but who is noticing). Imagine this: the diameter (161 inch) of the 777X's GE9X engine itself is larger than the fuselage width (148 inch) of a 737 MAX 8. Unthinkable...! Anyway, I'm eagerly looking forward to the higher-fidelity (quadjet) A346 for MSFS being worked on by the (German/Canadian) collaborations of (Aerosoft/ToLiss). 

Fashions and trends come and go with time. I've been lately watching lots of Western TV Serial Episodes...🙂...on Prime TV ...Oh boy...you must be now wondering what has that got to do with "aviation"...🙂...Now, assuming that these Western TV series typically portray the American West from the 1860s to the early 1900s, one aspect that I have always wondered about is the women's fashion and wear of the American West. So, I asked AI about the evolution of this fashion, and it said, "The 1860s fashion, characterized by the wide crinoline skirt, went out of style gradually during the late 1860s and was largely replaced by the bustled silhouette of the 1870s. Then, the 1890s saw a move towards longer, slimmer silhouettes, with styles which emphasized the natural figure..."...Please note the (AI) emphasis on the "natural figure". AI seems to be getting smarter and wiser by the day...🙂...Oh well...All those latest (women's) fashions (and trends) of the time have now gone out of style, anyway.

So is the story and trend with (long-haul) airplanes. Are (one-time-popular) quadjet airliners becoming extinct and out-of-fashion? Yes, definitely so. Focusing exclusively on jetliners, we start in the 1950s with the (quadjet) de Havilland Comet and proceed through other quadjets such as the B707 and DC-8s in the 1960s. Then, in the 1970s and 1980s, the iconic 747 Jumbo ruled the sky. In the same time period, the humans, for the first time, started pondering about life with "less than 4" engines. "Twinjets" were not ready for the task yet, and therefore, the trijets such as the Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar came into fashion in the 70s and 80s.

The subsequent 20 years period, 1990 through 2010, was the most tumultuous, because the emerging twinjets would go head-to-head in competition with the entrenched quadjets (and trijets), with the Jury still out. For example, Virgin Atlantic (see an A340-600 of this airline in a recent post here by another member), that was operating only quadjets (A340 and B747), stood undaunted and defiant by the emergence of twinjets (B777 and A330). In fact, it painted the engines of its A340s with the catchy slogan "4 engines 4 long haul", but the writing was on the wall and the era of quadjets was fast coming to an end. 

The A340 of my post here, an aircraft that I consider a close friend of mine IRL, was a (singular) victim of this transition to the twinjet paradigm. The A340, an exceptional (quadjet) airplane, in its own right, was introduced in the 1990s (along with the twinjet A330), just about when the twinjet B777s were beginning to cement the truth about twinjet long-haul operations. In my image # 10 below, I've plotted a simple graph of no. of deliveries, for the period (1990-2010), of these two comparable capacity long-haulers, the (quadjet) A340 vs. the (twinjet) B777. The trend is unmistakable. For comparable utility by airline operators, the twinjets would quickly surpass the quadjets. There are many factors that contributed to this evolution towards a twinjet airline business model, three key ones being as follows:

1. Engine Technology (Significantly increased fuel efficiency and reduced maintenance cost compared to quadjets)
2. ETOPS Guidelines (ETOPS compliant twinjets could fly routes over oceans and remote areas, previously exclusive to quadjets)
3. Carbon Fiber Composites (Such fuselages significantly reduced aircraft weight enabling higher payloads and longer ranges, even exceeding those of quadjets)

The subject airline of my post, Air Canada was no stranger to Airbus A340, and the Air Canada A340 story is a classic example of fall of quadjet legacy. The airline once had 15 A340s in its fleet. However, exactly per the (A340 vs B777) trend seen in the graph of my image # 10, here is a major airline operator that came to the realization that quadjets did not make business sense, replacing all of its 340s by 777s before 2010 arrived. Though the A340-300s, like the one seen in my images, once dominated the Air Canada Fleet, more poignant is the story of one of its two last arriving A340-500s. The A345 (C-GKOL) arrived brand new in 2004, was operated for just about 3 years (before it was replaced by a 777-200LR), and was transitioned to TAM in 2007. Then, sadly, at the young age of only 12 years, this A345 finally met its end, been scrapped in 2015, with no other operator wanting to do anything with such quadjets. Air Canada had also placed an order for the A346s, which order would be cancelled, and no A346 would even get close to carrying the Maple Leaf logo. 

Air Canada Airbus A340-500 (C-GKOL)'s one of last flights was from Toronto to Hong Kong. In my post, here, I fly instead the A340-300 in the Air Canada colors, symbolically, from Toronto (CYYZ) to my hometown (KORD), lifting past Lake Ontario, and across the Great Lakes region, for a final approach over Lake Michigan (see images and EFB Map). As I fly, I reminisce about Air Canada's very last quadjet (an A340), while also harking back to the glory days when the airline was proudly operating my favorite jetliners, the B747s, DC-8s, Lockheed L-1011s, and MD-11s ...which (quadjets and trijets) have now gone silent. Meanwhile, the (upstart twinjets) 787s, 350s, 777Xs are here to stay. 

I hope you enjoy this collection of images of Air Canada's A340-300 quadjet, in the radical livery that held strong from 2000s to mid-2010s. In my opinion, on this light turquoise colored fuselage, the graphic (red) maple leaf on the tail (see my last shot) does stand out, despite the absence of the classic roundel. What do you think...🙂...? And as I am now looking out my window; while sipping coffee, I see the Maple Tree in the backyard and its (green) leaves. Yes, those leaves will turn a (vibrant) red in a couple of months...🙂...looking just like the Air Canada logo...

Thanks for viewing...!

Edited July 26, 2025Jul 26 by P_7878

Another great narrative...and collection of photos...you always do a great job capturing sunrise/sunset photos.

Back in the late 90's, I was living/working in St Catharines, Ontario with our corporate head office in Montreal.

I had several business meetings throughout the year, in which I would fly out of Toronto in the morning to Montreal and return back in the evening. The YYZ/YUL flight was (and still is) a "milk run" for Air Canada's business travelers...flights every 2 hours (and hourly during the morning/evening rush). Normally serviced by the A320, the peak (hourly) flights were often served by the B763 and the A343/A345.

Flew the latter (A340) on numerous occasions during that time period. (Sunrise/sunset trips!  🙂 ) Amazing that the Flight Attendants (I think they were still called Stewardesses back then!  🙂 ) could serve full meal service on a full flight for an approx. 60 minute duration flight....never mind that was the days of real silverware during meals!

I seem to recall the livery was the previous black/white scheme (pre-bandit mask), not the ice blue (toothpaste) at that time, but, I could be mistaken. 🙂 

Comparing the B763 and the A340, I do recall two distinct differences (other than one being a quad jet).

During the take-off roll, the A340 had quite a bit of "fuselage flex". I distinctly recall looking down the cabin and you could see the "distortion" of the fuselage while taking off...and the upper storage lockers would be shaking violently, almost as though they were about to drop from the ceiling!!!  🙂  

I also seem to recall that the take-off roll was very, very loud compared to the B763. In flight; however, the A340 was very, very comfortable. I never flew the A340 on a long haul...I seem to recall the Air Canada A340 mostly flew trans-Atlantic, while the B763 flew trans-Pacific. (I think the Air Canada B744 was phased out in 2003...I wish I could've had one last flight in that aircraft into Kai Tak!)  🙂 

The demise of Air Canada's A340 fleet was always reported a fuel efficiency (or lack there of!)  🙂 

Incredible, that 20+ years later, Lufthansa is still flying PAX service with the A340...personally, I think the aircraft was very under-rated...but, like the DC-6 being introduced just prior to the "jet age", the A340 fell to the development of ETOPS...technology can quickly make a good thing obsolete!

In recent memory, I have still caught the Lufthansa A340 flying into my local airport (YVR) as well as the British Airways A380!  🙂 

There's just something magical about seeing those (older) quads on approach/flare.  🙂 

Thanks for the post!

 

 

6 hours ago, rmeier said:

Another great narrative...and collection of photos...you always do a great job capturing sunrise/sunset photos.

Back in the late 90's, I was living/working in St Catharines, Ontario with our corporate head office in Montreal.

I had several business meetings throughout the year, in which I would fly out of Toronto in the morning to Montreal and return back in the evening. The YYZ/YUL flight was (and still is) a "milk run" for Air Canada's business travelers...flights every 2 hours (and hourly during the morning/evening rush). Normally serviced by the A320, the peak (hourly) flights were often served by the B763 and the A343/A345.

Flew the latter (A340) on numerous occasions during that time period. (Sunrise/sunset trips!  🙂 ) Amazing that the Flight Attendants (I think they were still called Stewardesses back then!  🙂 ) could serve full meal service on a full flight for an approx. 60 minute duration flight....never mind that was the days of real silverware during meals!

I seem to recall the livery was the previous black/white scheme (pre-bandit mask), not the ice blue (toothpaste) at that time, but, I could be mistaken. 🙂 

Comparing the B763 and the A340, I do recall two distinct differences (other than one being a quad jet).

During the take-off roll, the A340 had quite a bit of "fuselage flex". I distinctly recall looking down the cabin and you could see the "distortion" of the fuselage while taking off...and the upper storage lockers would be shaking violently, almost as though they were about to drop from the ceiling!!!  🙂  

I also seem to recall that the take-off roll was very, very loud compared to the B763. In flight; however, the A340 was very, very comfortable. I never flew the A340 on a long haul...I seem to recall the Air Canada A340 mostly flew trans-Atlantic, while the B763 flew trans-Pacific. (I think the Air Canada B744 was phased out in 2003...I wish I could've had one last flight in that aircraft into Kai Tak!)  🙂 

The demise of Air Canada's A340 fleet was always reported a fuel efficiency (or lack there of!)  🙂 

Incredible, that 20+ years later, Lufthansa is still flying PAX service with the A340...personally, I think the aircraft was very under-rated...but, like the DC-6 being introduced just prior to the "jet age", the A340 fell to the development of ETOPS...technology can quickly make a good thing obsolete!

In recent memory, I have still caught the Lufthansa A340 flying into my local airport (YVR) as well as the British Airways A380!  🙂 

There's just something magical about seeing those (older) quads on approach/flare.  🙂 

Thanks for the post!

 

 

Thanks, rmeier...!

Interesting and illuminating comments...! That's the difference between personal experience-based knowledge and the so-called AI sources, such as mine...🙂...

I've flown exactly (and only) once with Air Canada...🙂... Believe it or not, it was on the "milk run" YYZ->YUL flight you've mentioned. Exactly right about A320/B763 etc... when my UAL aircraft had some mechanical problems, I was given a choice (due to Air Canada and United being on the same Star Alliance) ...either another (mundane) A320 in the next 15 mins or an Air Canada B767 after an hour. It was a no-brainer...🙂...I waited an hour for the (Toothpaste) 767...

Regarding pre-bandit Black & White livery, yes, at least for the 2 A340-500s, I see their pictures in both the Toothpaste and the Black & White livery. Of course, the (pre-Bandit) Black & White was one of my favorite PMDG/iFly 744 colors from the old FSX days...🙂...

One a/c I've flown long-haul many times on is the LH A340 (Chicago-> Frankfurt and then Frankfurt->East/Far-east). For the couple of decades I was actively flying, the American majors stayed away from the A340 because of their 777s, and Lufthansa stayed away from the 777 because of their A340s.

You're correct about A340 and Lufthansa (the largest A340 operator in the world). They must love their A340s, because I see LH A343s still regularly operating between KORD and EDDF...a bit strange that their A330s have been discontinued. Of course, LH cannot wait to phase out these A340s ASAP...we'll see...

Agree, the A340 was a very nice long-haul performer, stable and comfortable in cruise, as I recall, each and every time I travelled on it...

We'll miss seeing these quadjets, their days clearly numbered...with the advancement of twinjet technology...

Thanks again for these (first-hand) Air Canada notes...!

12 minutes ago, P_7878 said:

You're correct about A340 and Lufthansa (the largest A340 operator in the world). They must love their A340s, because I see LH A343s still regularly operating between KORD and EDDF...a bit strange that their A330s have been discontinued. Of course, LH cannot wait to phase out these A340s ASAP...we'll see...

Thanks for the feedback!

Maybe the "gray matter" isn't what it used to be...if I recall correctly, the "plan" for Lufthansa was to permanently mothball their A340 fleet during the pandemic...surprisingly, they wound up dusting them off and recalling them due to demand afterward. (If memory serves me correctly, they may even have updated some interiors on the A340 fleet in the last 5 years???)

I also seem to recall that Lufthansa was committed to the A330 NEO program to replace their A330 CEOs, but, before the program was airborne (and Airbus announced they would not be able to meet the long range targets), LH opted for the A350 for better fuel efficiency/range.

Lufthansa still has a very large quad jet fleet between the B744, B748, A380 and the A340! I'm sure both YVR and ORD will continue seeing those jets into the near future!  🙂 

BTW...flew the United A320 too many times to remember between YVR and ORD (on Code Share)...I seem to recall ACA didn't actually fly between those destinations 20 years ago due to the agreement/demand...ACA does now fly between the pair in addition to United.

Fine set, thanks for sharing !

Still a missing fine AC in MSFS2020 !

But with the collaboration between Toliss and Aerosoft on the A340, it may well be that it will also be included in MSFS sometime !

cheers 😉

2 hours ago, pmplayer said:

Fine set, thanks for sharing !

Still a missing fine AC in MSFS2020 !

But with the collaboration between Toliss and Aerosoft on the A340, it may well be that it will also be included in MSFS sometime !

cheers 😉

Thanks much, pmplayer. Appreciated the comment…!

True, I’m missing a good A340 in MSFS2024 too…🙂…Wilco/feelThere’s minimal rendition was the last pay-ware A340 I had used in FSX days. Oh boy it has been ages…🙂…That was also the time I was most actively traveling on this type with Lufthansa.

Surely, you will be looking to fly the Aerosoft/Toliss in the colors of LH which will likely be the last carrier to fly it commercially in the world…for pax use.

And rmeier here…🙂…will be getting his paint brush ready to repaint it in Air Canada colors…though AC stopped operating these back in 2008…

Alas, I will not have any AA/UAL/DELTA A340s to fly…🙂…So, it will have to be fictional or borrowed from both your flag carriers…🙂…

I like this quadjet a lot…like an old friend…

Cheers…!