The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engine wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. Developed by Airbus Industrie, a consortium of European aerospace companies, which is now fully owned by EADS, the A340 was assembled at Toulouse, France. It seats up to 375 passengers in the standard variants and 440 in the stretched −600 series. Depending on the model, it has a range of between 6,700 to 9,000 nautical miles (12,400 to 17,000 km). It is similar in design to the twin-engined A330 with which it was concurrently designed. Its distinguishing features are four high-bypass turbofan engines and three-bogie main landing gear.

Airbus manufactured the A340 in four fuselage lengths. The initial variant, A340-300, which entered service in 1993, measured 59.39 metres (194.8 ft). The shorter −200 was developed next, and the A340-600 was a 15.91 metres (52.2 ft) stretch of the −200. The -600 was developed alongside the shorter A340-500, which would become the longest-ranged commercial airliner until the arrival of the Boeing 777-200LR. The two initial models were powered by the CFM56-5C, rated at 151 kilonewtons (34,000 lbf), while Rolls-Royce held exclusive powerplant rights to the extended-ranged and heavier −500 and −600 models, through the 267-kilonewton (60,000 lbf) Rolls-Royce Trent 500. Initial A340 versions share the fuselage and wing of the A330 while the −500/-600 models are longer and have larger wings.