The Airbus A340-300s that serve Switzerland are among the most popular. However, they are also among the oldest, with data from ch-aviation.com showing that the five remaining examples are 19.2 years old on average. For this reason, SWISS is looking to phase them out by 2025, replacing them with A350s. With that in mind, let’s take a look at where Star Alliance flies the A340s.
South Africa is the place to go
Unsurprisingly, data from RadarBox.com shows that the first destination for A340s from SWISS is, of course, its hub at Zurich Airport (ZRH). However, excluding that, we can see that for each A340, the country they fly to most often (according to data generated a week prior to the time of writing) is South Africa.
RadarBox data shows that all remaining Swiss A340s have flown into Johannesburg or Tambo Airport (JNB) more than 100 times in the past year. The most trafficked aircraft by JNB in the past 12 months is HB-JMC, with 155.
This is followed by the HB-JMB and HB-JMI, which completed the podium with 140 and 134 moves that included Johannesburg last year. On dipping below the 130 move mark, we have HB-JMH (128) and HB-JMA (124).
Photo: Swiss
US destinations rank highly
When looking at the second most popular destination for the remaining five Airbus A340s in Switzerland, we can see that US airports are a common feature. In fact, three of the tanker’s quad-jets have the same facility in the United States in second place. The airport in question is Chicago O’Hare International (ORD), which has seen 79 movements involving HB-JMH in the past 12 months to the time of writing.
Meanwhile, HB-JMB and HB-JMI 60 and 46 had flights to and from the windy city. Interestingly, HB-JMA had more than HB-JMI, with 47 under its belt. However, the first US destination, and second overall, was Newark Liberty International (EWR), with 48 movements involving the airport in the past 12 months.
That leaves HB-JMB, whose first (and second overall) US destination was neither Chicago nor Newark, but Florida’s Miami International Airport (MIA). In fact, this example of a European wide-body quadcopter had 46 movements related to the facility last year. Chicago trailed just behind, with 38.
Photo: Swiss
Asian airports are also common
Aside from the US, some Asian destinations also pop up again and again when it comes to how Swiss will use its five remaining Airbus A340-300s. Singapore Changi (SIN) is the largest Asian airport of the four of them, with between 18 and 26 movements.
The only exception to this is HB-JMH, which has only seen 14 Singapore-related movements in the past 12 months at the time of writing. Alternatively, when it comes to Asian destinations, the best airport in this quartet is Chek Lap Kok International (HKG), with 22 visits. In neighboring China, Shanghai and Hong Kong also find themselves in the top ten for several aging Swiss Airbus A340s.
What do you think of how SWISS uses its Airbus A340 aircraft? Have you ever flown on one of these quadcopters yourself? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!
Sources: ch-aviation.com, RadarBox.com
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swiss
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- LX/SWR
- Airline type:
- full service carrier
- Axis(s):
- Zurich airport
- Year Founded:
- 2002
- alliance:
- Star Alliance
- Airlines group:
- Lufthansa Group
- Executive Director:
- Dieter Franks
- Country:
- Switzerland
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Airbus
- arrow symbol:
- air
- Date of Establishment:
- 1970-12-18
- Executive Director:
- Instant clouds
- Headquarters location:
- Toulouse, France
- Main product lines:
- Airbus A220, Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A350, Airbus A380
- type of employment:
- Aircraft maker
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