Airbus announced that the 340 is dropped from there product line due to no sales in the past 2 years. I think Airbus will more likely talk about the great things the A350 will do if you asked about an A340.

Boeing is looking at upgrades to keep the 777-300ER a best seller.

A 340 has been continued for lack of sales. It was never a big success. Initially underpowered and uneconomical.

The passenger version of the MD-11 was only ordered by two U.S. airlines: American and Delta. I flew on Delta operated MD-11s many times in first and business class (and also on Swissair in business class) and from a passenger's standpoint, they were just fine.

Then Swissair lost an MD-11 off the coast of eastern Canada with the total loss of all souls on board. It appeared an electrical problem that began in the IFE system propagated into the flight deck causing a catastrophic event.

Both AA and DL quietly began getting rid of their respective MD-11 aircraft, opting instead for new B777s. Bear in mind these MD-11s were not that old.

I've also talked with FedEx pilots who fly the MD-11 and most of them don't like the airplane. Control problems are mentioned in various flight regimes. And FedEx has also lost two MD-11s in landing accidents.

The whole comparison is odd, notwithstanding the fact that the A340 has been discontinued.
Wouldn't the more appropriate comparison be between the 777 and the A330, given that the latter is also a two-hole plane?

After the advent of A320 all wide bodies are computerised automatics, which the pilots love so much so that, AP failure scares them stiff. If an in-flight-shut down in 777 is followed by an AP 'dis-engage', it is the worst scenario.Whereas in A340 there still will be three engines ticking away whish boosts the confidence of even the run-of-the-mill pilot. The 2009 fatal crash of AF447 should be am eye-opener.The first jet airliner was a Quad-Jet, and every aircraft that crissed the Atlantic for the second world war was four engined.
Mayampurath.J.

Apart from the joystick thing on the flight deck the A340 is a better machine than any 777 from the passenger viewpoint, the only better machine are the B74s in my opinion. I really hope AB develops the A340 series and stays with four engines. The MBAs in marketing really do not know how to sell the benefits of the A340 to the public. Compared to many airliners the 340 is a "true limo" whilst the rest are like cattle trucks..hahaa

Didn't AB make the decision to drop the 340 from its line?

I love how Next Gen makes the 777 and A340 seem so obsolete

Maybe the USG - FAA will cut the current flight load(s) along with----- the DOD cuts
that are named and in the mix.

This traveller likes having 4 engines. Call me an A340 fan over 777.
And doing the hop accross the pond on a 767 or DC-10 is just miserable.

I remember seeing an article where the head of Emirates was asking Boeing for an upgraded 777 that could service Dubai to LAX with 50 tons of revenue payload. That seems like quite a stretch for a twin over what the current 777 is capable of.