I rarely compare Airbus aircraft with another aircraft. Both the Il-96 and A340 are similar aircraft. Both are long haul, quad jets that are considered failures. So which is the best?
Il-96 vs A340: The Basics
During the 1970’s and 80’s both airlines and manufacturers saw that people were flying now more than ever. As such, both airlines and manufacturers tried to capitalize on it.
The results were that Ilyushin began work on the Il-96 and Airbus began work on their A340.
Il-96
During the 1970’s, Ilyushin began to re-engineer their first quad jet aircraft, the Il-86. They wanted to engineer the Il-86 to be shorter, longer range and more technological advanced.
This saw the Il-96 being issued with cutting edge technology like fly-by-wire and an all glass cockpit. These were things that had never been seen before on a Russian airliner.
Conforming to international standards of the time, the Il-96 was designed to fly with three crew members. However, unlike many of its contemporary long haul aircraft, the Il-96 only needed a crew of 2!
Alas, pre-ETOPS regulations forced the Il-96 to fly with a crew of three. However, once ETOPS regulations were introduced, subsequent models of the Il-96 would fly with a crew of 2!
The Il-96 was first flown in September 1988 and entered service with Aeroflot in 1992. The Il-96 began production the same year. In August 2009, it was announced that the most common variant, the Il-96-300 would cease production.
However, ultimately, a newer version of the Il-96 was brought out, that hopes to be more successful than its predecessors!
A340
Anyone familiar with Airbus or with aviation flops will have certainly heard of the A340. The A340 was Airbus’ worst financial mistake, and has cost them millions since its introduction!
The A340 was built on the framework of the A300. It was built in tandem with its lighter and more famous (and more successful!) younger brother, the A330.
The idea behind the A340 was to be a lighter, faster and more fuel efficient alternative to other long haul aircraft. This wasn’t just the ageing A310, but also the dangerous DC-10 and L-1011.
Due to the pre-ETOPS regulations, the A340 needed to have more than two engines. This meant that it needed to have either three or four engines. German engineering dictated that four engines was the better alternative.
The A340 first took flight in October 1991 and was introduced in 1993 with Lufthansa and Air France. In 2011, it was announced that the production of the A340 would cease, in order for Airbus to focus on their A350 program.
Il-96 vs A340: Specs
The Il-96 and A340 are also very similar in terms of their specifications. Although several variants of each aircraft exist, the specifications will include those from the main variant of both quad jets.
| Specifications | Il-96-300 | A340-300 |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 55.3 m (181 ft 7 in) | 63.69 m / 208.96 ft |
| Width | 5.70 m (18.70 ft) | 5.287 m / 208.15 in |
| Height | 15.7 m (57 ft 7 in) | 16.99 m / 55.72 ft |
| Seats | 237-300 | 250-290 |
| Cruise Speed | 0.84 Mach (870 km/h 469 kn) | 0.82 Mach 871 km/h 470 kn) |
| Range | 11,500 km (6,209 nmi) | 13,500 km (7,300 nmi) |
| MTOW | 250 t (551,000 lb) | 276.5 t (610,000 lb) |
| Take off | 2,340 m (7,677 ft) | 3,000 m (10,000 ft) |
Il-96 vs A340: What Went so Wrong?
Despite the hype surrounding the aircraft, and their promising specs, both aircraft were commercial failures!
Il-96
The Il-96 was designed during the era of the Soviet Union. Had it been developed during in another country (and perhaps a little earlier too!) the Il-96 would’ve been an extremely successful aircraft!
However, as with many aircraft developed in the Soviet Union, there was an issue of who would fly on them. You see, the USSR was communist, therefore meaning that everyone was equal.
But the Russians would decorate their aircraft in an amazing fashion! Mostly, this was to ‘impress’ the west, and to show the merits of communism over capitalism.
As such, the Communist Party was unsure as to who they should allow to fly on the Il-96. This meant that the Communist Party, through Aeroflot, didn’t place many orders for the aircraft.
This had the effect of making the aircraft extremely expensive, even compare to western standards! (Western aircraft are generally more expensive than non-western aircraft!) This further added to the aforementioned problem.
A340
The A340 was designed to fly long haul routes like New York JFK to Heathrow, and other similar routes. When the A340 was being redesigned from the A300 into the A340, it was the most fuel efficient aircraft ever!
Alas, this could not and did not last. By the time that the A340 began to enter service, ETOPS (Extended twin operations) was beginning to be introduced.
As such, faster and more efficient twin engine aircraft such as the 757 and 767 began to enter service. As a result, the A340 got a reputation for being a slow and costly aircraft.
As a result, airlines would favor buying other aircraft, like the 757 and 767 instead of buying the A340. This resulted in Airbus cutting production back, just as they’ve done with A380 in recent times.
Ultimately, this resulted in the A340 having its entire production shut down in 2011!
Il-96 vs A340: The Aftermath
The aftermath hasn’t been that sweet for either aircraft. Although many aircraft continue to fly well into the 21st century, it’s quite limited.
Il-96
Currently, the Il-96 is still in production, however, only a tanker model and the Il-96-400M. To date, only 17 have been produced, mostly owned by the Russian and Cuban governments.
Currently, Cubana de Aviación, the state-owned Cuban national airline, has four Il-96s on order. Two more are also on order from the Russian Ministry of Defence.
In recent years, there has been a fluctuation of one and zero Il-96s produced. Currently, one Il-96 is on display at the Ilyushin Complex. To date, only 15 are in service worldwide.
A340
The A340 is the more ‘successful’ of the two aircraft, having had 377 aircraft produced and delivered. However, when compared to most other Airbus aircraft, this is woeful failure, that Airbus HQ can’t afford!
Despite a large number of aircraft produced, many airlines have retired their entire A340 fleet, including one of the launch partners, Air France.
To date, only 135 A340s are in service. Currently, the largest operator is Lufthansa with 28 A340s, followed by Iberia with 17!
Currently, four of Airbus’ test A340s are on display outside Toulouse’s Aeroscopia Museum. More A340s are believed to be going to museums in the coming years and decades!
Il-96 vs A340: Opinions
As always, I was able to interview various regarding the question of “Il-96 vs A340?”
Pilots
I managed to speak with a few old friends of mine who were A340 pilots. I was also able to talk with a couple of friends who were former Il-96 pilots, one who was a pilot for Cubana de Aviación and one former Rossiya.
The A340 pilots spoke about how even thought he aircraft was outdated upon its release, they believed it was an easy aircraft to handle. At least this was true in the case of the Il-96 which looks like a very difficult aircraft to master!
The Il-96 pilots on the other hand spoke about how the A340 looked like the harder aircraft to fly! However, they did point out that maintenance was sometimes a little scarce which often led to pops and bangs during flight!
Passengers
I was also able to speak to several passengers of both the Il-96 and the A340. In fact one, a former Polish government aide friend of mine, had actually flown on both the Il-96 and A340!
When I questioned him as to which aircraft he would fly on again, or even the aircraft he preferred! He responded thusly:
“I can’t say I prefer one aircraft over the other- I only flew on one of them once! However, the A340 was a much smoother flight, espcieally when there was an unexpected ‘bang!’ in the middle of my Il-96 flight!”
Avgeeks
As usual, I asked my usual group of avgeeks what they thought of the A340 and Il-96.
Surprisingly, I was greeted by a 50-50 split. Some openly admitted that they’d never seen the Il-96, whilst other talked of many western airshows the Il-96 had visited. Where allegedly they’d been less than impressive!
However, there was a small group, who liked the idea of a Russian challenger to the A340! Despite the insults that cam their way, they were adamant that the Il-96 was a superior aircraft some reason or another!
Summary
The A340 is longer, but thinner when compared to the Il-96. This probably helps to explain why much of the time, the A340 is able to hold more passengers, even despite the Il-96’s higher max passenger threshold!
The Il-96 is also significantly lighter than the A340 which helps to explain why it needs a shorter runway. Thanks to the Il-96’s weight, it can go faster than the A340.
However, the A340 more than makes up for it, in its almost 2000 km longer range!
Il-96 vs A340? Tell me in the comments!