Today, when you think “Saab” you probably think of the cars that they make. Yet, Saab are also a major manufacturer of fighter jets for the world’s militaries, but it has also produced two turboprop airliners: the Saab 340 and Saab 2000.
Despite being the smaller of the two turboprops, the 340 is actually the more popular of the two turboprops, with Saab producing 459 340s in only a 16 year period, making it one of the most successful regional airliners to date!
Pre-Saab 340
The late 1960’s and early 1970’s were some of the best years in aviation history, especially so for regional airliners. You see, whilst regional airliners had sort existed beforehand, the 1960’s/1970’s established regional airliners as its own type of airliner.
Over the course of the 1960’s, brand new regional jets like the Sud Avaiation Caravelle, BAC One-Eleven and Yak-40 had been introduced for larger airlines to operate.
For smaller airlines, the late 1950’s and 1960’s yielded turboprop-powered regional airliners, such as the Vickers Viscount, Fokker F27 and Short Skyvan had been introduced.
The first few years of the 1970’s were similarly quite good for the regional airliner market. Yet, 1973 was not a good year for the aviation industry, as the 1973 Oil Crisis caused fuel prices to rise, and alongside it, plane tickets, which many refused to pay.
Although the oil crisis lasted only five months, the damage was already done. The airline industry had been decimated with those airlines that remained demanding regional turboprops that more fuel-efficient than anything that came before it.
Seeing all of this, as well as having been interested in entering the civil aviation for over a decade, Swedish engineering conglomerate, Saab, chose to begin developing a low-cost turboprop-powered regional airliner that airlines actually wanted…
Development
From the project’s onset, Saab had hoped to develop the aircraft entirely on its own, and in secret. However, in 1979, five years after development had begun, the project had already become the most expensive industrial venture in Swedish history.
Seeking to ease the financial burden, Saab announced the Saab 340 project to the world later that year. By 1980, they’d partnered with American aircraft manufacturer, Fairchild, to split costs and development between the two companies.
As a part of this agreement, Fairchild Aviation would develop and manufacture the engine nacelles, wings and tail unit. In return, Saab would cover 75% of development costs, certification and system integration, whilst cutting Fairchild in on the SF340’s profits.
To reflect this new agreement, Saab had the name of the new regional airliner changed to Saab Fairchild 340, with the aircraft receiving the type designation of SF340 to reflect this.
Despite being a commercial airliner, Saab would develop large parts of the SF340 in tandem with it Grippen multi-role fighter. For example, Saab would master diffusion bonding on the Grippen, before using it heavily on the SF340.
The SF340 would initially sell quite quickly, netting both Saab and Fairchild millions in the process.
However, Fairchild’s financial issues caused them to pull out of the agreement (and the commercial aviation market as a whole!) after only 40 SF340s have been delivered. As such, production of the entire SF340 fell to Saab.
To reflect this, Saab removed the Fairchild name from the SF340’s branding, once again calling it the Saab 340, and using the S340 type designation instead of the SF340 one.
Operational History
Following this, Saab would first fly the 340 On January 25 1983, before being certified by most of the world’s major aviation regulators. From here, the 340 would be entered into service with Swiss regional airline Cross Air.
From here, the Saab 340 would go on to have one of the most intriguing operational histories of any turboprop airliner to date…
Commercial
Although Cross Air would be the 340’s launch customer, flying the type’s first flight with paying passengers (a flight filled with dignitaries such as then-Pope John Paul II), Cross Air not be the type’s only operator…
In fact, well over 100 airlines have operated at least Saab 340 on commercial flights, either past or present. This makes the 340 the most widely used regional jet in terms of the number of operators it has had!
For the most part, the airlines who operate the 340 are feeder airlines. Here, an independent airline owns and operates their own aircraft on specific routes, whilst operating under the banner of another, larger, airline.
With that being said, there have been some smaller, independent regional airlines who have flown the 340 under their own name, however, these 340s often fly a mixture of airmail and passengers so they can make a profit.
In recent years, however, the introduction of larger, more fuel-efficient regional jets such as the ERJ-145, E-Jet and E-Jet E2 families have seen many airlines retire the ageing Saab 340.
Due to its success in the west, however, many smaller airlines in developing countries have started to acquire the 340 as they can afford to pay higher fuel prices due to acquiring it for virtually nothing!
Cargo
Following the introduction of the 340, Saab followed the service lives of early regional turboprops (like the Vickers Viscount) to see what they fulfilled after being displaced by the 340.
Here, Saab noticed that many of them became cargo aircraft. In anticipation for the time when the 340 would itself become displaced by newer regional turboprops like the Saab 2000, Saab started developing a cargo modification for the 340.
To begin with, this cargo modification sold poorly. In recent years, however, perhaps exacerbated by the influx of 340s on the secondary market, many regional cargo airlines have begun to acquire old 340 airliners and have them modified into cargo aircraft.
As a small aircraft, the Saab 340’s small size (and therefore lower operating costs) is actually a benefit, thus allowing the 340 to continue to have a much longer service than it would’ve otherwise!
In this capacity, the 340 most often, transports large amounts of airmail over short-haul distances, usually transporting mail from the main distribution hub to the regional distribution hubs, as it’s often more efficient than transporting the mail via truck.
Interestingly, however, the 340 is also used by certain airlines to transport food, mail and other essential supplies from the mainland to secluded island. Whilst not the only islands, the majority are in places like Scotland, that are famous for their remote islands.
Military
Yet it hasn’t just been commercial and cargo airlines that have begun to operate the Saab 340s. So have many of the world’s militaries, who use the 340 in several different roles…
Whilst by no means the only role the 340 is used in, by far the most common is as an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft, a role which three nations (Sweden, Thailand and Pakistan) all use the 340 in.
In the early 1990’s, the Swedish Air Force approached Saab (a Swedish company) about procuring a AEW&C variant of the 340 whose radar was also made in Sweden (by Saab’s electrical defence systems subsidiary). Agreeing, the Saab 340 AEW&C first flew in 1994.
From here, other countries like Pakistan, the UAE and Greece acquired the 340 (although Greece acquired theirs through a loan whilst they waited for the ERJ-145 derived R-99s to arrive).
Having acquired these aircraft in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, many 340 AEW&Cs are well into their operational histories, with the UAE having retired theirs in 2019 for a newer AEW&C variant of the Bombardier Global 6000.
Besides just its duties as an AEW&C aircraft, the Saab 340 is also used by the Japanese Coast Guard as a search-and-rescue aircraft, alongside the Coast Guard’s Dassault Falcon 20 jet aircraft.
However, this isn’t the only role that the Japanese Coast Guard use the 340 in. Other 340s are also used by the Coast Guard as Maritime Security Aircraft (MSA), serving alongside the Coast Guard’s new Dassault Falcon 2000s.
VIP Transport
Having seen the 340’s success as a commercial airliner, a number of corporations and businessmen have acquired the 340 as an aircraft that can act as their personal aircraft on short-haul routes, where it often operates in one of two roles:
Primarily, the 340 serves as a slightly larger alternative to light business jets like the Embraer Phenom 100/300, Learjet 70 and/or Hawker 400, being able to carry a few extra people at a slightly cheaper cost per seat on many short-haul routes.
In its other capacity, however, it acts as a corporate transport, transporting between 15 and 25 mid-ranking employees in slightly more comfort than they would flying commercial, whilst costing the company far less per passenger…
Seeing the 340’s success as a VIP transport, a number of executive air charter companies have acquired the 340 too. Here, they have often acquired former airliner 340s, giving them a luxury interior fitting for any celebrity or international businessman!
Although it depends on a number of factors, such as the executive charter airline you fly on, the time of year you fly and the route, it can cost as little as $3,200 per hour to charter a 340 if you ever needed (or wanted) to!
Indeed, the 340 has proven to be so good as a VIP transport for businesses and businessmen, that the Swedish Air Force have acquired two 340s that have been factory-designed by Saab to be VIP transports from the get-go.
Open Skies
During the Cold War, both East and West flew aircraft over each other’s territory, testing each other’s response times, as well as checking for the large build up of aircraft or other aerial military equipment (a sign of a possible future attack).
However, the risk of being shot down or accidentally causing an international incident/war was extremely high.
To prevent this, both NATO and the Warsaw Pact formed the Open Skies Treaty in 1992, allowing each member nation to perform aerial surveillance over other signatories’ airspace in order to prevent any miscommunication.
Although the US has since pulled out of this agreement (in November 2020), the rest of the original signatories have remained in the agreement, with each country continuing to perform airspace incursions on different occasions.
As a part of the agreement, each country is allowed to field one official aircraft whose sole purpose is to monitor the Open Skies Treaty. To date, two countries use the Saab 340.
The main operator is Sweden, who operate one 340, designated as OS-100 (with “OS” standing for “Open Skies”). This aircraft was certified in 2004, following the country signing and ratifying the treaty in 2002.
The other operator is the UK. Prior to 2008, the UK used a Hawker Siddeley Andover C.1, but retired it due to the aircraft being over 40 years old.
Now, the UK occasionally borrows the Swedish OS-100, as well as Ukrainian and Romanian An-30 and American OC-135s.
Specifications
Having been designed from scratch, the 340 was designed to be at the height of 1980’s turboprop airliner technology for its time, thus giving it an edge over older turboprops like the EMB-120 Brasilia and even a few early regional jets!
As the 340 served as the basis for the enlarged Saab 2000, there are naturally many similarities between the two airliners, mostly to do with their physical specs, rather than their performance-related specs.
| Specifications | Saab 340B |
|---|---|
| Length | 19.73 m (64 ft 9 in) |
| Wingspan | 21.44 m (70 ft 4 in) |
| Height | 6.97 m (22 ft 10 in) |
| Crew | 3 (2 pilots + 1 flight attendant) |
| Passengers | 34 |
| Cruise Speed | 467 km/h (290 mph; 252 kn) |
| Range | 1,732 km (1,076 mi, 935 nmi) |
| Service Ceiling | 7,620 m (25,000 ft) |
| MTOW | 13,155 kg (29,002 lb) |
Why Was The Saab 340 so Successful?
Over a 16 year period (1983-1999) a total of 459 Saab 340s were produced. Whilst this not seem impressive initially, by comparison, most other regional turboprops that were released around the same time, got these numbers after nearly 25 years of production!
Initially, the 340’s success was only limited to Europe, where Saab could market the 340 easier, however, the Saab’s success in Europe convinced many US-based feeder airlines to buy a few and try it out, starting with American Eagle in 1989.
Following the type’s introduction into service with American Eagle, passengers found that the 340 was superior to many of the other regional turboprops they’d flown on, with it being perceived to be faster, quieter and comfier than its competition.
Thanks to this, the aviation media at the time went wild over the Saab 340! In turn, this encouraged more airlines to buy the 340, which was met with more praise by the media, thus encouraging more airlines to buy the 340 and so on…
Despite this success being in part spurred on by the 340’s passengers, many people who’ve flown on the 340 recently, have noted just how noisy, old and inefficient it is, but also how it smells as though it has never been cleaned.
As a result of modern passengers hating the 340, many airlines have brought forward the type’s withdrawal of service date, arguing that bringing in a more efficient and quieter regional jet that doesn’t smell will likely bring more passengers for the airline!
How Safe is The Saab 340?
In recent years, aircraft safety has been pushed to the forefront of everybody’s mind, mostly thanks to a series of high-profile aviation-related incidents that have been reported on heavily, both by the mainstream and aviation media.
A common trend among aircraft is that the older they are, the more dangerous they are, as regulations were laxer back then, as well as safety-related technologies having come a long way, even in the last five years or so.
So as an aircraft that was developed in the mid-to-late 1970’s, it begs the question, how safe is the Saab 340 really?
Unfortunately, Of the 459 340s that Saab produced, 35 of them have been involved in an aviation-related incident of some kind, including 22 hull-loss incidents, resulting in 48 fatalities.
Whilst this may not seem like a lot of crashes or fatalities (although it is 48 too many), roughly 7.6% of all 340s produced crashed, or 4.8% being damaged beyond repair (hull loss) making the 340 one of the most dangerous aircraft ever built!
For the most part, these incidents have been due to a combination of ATC error, pilot error and adverse condition due to poor weather, that no one could’ve foreseen.
Yet, a shocking number of more recent crashes have been due to stress on the fuselage, which hasn’t been properly maintained.
Whilst on many other aircraft, this latter point is more common in second and third world countries, on the 340, it’s surprisingly common in the developed world too, which is terrifying in and of itself in many ways…
If you were alive at the time, chances are high that you remember when a propeller flew off a Comair operated Saab 340 mid-flight (after the engine had been shut down), by some miracle not killing anybody!
Legacy
In part due to the immense success of the Saab 340, but also its varied service history, the 340 has left an incredibly large impact on the aviation industry as a whole, perhaps more than other turboprop regional airliner ever…
Saab
Prior to introduction of the 340, Saab were only known for producing their military fighters, such as the Grippen, Draken and Viggen. Prior to this, the only non-military aircraft it had produced were basic trainers used by the military.
Saab had previously produced a commercial airliner, the Saab 90 Scandia (meant to be a successor to the Douglas DC-3), however, this had been a commercial flop, only selling 18 times in almost a decade, and was thus forgotten by the masses…
As such, when Saab announced it was producing a turboprop-powered regional airliner, many in the aviation community laughed at them, claiming that Saab could never compete with the likes of Embraer, ATR and de Havilland Canada.
Despite this, the commercial success of the 340 proved to the world that Saab could indeed produce a working commercial airliner that people wanted to fly on, and airlines wanted to buy!
Saab 340
Today, flying on a passenger 340 is becoming more and more of a rarity. Yet, the 340 isn’t becoming a rarity in and of itself, it just that the role it is fulfilling is changing due to the 340’s age.
Instead of flying passengers, many of the almost 200 340s still in service, now fly freight. Here, they often perform airmail roles, like the original airlines did before transitioning to passengers (with a little freight too).
Despite this, there are many small regional airlines (who usually operate as feeder airlines of some description) who still operate the Saab 340, with that being said, many of these are due to be withdrawn from service over the next five years…
Whilst its airliner days are seemingly numbered, the military life of the 340 is far from over. Although some have been retired in recent years, many are less than half the way through their service life as of the time of writing!
Future Aircraft
Due in most part to the 340’s immense success, Saab chose to lengthen the 340’s fuselage to accommodate 50 passengers, which it dubbed the Saab 2000. The Saab 2000 would enter service in 1994, being produced between 1992 and 1999.
Yet, the Saab 2000 was a failure by almost every metric. This managed to convince the Saab higher-ups that they should stick to producing fighter jets, rather than commercial airliners.
This in itself led to future aircraft, albeit inadvertently. You see, many of the engineers who worked on the Saab 340 and 2000 have continued to work for Saab, using parts of they learned developing the 340 on the fighter jets they helped design!
Another unintended consequence of the 340/2000’s failure was that it enabled other regional turboprop producers to expand production of their turboprop airliners, airliners that would eventually become regional jets like the ERJ-135/145.
What do you think of the Saab 340? Have you ever flown on it? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Ronnie Robertson via Flickr.