10/31/10

Airbus A340-500 Arik Air

Admin Sunday, October 31, 2010

Airbus A340-500 Arik Air, we are know the Airbus A340-500 is a long-range four-engine wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. There are only 31 units A340-500 aircraft in operation worldwide and Arik Air owns two of them. Arik Air is the 10th customer for this version of this modern wide body aircraft.

This aircraft is Arik Air’s flagship aircraft. It is the airline’s first wide body aircraft and Africa’s first and only A340-500 in operation. This aircraft has name is ‘Our Lady of Perpetual Help’.

The A340-500 is the member of Airbus’ A330/A340 family ultra range, and is the most modern aircraft in the 250-375-seater segment flying today. The A340-500 operates the world’s longest-rage commercial air routes, and as such offers passengers the latest in comfort and in-flight services. With four engines, the A340-500 offers unrivalled operational economics and flexibility on ultra-long-haul non-stop routes over remote oceans and terrains such as mountain ranges and the polar regions.

The A340-500 made its first flight on 11 February 2002, and was certified on 3 December 2002. The A340-500 can fly 313 passengers in a three-class cabin layout over 8,650 nautical miles (16,020 km), e.g. it is capable of travelling non-stop from Lagos to Houston (USA) and from Lagos to Beijing (China).

Compared with the A340-300, the -500 features a 4.3 m fuselage stretch, an enlarged wing area, massive increase in fuel capacity (around 50% over -300), slightly higher cruising speed, larger horizontal stabilizer and smaller vertical tail plane. The A340-500 has taxi cameras to help the pilots during ground maneuvers.

Arik Air selected a spacious layout for its A340-500 in an enhanced 36 fully lie-flat ‘seat bed’ in their Business First cabin (Premier cabin), and 201 seats in Economy Class, offering more comfort and legroom. Other new features on board this aircraft include –in-seat massagers and a bar and lounge area for Premier passengers to socialize and relax on ultra long haul flights up to 18 hours, mood lighting, Audio and Video on Demand IFE in both cabins, large personal monitor screens etc – which are sure to be appreciated by their guests.

The extra wide seats and 50 more leg room in Economy cabin, gourmet cuisine and a mix of Nigerian and International cabin crew also add to a host of comforts and luxury offered in the cabin.