Why Did Airbus Build The A340 With 4 Engines?

The Airbus A340 is one of the most iconic jets ever produced by Airbus, and it is a long-range wide-body quad-engine passenger airliner that was originally developed alongside the twin-engine Airbus A330 in the 1980s. First launched commercially in June 1987, the Airbus A340-300, the first model to take to the skies, performed its first test flight on October 25th, 1991.