Saab 340 variant
Saab 340 Saab 340B Plus
Third and last generation, delivered from 1994 with the improvements being introduced at the same time on the Saab 2000: active noise control, a redesigned cabin and extended wingtips as standard. One hundred were built.
- 100
- Units built
- 37
- Passengers
History
What the Saab 2000 taught, applied to the 340
The 340B Plus was not a new aircraft but a distillation of what Saab was solving at the same time on the Saab 2000. The first delivery in 1994 brought as standard the active noise and vibration control system, which cuts about ten decibels off the cabin level in cruise, and the extended wingtips that until then had been an option: span went from 21.44 to 22.75 m.
A rethought interior
The least visible improvement was perhaps the one operators appreciated most: the lavatory moved from the rear of the passenger cabin to the area immediately behind the flight deck. In its original position it intruded into the cargo bin, so the move increased usable volume without touching the structure. The interior was modernised throughout and the package could be retrofitted to aircraft already delivered.
Closing the line
The 100 airframes of the 340B Plus (serials 340B-360 to 340B-459) closed the programme. The first B Plus of the series went new to Hazelton Airlines in Australia in 1995 and has passed from operator to operator to end up with the Japan Coast Guard; the last two aircraft left the factory in the older 36-seat configuration for Japan Air Commuter. On 8 June 1999 the final Saab 340 was delivered and the line went quiet.