The famous white whale-shaped aircraft from Airbus will serve the cargo airline Airbus Beluga Transport, specializing in transporting satellites, helicopters, and aircraft engines.
Beluga, the gigantic cargo aircraft with its peculiar shape from Airbus, has been in operation for nearly two decades. This vehicle primarily transports aircraft parts between Airbus manufacturing facilities across Europe. Currently, a new version of the Beluga is replacing the original fleet, serving the cargo airline called Airbus Beluga Transport, according to CNN.
“There are several options on the market for oversized cargo,” said Benoît Lemonnier, head of Airbus Beluga Transport. “Most often, parts of the cargo need to be disassembled to fit into conventional aircraft, while the Beluga can accommodate them whole.”
Beluga XL on its maiden flight on July 19, 2018. (Photo: Airbus).
The first Beluga model was originally named Airbus Super Transporter. However, after the nickname derived from its whale-like shape became popular, Airbus decided to rename the aircraft to Beluga ST, retaining the original name in abbreviated form. The aircraft first flew in 1994 and entered service in 1995, with a total of four Beluga planes produced, the last one being delivered at the end of 2000.
“The Beluga was developed to transport large parts of Airbus aircraft from factories in France, Germany, the UK, Spain, and Turkey to the final assembly lines located in Toulouse and Hamburg,” Lemonnier explained. “This is a very unique design, as it is essentially a modified version of the A300-600 model with the entire nose removed, then fitted with a special fuselage, larger doors, and distinct flight equipment.”
Before the Beluga, Airbus utilized a fleet of Super Guppy, an upgraded version of the Boeing Stratocruiser passenger plane from the 1950s, which NASA used to transport spacecraft parts. Currently, the original Beluga model is being replaced by the wider and more advanced Beluga XL.
Longer and larger than the ST, the Beluga XL can carry both wings instead of just one wing of the Airbus A350, a competitor to the Boeing 787 and 777. The XL is based on a much more modern frame, the A330, according to Lemonnier. Since 2018, six XL units have been built, and the latest one will soon be delivered to Airbus’s airline. The Beluga XL is set to completely replace the Beluga ST in Airbus’s internal network, allowing the ST to be prepared for alternative service. One of the existing ST aircraft will continue to operate for Airbus and transport aircraft parts, while the remaining four will serve in the fleet of the new airline.
Due to the Beluga ST’s cargo hold being 50% taller and 10% wider than conventional cargo aircraft like the Boeing 747-8F, it is typically used to transport large items such as satellites, helicopters, aircraft engines, flight simulators, sailboats, and military vehicles. The Beluga aircraft can be affected by wind due to its large nose, which is why pilots require special training. However, in other respects, it is very similar to the A300-600 as the cockpit remains completely unchanged.
One limitation of the vehicle is its range of 3,000 km, meaning that a journey from Europe to the US requires two fuel stops at the Azores and Canada. Another limitation is the maximum cargo weight of 40 tons as the Beluga is designed based on volume. Competitors like the Antonov AN-124 can carry three times the weight, and the world’s largest aircraft, the AN-225, which was destroyed in 2022, had a carrying capacity of 250 tons.
