Airbus uses new BelugaXL aircraft for transport tasks
Europe’s largest aircraft manufacturer is updating its fleet. Instead of the BelugaST, the BelugaXL series aircraft will now transport cargo.
The company made this decision due to growing business requirements. The speed of aircraft production is increasing, which means that aircraft parts have to be delivered quickly. The giant BelugaXL airframe will take on this task. Compared to the previous series, its payload capacity is 30% higher.
The ST aircraft and its crew have been certified as independent air transport companies. Airbus Corporation has spun off the aircraft and its personnel into a separate subsidiary, AiBT. AiBT provides services to contract customers and transports their bulky cargo.
Airbus launched the BelugaST in 1994. Its design is based on the A300-600 aircraft. The characteristics of the transport are:
- height – 56 feet;
- length is 147 feet;
- payload capacity is 100,000 feet.
Delivering Airbus product parts, such as wings, tail units, and others, was the main task of the aircraft. The aircraft operated flights between the company’s assembly facilities across Europe.
Overview of the new aircraft
As Airbus developed new wide-body aircraft, the ST’s capabilities became insufficient. The company then decided to create a variant with more parts-carrying capacity. This led to the creation of the BelugaXL in 2018. In 2023, Airbus launched the sixth and final aircraft in the series. It is a modified version of the A330-200. BelugaXL features:
- a Rolls-Royce Trent 700 series engine powers the aircraft;
- can fly 2,500 miles without refuelling or stopping;
- is capable of carrying 51 tonnes of cargo;
- the aircraft has a height of 62 feet with a wingspan of 197 feet.
Airbus aircraft has a high payload capacity due to its enhanced cargo hold. It has the most significant cross-section of any existing freighter.
The use of the BelugaXL has already yielded positive results for the manufacturer. The aircraft has reduced the time to complete a route to 1 hour, whereas the ST model took about 2 hours to complete the same route.
Airbus’ Philippe Szabo says the new transport offers a high-speed loading system. This makes it possible to optimise the operating time.
The company has previously stated that the BelugaXL is specifically designed to produce commercial aircraft, including the A350. The freighter can carry the entire wing assembly kit for the model. On the other hand, the ST aircraft could only transport a single wing.
The BelugaXL is one of the few freighters with a loading door in the nose.
