• Until now, Airbus has only used its Belugas, its humpback cargo planes, for transporting parts between its sites.

  • With the creation of a new airline, the manufacturer is opening up its fleet to external customers who need to transport oversized loads.

Welcome aboard Beluga Transport.

A newcomer to the circle of airlines, small in structure but with a giant fleet.

It has just been presented in Toulouse by the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, which has therefore decided to create a subsidiary to diversify into commercial freight thanks to its Belugas, its iconic XXL humpback planes.

Until now, the manufacturer has used its five sky whales, which attract the gaze of enthusiasts as they pass through the air, to transport sections of devices between its European sites.

But as their dimensions are outsized – 6.7 meters high by 7.1 m wide, enough to transport a helicopter without having to dismantle it – the aircraft manufacturer thinks that they can benefit other sectors of activity.

Especially since six new Beluga XL freighters, even more pot-bellied, are about to be put into service.

For the army or humanitarian missions

“The Beluga's wider fuselage cross-section will open up new markets and new logistical possibilities for customers,” predicts Philippe Sabo, head of wide-body transport at Airbus.

The manufacturer cites “space, energy, the army, aeronautics, the maritime sector and the humanitarian sector” as sectors of potential users.

The first commercial mission of a Beluga has already taken place.

At the end of 2021, an air giant flew from Marignane for a helicopter delivery to Kobe, Japan, to a client whose identity is kept secret.

The cargo plane had to make three stopovers to refuel, in Poland, Russia and then South Korea.

Toulouse

Toulouse: For its 50th anniversary, Airbus deploys its fleet in the Toulouse sky this Wednesday noon

Economy

VIDEO.

Two airplane wings in the hold, the extraordinary cargo of the Beluga XL flew for the first time

  • Airline company

  • Freight

  • Aeronautics

  • Economy

  • Toulouse

  • Airbus

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