The first large sections of Airbus’s new transport aircraft, the BelugaXL, have arrived at the company’s final assembly facility in Toulouse following a five-night-long road convoy from Aernnova’s factory in Berantevilla, northeastern Spain. The three panels—two laterals and one central—form part of the rear section of the BelugaXL.
Launched in November 2014, the Beluga XL addresses transport capacity needs for the A350XWB“ramp-up” and other aircraft production rate increases. Based on the A330-200 Freighter, the BelugaXL program incorporates many existing components and equipment. Newly developed components include the Beluga’s lowered cockpit, cargo bay structure and rear-end and tail. The five Belugas it now uses trace their design to Airbus’s first airliner, the A300.
Airbus estimates the fleet of five BelugaXL aircraft will provide it with 30 percent more transport capacity than its current fleet of five A300-600ST Belugas can carry. Operated by Airbus subsidiary airline Airbus Transport International (ATI), the fleet carries complete sections of Airbus aircraft, built at various sites in Europe, to final assembly lines in Toulouse, France; Hamburg, Germany; and Seville, Spain.
Plans call for the first of five BelugaXLs to fly next year and enter service in 2019, while Airbus continues to operate the existing models until it retires the last of the five A300-based airplanes in 2025.
Airbus has chosen Rolls-Royce Trent 700s to power the new Belugas along with the company’s TotalCare engine support package in a contract valued at some $700 million.