Airbus has completely replaced its old BelugaST fleet with the bigger BelugaXL. Take a look at the mammoth jet.

Taylor RainsJan 16, 2024, 00:36 IST

The BelugaXL is one of the few cargo planes in the world that has a nose-loading door.Shan Yuqi/Xinhua via Getty Images

Airbus received its final BelugaXL freighter in July 2023, used mostly to transport airplane parts.
The jet replaced the old Beluga "Super Transporter" as Airbus' airliner production rates increased.

In November, Airbus' mammoth freighter, the Beluga "Super Transporter," received its own air operator certificate and officially became a new independent airline.

The five-strong BelugaST fleet mostly transported airplane parts for Airbus' cargo subsidiary, Airbus Transport International, for more than 20 years but now they fly under a newly established subsidiary called Airbus Beluga Transport, or AiBT to serve contract customers looking to move large items.

The move to AiBT comes after Airbus produced a bigger and more efficient replacement for the old-generation BelugaST to support the increased production of its commercial airliners — meet the BelugaXL.

Airbus created the first BelugaST in 1994, designed to stand 56 feet high and stretch 147 feet from wingtip to wingtip.

The BelugaST is the predecessor to the BelugaXL.Airbus

The BelugaST carried outsized freight — like the tails and wings of an A320 — to the planemaker's various assembly lines across Europe.

Airbus secured an operator's certificate to fly in the US.Philippe Huguen/AFP via Getty Images

As the demand for commercial jetliners and the need for greater capacity grew, so did the Beluga jet.

Airbus BelugaST loading an aircraft tail.Airbus

The larger BelugaXL was born in 2018, and the sixth and last one of its type rolled out of the paint shop in July 2023.

The Airbus BelugaXL on the assembly line in 2018.Pascal Pavani/AFP via Getty Images

Equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, the BelugaXL can fly about 2,500 miles nonstop and carry up to 51 tons of cargo.

Airbus BelugaST and BelugaXL.F. Montet/Airbus

The range is about the same as the BelugaST, but its cargo transport capacity is 30% more, according to Airbus.

A BelugaXL landing next to a British Airways A350.JoanValls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Airbus has also managed to cut the turnaround time of the BelugaXL down to just one hour, which is half of what the BelugaST could offer.

A view of the BelugaXL from behind.Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

The BelugaXL also sports the same nose-loading capability as its younger sister, which is rare in the industry.

The nose-loading door of the BelugaXL open.Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Since its debut, the jet has supported the production of Airbus' growing global fleet of commercial airliners, particularly the A350.

The BelugaXL carrying its first set of A350 wings in 2019.Airbus

And the plane is hard to miss. Airbus leaned into the Beluga theme with the aircraft livery, giving the whale-shaped jet a smile and two big eyes.

The smiling BelugaXL flying over a busy road in France.Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

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