The Beluga XL, the newer and larger version of Airbus`s iconic whale-looking freight aircraft Beluga, has entered into service as of 9th January 2020. The Beluga aircrafts can be considered as the backbone of the Airbus` production and assembly network with their unique way of transporting oversized voluminous cargo.
The new program was launched over 5 years ago in November 2014, as the current five-aircraft fleet of Beluga was not able to cope with the production growth of Airbus. The program was awarded Type Certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in November 2019, following an intensive flight test campaign that saw the Beluga XL complete more than 200 flight tests, clocking over 700 flight hours since the first in July 2018.
At 63 meters long and 8 meters wide, the Beluga XL has the largest cargo bay cross-section of all existing cargo aircraft worldwide and provides around 30% more capacity than its predecessor. For example the Beluga XL can carry two A350 XWB wings compared to the Beluga, which can carry only one. With a maximum payload of 51 tons, the Beluga XL has a range of 4.000 km (2.200nm), which is also a major superiority over its predecessor.
The Beluga XL is based on an A330-200 Freighter, enabling the re-use of existing components and equipment, and is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines. The lowered cockpit, the cargo bay structure and the rear-end and tail were newly developed jointly with partners, giving the aircraft its extraordinary look. The Beluga XL's twinkly-eyed, smiling-faced design was chosen by Airbus staff following a poll in which 20.000 employees were given six options and asked to choose their favorite. By winning 40% of the votes, this was the clear winner.
The first Beluga XL will begin to work alongside its Beluga predecessors, while 5 additional Beluga XL will be added to the fleet until the end of 2023 and old Belugas will be phased out from 2021.
The original Beluga first entered into service in January 1996, exactly 24 years before. With more than 20 years of reliable service, the five-aircraft fleet operated by Airbus Transport International (ATI) made 60 flights each week across 11 different productions sites of Airbus in Europe around cities like Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany) and Seville (Spain). Originally codenamed as A300-600ST (based on A300), they transported mainly fuselage sections, wings and tails for Airbus A320 and A330 along with parts for A350 XWB.
A technical comparison between the Beluga and its successor Beluga XL shows clearly the progress the XL version shown over the standard version.
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