Airbus spins Beluga off
Airbus Beluga Transport already completed a mission successfully: transporting helicopters from Marseille, France, to Kobe, Japan, avoiding the need to dismantle and piece them together again at destination. Because of its relatively short range, the Beluga had to stop in Warsaw, Novosibirsk and Seoul before making it to its final destination.
You may be familiar with the Beluga, the weird-looking, bubbly aircraft that shuttles materials, parts and components between the different factories Airbus has scattered all over Europe.
It is certainly an aircraft that fascinates me ever since a few years ago it was the topic of my very first piece for CNN. Back then I had the chance to get a behind-the-scenes tour of its dedicated facilities in Toulouse, a visit that I have had the chance to repeat later on, to witness one of the Belugas in operation.
So, I read the announcement this week with quite a lot of excitement, because it not only solves the enigma about the fate of the ageing Beluga ST fleet now that is being replaced by the larger and more modern Beluga XLs, but also because it opens up quite a few interesting opportunities for the old Belugas.
Not only that, aviation enthusiasts and planespotters all over the world will get more chances to get to admire from up close this eye-catching aircraft.
Basically, Airbus announced that it is rolling out a new business line - called “Airbus Beluga Transport” - that will make the 5-strong Beluga ST fleet available for external operators that need to transport oversized cargoes.
The Beluga ST, a derivative of the A300-600 model, is not the largest cargo aircraft or the one with the longest range (it has actually rather short legs), but its bubble-like cargo bay makes it possible to transport large volume freight that wouldn’t fit in one piece in other aircraft’s bellies.
This move has been possible because of the entry into service of the Beluga XL fleet, which will be dedicated exclusively to Airbus’ own internal needs, a task that had tied down the ST fleet entirely until now.
So, to give a bit more context about this funny-looking aircraft and the way it is maintained and operates, I am recovering here some of the pieces I have written in the past after getting access to the Beluga’s home in Toulouse: