Freighter Aircraft

The first BelugaXL delivered to Airbus Transport International (ATI) performed its first operational flight on 9 January 2020

Service entry of the first BelugaXL occurred five years after the programme’s launch in November 2014

The lowered cockpit, the cargo bay structure and the rear-end and tail give Airbus’ BelugaXL its distinctive look

Airbus’ BelugaXL has the largest cargo bay cross-section of all existing cargo aircraft worldwide

Airbus’ BelugaXL is based on the company’s A330-200 Freighter, enabling the re-use of existing components and equipment

EGYPTAIR brought an A330-200F – a new-generation freighter derived from Airbus' proven A330 jetliner family – for its presence at the 2019 Dubai Airshow

Celebrating the BelugaXL airlifter’s Type Certification in November 2019 are, from left to right: Florentino Bascunana, BelugaXL Project Certification Manager at EASA; Sébastien Freissinet, Airbus BelugaXL Type Certification Manager; Veronique Roca, Airbus BelugaXL Technical Director and Chief Engineer; Bertrand George, Airbus Sr. VP & Head of BelugaXL Programme; Jean-Brice Dumont, Airbus Executive VP - Engineering; Carla Iorio, EASA, Head of CT1.4 Special Aeroplanes & Projects

The flight crew and workers involved with the maiden flight of Airbus’ no. 2 BelugaXL – performed 15 April 2019 – celebrate this achievement in Toulouse, France

The first flight of Airbus’ second BelugaXL is celebrated by the flight crew that performed it (from left to right): Karl-Heinz Mai, Experimental Test Pilot – Captain for the flight; Michel Gagneux, Experimental Test Pilot; Gérard Maisonneuve, Test Flight Engineer; and Jaime Angoloti; Flight Test Engineer

BelugaXL 2 First flight Maiden flight of Airbus’ second BelugaXL – Landing Airbus’ next-generation oversize airlifter programme marked another key milestone with the successful first flight of the no. 2 BelugaXL, which took off from, and landed at, Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in southwestern France #BelugaXL #XLsmile

Airbus’ no. 2 BelugaXL oversize airlifter takes to the skies for the first time, commencing its maiden flight from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport – which is adjacent to the company’s headquarters in southwestern France

The no. 2 BelugaXL – which performed its maiden flight on 15 April 2019 – will join a six-aircraft fleet that carries complete sections of Airbus aircraft from different production sites around Europe to the final assembly lines in Toulouse, France and Hamburg, Germany

Airbus’ next-generation oversize airlifter programme marked another key milestone with the successful first flight of the no. 2 BelugaXL, which took off from, and landed at, Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in southwestern France

Airbus’ no. 2 BelugaXL – whose livery features beluga whale-inspired eyes and an enthusiastic grin – taxis at France’s Toulouse-Blagnac Airport before its maiden flight, performed on 15 April 2019

Airbus’ second of six next-generation BelugaXL oversize cargo airlifters – which performed its maiden flight on 15 April 2019 – stops for a “family photo” alongside one of the five in-service Beluga ST versions

Airbus’ no. 2 BelugaXL – which took off and landed at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in southwestern France on its 15 April 2019 first flight – carried a four-person crew (from left to right): Karl-Heinz Mai, Experimental Test Pilot – Captain for the flight; Michel Gagneux, Experimental Test Pilot; Gérard Maisonneuve, Test Flight Engineer; and Jaime Angoloti; Flight Test Engineer

Test Flight Engineer Gérard Maisonneuve walks alongside the no. 2 BelugaXL oversize cargo airlifter on the day of its maiden flight

The first-produced BelugaXL – shown in flight, with the no. 2 aircraft in the foreground – performed its maiden take off in July 2018

Two of the six BelugaXL airlifters that will make up Airbus’ next-generation fleet are undergoing testing ahead of the 2019 service entry

Airbus first two BelugaXL airlifters – shown together in Toulouse, France – form the basis of a next-generation fleet that will grow to six overall