Airbus Beluga

The Airbus A300-600ST (Super Transporter), nicknamed the Beluga for its whale-like shape, is a unique and oversized cargo aircraft specifically designed to transport large aircraft components. The aircraft was designed to meet the logistical challenges of transporting massive components between Airbus production facilities across Europe.

The aircraft is called the "Beluga" because its appearance — with a large, rounded cargo hold and a forward-positioned cockpit — resembles the beluga whale, known for its bulbous head and wide body. The whale-like design accommodates oversized cargo: the aircraft has a wide, voluminous fuselage to carry large parts like aircraft wings, and the cockpit is set higher up and forward to make room for the cargo hold below. 

The primary role of the Airbus Beluga is as a transport aircraft for Airbus’s manufacturing operations across Europe. It moves aircraft wings, fuselage sections and other large components too big for standard freight transport. The Beluga aircraft is a vital part of Airbus's supply chain, ensuring that the necessary parts reach assembly lines on time.

The Beluga is designed to carry oversized cargo, especially the large parts required for assembling commercial aircraft. Essentially, anything that is too large for standard freight carriers but critical to Airbus’s production process is a potential load for the Beluga. 
Examples include:

• Aircraft wings (such as the wings for the Airbus A350 or A320)
• Fuselage sections
• Vertical and horizontal tailplanes
• Large and complex components used in aircraft assembly that exceed the size limitations of regular cargo planes

The BelugaST and BelugaXL represent two generations of the Airbus Super Transporter. 

• The BelugaST is the original version of the aircraft, based on the A300-600 platform. It has a cargo capacity of 47 tonnes and can carry up to 30 metres of cargo length. 
  
  The newer BelugaXL is based on the A330 platform, featuring a wider fuselage and more capacity than the BelugaST. It can carry up to 51 tonnes of cargo and handle cargo up to 63 metres in length, making it much more efficient for transporting larger and heavier parts in the Airbus production chain.

There is an inservice fleet of six BelugaXLs. Offering 30% more payload capacity than its predecessor the BST, the BXL is central to Airbus’ accelerating production ramp-up, and will phase out the original fleet, providing enhanced cargo transport capabilities for Airbus.

The Beluga has a unique front-opening cargo door system that sets it apart from other transport aircraft. The nose of the aircraft lifts up, creating a wide opening for the loading and unloading of oversized cargo that would not fit into the traditional side-loading doors of other cargo planes. The front-opening design is key to efficiently moving oversized components in and out of the aircraft, with the nose of the plane lifting to a near-vertical position, providing unobstructed access to the cargo hold.

The Airbus Beluga aircraft typically operate within Europe, transporting large aircraft components between various Airbus production and assembly facilities. Some of the key locations the Beluga flies between include:

• Toulouse, France (headquarters and major assembly plant)
• Hamburg, Germany (fuselage production)
• Bremen, Germany (component manufacturing)
• St. Nazaire, France (A350 wing production)
• Filton, UK (wing development)

The Beluga aircraft enable Airbus to efficiently move parts across these various sites, making sure that the assembly of aircraft remains on schedule.