By Ken Pole | January 25, 2022 Estimated reading time 5 minutes, 10 seconds.
Is it perhaps time for Airbus to rebrand its unique Beluga Super Transporter (BelugaST) as the BigBlueST, or something similar? After all, the iconic white Beluga Whale maxes out at some 4,189 pounds, while the Arctic Blue Whale, the world’s largest mammal, can reach 330,000 lb – with a commensurate appetite.
As size matters in the world’s oceans, it matters in global air transport. Hence Airbus’s Jan. 25 announcement that it is increasing its corporate appetite for outsized cargo, targeting the space, energy, military, aeronautic, maritime, and humanitarian sectors — all of which have large cargo transport needs. Airbus’s BelugaST platform, which ballooned out from its A300-600 commercial airliner, features the industry’s largest interior cross-section, capable of accommodating cargo of up to 23 feet wide and 22 ft high.
“The Beluga’s wider cross-section will open up new markets and new logistical possibilities,” Phillippe Sabo, head of Airbus Transport International (ATI), said during a virtual briefing from Toulouse, France. “In the case of loading helicopters – not having to dismantle them first – really is a plus. Similarly, the largest commercial aircraft engines can be accommodated in a fully-dressed configuration.”
Airbus demonstrated the ST’s capability by delivering the first Airbus H160 helicopter to Japan’s All Nippon Helicopter in late December 2021 for entry into service this year. The twin-engine, 12-passenger platform — billed by Airbus as the world’s most advanced multi-role helicopter — is 46 ft in length, 12 ft in width, 16 ft high, and weighs 9,348 lb empty. Delivery from the Airbus Helicopters manufacturing center in Marignane, France, to Kobe, Japan, with Beluga #3 involved refuelling stops in Poland and South Korea.
ATI currently has five STs in its fleet, but these are being replaced with six new-generation BelugaXL versions — specifically to handle the company’s accelerated production to meet resurgent commercial airline demand for more single-aisle aircraft. Once the XLs are commissioned, the fully-released BelugaST fleet will be handed over to a newly-created Airbus subsidiary carrier with its own Air Operator Certificate and personnel.
“The new airline will be flexible and agile to address the needs of external worldwide markets,” Sabo said.
The XL, based on the Airbus A330-200 freighter (rather than a passenger platform), made its first flight in July 2018, was type-certified in November 2019, and entered service with ATI in January 2020. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 700 turbofans, each putting out 71,000 lb of thrust, the XL can fly a 111,333-lb payload as far as 2,672 miles.
Launched in November 2014 with projected US$1.1 billion development and production costs, the goal was five XL aircraft to eventually replace the five STs, which are not being withdrawn from service. The idea is that the mixed ST/XL fleet would operate for at least five years due to the increased need to ship fuselages, wings, and other components for the growing market for single-aisle passenger aircraft.
In the meantime, ATI plans to maximize ST turnaround times for global customers with new loading techniques and equipment. These include an automated On-Board Cargo Loader for deliveries where conventional forklift/pallet gear is unavailable — such as humanitarian airlift into remote locations.
