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Supersized BelugaXL Becomes an Ambassador for Airbus

Employees put a smile on the airlifter’s huge “face”

Toulouse, April 5, 2017: Smile, it’s often said, and the world smiles with you. If true, the world will soon find itself grinning ear to ear, but it still won’t match the BelugaXL’s supersized expression of joy.

With the first of five next-generation oversize cargo airlifters slated to enter service in 2019, Airbus asked its employees to select how the A330 Family-based BelugaXL should appear to the world. Garnering more than 40 per cent of the employees’ vote, the “Smiling BelugaXL” entry – complete with beluga whale-inspired eyes and a happy grin easily won this competition.

With its bulging upper forward fuselage and enormous cargo area (one of the most voluminous of any aircraft in existence, civil or military), Airbus’ BelugaXL will be plenty recognizable as it is. The addition of a happy face to the distinctly-shaped airframe that gave rise to the iconic aircraft’s name will further reinforce it in the public’s mind. “It is amazing how our BelugaXL airlifters foster such enthusiasm,” said Bertrand George, Head of the BelugaXL program.

Airbus’ Beluga fleet is used to transport complete sections of the company’s aircraft among production sites around Europe and to final assembly lines in France, Germany and Spain.

Built as a replacement for the five current Beluga A300-600ST versions that entered service beginning in 1996 (based on the A300-600 jetliner), the BelugaXLs are derived from the larger and more powerful A330-200, sized at six meters longer, one meter wider, and boasting a payload lifting capacity that is six tons greater than their predecessors. As an example of its increased payload capabilities, a BelugaXL will be able to carry two wings for the new wide-body A350 XWB instead of a single wing currently accommodated on the BelugaST.

BelugaXL
Artist’s impression: Airbus

Source: Airbus