Beluga XL - Curt Lewis

Beluga XL Design Frozen, Airbus Says


FRANKFURT-Airbus will likely operate two types of outsize cargo aircraft-the Beluga and Beluga XL-given rising narrowbody-production rates, the airframer says.

"We plan mixed-fleet operations for a minimum of five years," says Bertrand George, head of the Beluga XL program. He adds that "we will adjust to our needs over time" and a decision about if and when the current Beluga fleet will be phased out is not expected before 2019.

The A330-based Beluga XL is configured so that it can use the same infrastructure that currently exists or is in the process of being introduced for the A300-based Beluga fleet. One of the main features has been kept -full-horizontal cargo access, achieved by lowering the cockpit below the main-deck cargo floor level.

Airbus reached a first crucial milestone in the Beluga XL's five-year development by freezing design. The aircraft is based on the A330-200F, and will feature a 227-ton maximum take-off weight, 15 tons short of the heaviest A330 passenger version that is now in service with Delta Air Lines and SAS. At its maximum payload of 53 tons, the aircraft has a range of 2,200 nm.

Design freeze at aircraft level is followed by the detailed design phase, which will essentially be completed by the end of 2016.

After a competition that involved all three A330 engine manufacturers-Rolls-Royce, General Electric and Pratt & Whitney-Airbus has selected the Rolls-Royce Trent 700 as the sole powerplant for the five Beluga XLs currently expected to be built. Airbus also signed a total care package with Rolls-Royce for the new fleet.

The first Beluga XL will enter service in 2019, followed by the second unit in the same year. Three more are currently planned to be built and Airbus aims to deliver one per year for the next three years to operating unit Airbus Transport International (ATI).

But these plans are all subject to change, and hinge upon the manufacturer's actual transport requirements five years from now. Airbus is currently studying to raise single-aisle production from 50 aircraft per month-an output to be reached by early 2017-to 60 or more before 2020, due to the strong demand for the A320neo and long wait times for new orders. A decision is due before the end of 2015.

A350 rates are increasing, too. One variable is future output of the A330: Airbus is slowing down from 10 to six aircraft per month ahead of the transition to the A330neo, but hopes that it can return the program to earlier levels once production of the new type has been phased in.

Transport requirements for the A350 in particular triggered the launch of the Beluga XL, as the current A300-based Beluga can only transport one A350 wing at a time, but the XL can take two, effectively doubling capacity for this particular kind of shipset. The XL is six meters longer and one meter wider than the standard Beluga. It has a six-ton payload advantage.

However, should Airbus need more lift, it can extend the life of the Beluga fleet, which it currently plans to retire by 2025. The first of the five in-service aircraft started flying for Airbus in 1995, and four more were delivered in subsequent years.