Aircraft
First Airbus BelugaXL Enters Service
The oversize Airbus airlifter transports complete aircraft sections across the airframer’s European production network.
The Beluga XL can carry 30 percent more cargo volume than its predecessor and fly to a range of 2,200 nm. (Photo: Airbus)
The Beluga XL can carry 30 percent more cargo volume than its predecessor and fly to a range of 2,200 nm. (Photo: Airbus)

Two months after the Airbus BelugaXL gained European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification, the OEM’s first whale-shaped oversized air transport entered service, the company announced Monday. Airbus plans to introduce a further five BelugaXLs by 2023, providing the European airframer the much-needed extra transport capacity it needs to support the ongoing production ramp-up of its commercial aircraft programs. The company delivered 863 aircraft to 99 customers in 2019, outpacing its previous output record set in 2018 by 8 percent and marking the 17th yearly production increase in a row, according to the company. Its backlog at the end of 2019 stood at 7,482 aircraft.