- Airbus’ independent cargo airline flew its first BelugaST mission to the US in March.
- The nose-loading freighter shipped an Airbus-made satellite from Toulouse, France, to Florida.
- The mammoth BelugaST is deployed to transport oversized items like satellites and helicopters.
In 1994, Airbus built a mammoth aircraft called the Beluga “Super Transporter” to support the assembly of its line of commercial airplanes.
The beluga-shaped aircraft carried parts for the manufacturer’s family of A320, A330, and A350 planes on behalf of its in-house subsidiary known as Airbus Transport International.
Aside from its main duties with ATI, the BelugaST also operated a handful of one-off cargo shipments for various companies.
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This history prompted the founding of Airbus Beluga Transport, or AiBT, in 2022 as a new home for the BelugaST fleet as the planemaker replaced the original jet with the next-generation BelugaXL.
The startup received its own independent air operating certificate from French authorities in January and officially launched its first mission to the US as an independent cargo airline in March.
Take a look at the old-generation BelugaST plane and how Airbus is putting its five-strong fleet’s outsize cargo-carrying capabilities to use.
