Airbus expands oversized air transport capability

Five new Beluga aircraft, oversize transport planes, will enter in service from mid-2019.

Airbus will develop a new Beluga transport aircraft to fly around large parts of its new A350XWB.

The oversize transport plane will be based on the A330 with considerable re-use of existing components and equipment, Airbus said.

The distinctive looking lowered cockpit, the cargo bay structure and the rear-end and tail will be amongst the parts of the plane that will be newly developed.

The Beluga, is Airbus' method for transporting large aircraft components between company production sites in Europe.

Five new Belugas will enter in service from mid-2019.

With its flexibility and short transport lead-times, oversize air transport is a cornerstone of Airbus' industrial operations, the plane maker said.

Boeing also has an oversize transport plane - the Dreamlifter - a modified 747-400 passenger airplane that it says can haul more cargo by volume than any airplane in the world.

It is mainly used for transporting big parts of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner from suppliers around the world to the 787 final assembly site in Everett, near Seattle and another plant in South Carolina.

The first A350 XWB will be delivered to Qatar Airways by the end of the year.

A demonstrator aircraft has today left on an 11-day tour of South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.

This "Asian Demo Tour" follows the completion of the A350-900 flight test campaign which recently led to certification by European and United States agencies.

The Asia Pacific is one of the fastest growing markets for air transport and accounts for a third of the 750 A350 XWB orders to date.

The A350 is made largely of carbon fibre and can seat up to 369 passengers in a typical two-class layout.