Airbus BelugaXL Takes Off for First Time

Airbus' first BelugaXL took off from Blagnac in Toulouse, France on Thursday, for its maiden flight over south-western France.

The aircraft is the first of five BelugaXL that are scheduled to enter service in 2019 and will gradually replace the BelugaST transporters.

The crew in the cockpit on board the maiden flight comprised: Captain Christophe Cail, Co-Pilot Bernardo Saez-Benito Hernandez and Test-Flight Engineer Jean Michel Pin. Meanwhile, monitoring the aircraft systems and performance in real-time at the flight-test-engineer’s (FTE) station were Laurent Lapierre and Philippe Foucault.

The BelugaXL was launched in November 2014 to address the transport and ramp-up capacity requirements for Airbus beyond 2019.

The new oversize air transporters are based on the A330-200 Freighter, with a large re-use of existing components and equipment.

See also: airBaltic Airbus A220-300 HD Video and Podcast Interview with Martin Gauss, CEO.

See latest HD Video Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: Cargo, Freight, Airbus, BelugaXL.