Airbus to create own unit to rent out its Beluga

Oversized cargo: Airbus is planning a new role for what could be the West’s largest commercial freighter by volume, the Beluga. — Reuters

PARIS: Airbus plans to charter out its whale-shaped Beluga transport planes – whose main job until now has been to ferry aircraft parts between its plants in Europe – to help other industries haul urgently-needed outsized machinery by air.

Airbus said the move to rent out spare capacity on its existing Beluga ST and new Beluga XL transporters would lead to the creation of a commercial-cargo airline subsidiary from 2023.