The first BelugaXL took off this morning from Blagnac in Toulouse, France at 10:30 hrs local time, for its maiden flight over south-western France. The aircraft is the first of five BelugaXL to enter into service later in 2019 and to gradually replace the BelugaST transporters.

The crew in the cockpit on board this 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.
#BelugaXL

The Board of Directors of Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam S.p.A. has unanimously appointed Giovanni Pascale Langer as Chief Executive Officer, while Paolo Pascale Langer, who...
Air Tahiti has received a new ATR 72-600 equipped with ATR’s HighLine All-Business Class cabin, becoming only the second airline worldwide to introduce this premium configuration on an ATR aircr...
Emirates SkyCargo is deepening its commitment to South America, reinforcing the region's access to global markets through expanded freighter capacity. Since March 2026, the carrier has added seven...
Phenix Jet Cayman has added a Bombardier Global 8000 to its managed fleet, successfully completing the aircraft's CAACI registration transfer and entry into service in less than five business days...