Using one of its A300-600STs, Airbus Beluga Transport (BCO, Toulouse Blagnac) has operated its first cargo flight to the United States after securing a Foreign Air Carrier Permit (FACP) earlier this year.
The freight carrier transported an Eutelsat 36D satellite on March 11 using F-GSTF (msn 796). It is the third time the European manufacturer has delivered an Airbus geostationary satellite to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida but the first with Airbus Beluga Transport as an independent start-up cargo specialist.
The flight departed Bordeaux Mérignac on March 8 and had layovers at Toulouse Blagnac, Terceira, St. John's, and Portsmouth before arriving at Orlando Sanford, according to Flightradar24 ADS-B data.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows that Airbus Beluga Transport operates four A300-600STs, the others being F-GSTB (msn 751), F-GSTC (msn 765), and F-GSTD (msn 776, inactive and kept as a spare). The Airbus SE subsidiary took over four of the five aircraft of the type from sister carrier Airbus Transport International (4Y, Toulouse Blagnac) to offer them to third-party customers, utilising the type’s unique outsized cargo capabilities to accommodate loads that cannot be transported easily using traditional freighters. The fifth, F-GSTA (msn 655), has not flown in over two years and will only be activated if demand deems it necessary. Meanwhile, ATI has moved on to introducing the even larger A330-700ST to its fleet.
Moreover, the new carrier is taking a niche market in high demand, particularly after the drop in the number of available An-124s and Il-76s since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and sanctions imposed on Volga-Dnepr Airlines (VI, Ulyanovsk Vostochny). Benoît Lemonnier, managing director of Airbus Beluga Transport, told the news site FreightWaves that he strongly believes there is a significant gap in the market. “Even if we cannot address the whole market due to the weight limitations, we are totally convinced that there is an opportunity to fill the capacity of these four aircraft over time.”
The startup, which has to qualify each type of unique load for carriage with the A300-600ST, is working towards obtaining certification to carry large Boeing and Sikorsky Aircraft helicopters and is looking to gain approval to carry aircraft engines, the media outlet reported.
