With a new generation of aircraft in the pipeline, Airbus’ exclusive fleet of BelugaSTs are now available for hire, as Ian Harbison explains

BelugaST #3 takes off from Novosibirsk in December 2021, en route to its final destination in Japan
AIRBUS/SERGEY KAZAKOV
Just before Christmas last year, an Airbus A300-600 Beluga Super-Transporter (BelugaST) landed in the Japanese city of Kobe, after a flight from Airbus Helicopters’ manufacturing site in Marignane, France, with refuelling stops in Warsaw, Novosibirsk and Seoul. The mission – delivering an H225 helicopter – marked the start of an exciting new phase in the life of the cavernous cargo jet.