Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea, you swim so wild and you swim so free...baby Beluga, what are you doing in the air?
Imagine flying somewhere for vacation in this monstrosity:
OK, a last one for today... unless you give it XL β€οΈ! #BelugaXL https://t.co/2q5pMjNkaEβ Airbus (@Airbus) 1532010940.0
What?!
Airbus debuted this oddly shaped jet in front of a crowd of 10,000 people on Thursday, July 19th at their headquarters in Toulouse, France. The jet--called the BelugaXL, because of the nose of the plane's STRONG resemblance to a Beluga whale--is one of five jets to be built by 2023.
Whale done! π«π³ #BelugaXL https://t.co/feESAUhhN0β Airbus (@Airbus) 1531989760.0
Whale done guys! ππ» #BelugaXL https://t.co/PUCh3UVGHCβ Airbus (@Airbus) 1532006298.0
Thrilling to see our #BelugaXL taking to the skies for the first time - a truly outstanding piece of technology froβ¦ https://t.co/r7v7OeMPFHβ Guillaume Faury (@Guillaume Faury) 1532006896.0
As you can see, Airbus is a big fan of the Whale puns.
It's hard to assess how we feel about the shape of the plane. While it's kind of cute:
@Airbus https://t.co/tmUUCnTaMCβ Pete Naylor (@Pete Naylor) 1532011095.0
@niesahanumm @Airbus high-tech cutenessβ Chandra Nurohman (@Chandra Nurohman) 1532095119.0
@Airbus so cute! <3β jungvornweg (@jungvornweg) 1532086883.0
It's also INCREDIBLY odd.
@Airbus A face only a mother could loveβ John Dunn (@John Dunn) 1532024348.0
@Airbus Whale of the skies https://t.co/CWpvXucTtqβ Julian Maldonado (@Julian Maldonado) 1532020283.0
@Airbus Dont fly to japan with that thing π€£β firas_nyt (@firas_nyt) 1531990808.0
@Airbus https://t.co/Gpczq8L8dwβ Frank (@Frank) 1532032128.0
According to USAToday, the plane must endure 10 months of flight testing before it is put into service. However, if all goes well, patrons can expect to see this sky whale flying next to them in just under a year.
@Airbus YESSSSS https://t.co/ySnZRQtx2Gβ The Taxi Photographer ππΈ (@The Taxi Photographer ππΈ) 1531990304.0
@Airbus No blowhole painted on top of it though :(β Ralph (@Ralph) 1531995037.0
@Airbus https://t.co/8UvHVTLFFWβ Matthew Wolfe (@Matthew Wolfe) 1532057994.0
The aircraft will be used to transport large cargo, so sadly, you won't be able to ride IN the whale itself. But who knows--with enough demand, passenger flights may start to take on familiar shapes as well.
Whale done, Airbus.