>>1219590Problem with the A380 is that it will reach maximum weight before well before maximum volume.
Plus, the airlines that want weirdly large cargo that isn't too heavy would prefer the 747-8F and various Antonovs simply because they can load either from the front (allowing very large objects) or load in from the rear. An A380F would have to load from a cargo door in the side, which would limit cargo to that which can fit through that door, meanwhile competitiors have the advantage of loading in irregularly shaped cargo.
There is one solution to this, of course, make the old Belugas be open to freight operations. But as far as I can tell, the only "freight" operation the Beluga has ever done is transport the Columbus module for the International Space Station from Europe to Florida so that it could be transferred from the Beluga to the Space Shuttle.
