 Transportation of components and sub-structures of existing Airbus models was facilitated by air, using the specially developed A300-600ST "Beluga" aircraft.As the major components and sub-assembly structures of the A380 were too big for the A300-600ST, Airbus were forced to choose between consolidating their diverse existing European factory infrastructure, or finding a way of transporting the components to a final assembly plant in Toulouse.Airbus choose to keep the plants diversified, using sea and road transport, with the production facilities and supply chain scaled for a production rate of four A380s per month.