The Beast, originally uploaded by DixiePistols.

In a bid to cut down the idle time of their third A380, and therefore maximize their return on investment, Air France plans to fly the A380 between Paris and London. The plane in question would be their third A380.

The plane happens to come in to Paris as Flight AF995 at 06:05 in the morning from Johannesburg, South Africa and isn’t due to fly back to Johannesburg until 23:20 as flight AF990.

Rather than let the 538 seat plane sit idle, Air France will use the plane for the short Paris – London – Paris commuter hop. The flight will be designated as AF1980/1981 and will leave Paris at 10:05 and be back in Paris at 15:05.

The route will use the A380 only during the summer months. You can book business and economy class seats on the flight. No mention about First class seats on the short hop.

I think it’s a really good move for Air France to try to maximize the revenue hours of their A380 fleet. Those planes aren’t cheap.

(Flight Global)

They used a Contour HD helmet cam, secured to the the nose gear. The things you can do with some duct tape.