Short haul a380! London to Paris
 

The a380 is going to be doing short haul LHR to CDG this summer!

I might get a ticket just to have a ride on it!

London to Paris on the a380! | Heathrow Airport Information

Saw this on Airliners.net last week and was tempted. Just booked for £79 return which is pretty good! I know they might switch equipment at the last mo byt the temptation was too great. Should be fun alongwith some time in Paris.

Be good for T4 to get some more use out of those gates they re-built for QANTAS who moved out to T3 !

The A380 will operate flight AF1980 from CDG at 1005, arriving Heathrow at 1025. After a decent turnaround it will depart LHR as AF1981 at 1250, arriving at CDG at 1505.

The flights will operate from:

• 12 June to 30 June and 1 August to 30 August - every Saturday, Sunday and Monday
• 1 July to 31 July - every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday

The Air France website warns, though, that “For internal or operating reasons, the carrier may change the type of aircraft without advance warning”.

Must be the only route anywhere that offers a service by A380 and ATR 72 by the same airline!

Thanks for the info.

My girlfriend is goign to think I'm so romantic taking her to Paris... :ok:

A non aircraft enthusiast friend did the Dubai to Sydney route and back in one. I asked what it was like and his reply was that he didn't notice any difference to any other a/c. Wish it had been me though.

Rather have a ride in a real aeroplane any day :E

DC 3 anybody?

The ATR'72's are being withdrawn in September.

Skipness
The Gates weren't specifically rebuilt for QANTAS. When the terminal moves were proposed Malaysian, Korean, and Etihad had all ordered A380's, and thus T4 needed to have gates for the A380.
The fact QANTAS had the primary use of the gates was due to the delay in moving terminals as a result of the farce of the BA T5 switch

This is a common event in the introduction of long-haul aircraft. BA did exactly the same when the 777 first came along, using it on London to Paris for a while. It enables all the newly-rated crews to get some sectors completed, which is more difficult to achieve in the hours available in a month on long-haul routes. Without this you may be reduced to non-revenue training flights.

It also gives the airline a bit of a PR lift. The flights may well go out full.

Inside Info
 

A380 Flight numbers & times:

AF1980 CDG 1005 - LHR 1025

AF1981 LHR 1250 - CDG 1505

Days of operation:

12-30 June: Saturdays, Sundays & Mondays

1-31 July: Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays & Mondays

1-30 August: : Saturdays, Sundays & Mondays

Capacity:

449 seats in Economy

80 seats in Business

Special Pricing (published fares):

Economy Return: £80 all inclusive

Premium Return: £280 all inclusive

Premium One way: £180 all inclusive

Noting this info is posted in Spectators Corner, can anyone tell me if picture taking is still allowed in CDG with a permit or is it a complete no-no?
And no i'm not a number cruncher in case 007 is lurking! :\

Flew the 380 from SYD-DXB-LHR a couple of months ago with EK. very nice interior, less legroom in cattle than 777´s with the same carrier. sure it´s damm quiet even at a high weight departure, but it´s only something special on the inside if you have the bucks to get you upstairs!

well I'm not in love with the A380 [ugly to me] I think that if they don't do that TO at full thrust then they are a bunch of saps:}:}:}

Does Anyone know if there is one there today 12/06/10.

Yep - it landed about an hour ago. F-HPJB.

Super! Thanks HD.

MH28

MA28, did you manage to get any pics or were you busy watching the flypast on horseden hill? I managed to see them from my house but it did to be a low count on todays flypast :(

It looks lovely in the new livery!

I was on the AF flight from LHR to CDG on Saturday. I've attached a few photos from the flight. Apologies for the quality, I was only using a digital camera.

http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/HPIM4550.jpg

At LHR

http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/HPIM4608.jpg

Landing at CDG (photo taken on from the video screen on the back of the seat, the view is from the camera mounted on the vertical stabiliser).

http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/HPIM4631.jpg
On stand a CDG