I actually ended up spending about 48 hours in Memphis. My biggest accomplishment while there was getting some WD-40 to lube the squeaky wheels on my roll aboard suitcase. My FOs will no longer be embarrassed to be seen (heard) with me in hotel lobbies! It was an ugly winter and the bag was dragged over much snowy/salty tarmac causing wheel bearing corrosion.
I've heard two explanations why we were taken off the TLH trip. One was that the company just ran out of 757s in "up" status and the Tallahassee trip was the easiest to replace with a 727. The other was that the forecast foggy Tallahassee weather and lack of nearby stations equipped to handle a 757 weather divert, since it's a relatively new airplane to Fedex, severely limited operational options, forcing the dispatcher to use a 727 instead. Whatever the reason, it cost me $135 in Memphis hotels. Bygones. We've flown the trip the last two nights, and it's been uneventful (which is aviation-speak for no big problems). I'm getting bumped for the Saturday trip/deadhead for training and my FO gets to crew for a new 757 Captain's activation ride, which is his final trip in training, while I get to go home on the am jumpseat. I'm looking forward to some time off (at home) for good behavior.
Oh yeah, while I was stuck in Memphis, our pilot group voted "yes" on a Tentative Agreement for up to two years which includes some nice safety enhancements and a small pay bump. We'll still be in negotiations for the rest of the contract sections, but this gives the company some flexibility in opening new domiciles abroad and some time to digest the forthcoming new FAA scheduling rules. I think it was a win-win. Very few airlines are even considering pay raises for their pilots nowadays.
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