Hot Birthday in Ontario

Bleak, smoggy and hot in Ontario

I'm back in SoCal, having deadheaded in last night. My First Officer took the scheduled deadhead from Memphis on American, and we were supposed to be on the same flight from DFW to ONT, but I never saw him. When I arrived in ONT, there was an email from him saying his flight from Memphis to DFW was delayed, and he missed the connection in DFW, so the company had to re-write his pairing and put him up in Dallas over night. He'll arrive from there just before showtime tonight. It will be a long night for him, having to go between the DFW area and ONT three times in one duty period (the first time as a passenger).

Early B-day gift

There's a nifty little definition in our contract with the company. A "trip" has to begin and end in the pilot's domicile. My domicile is Memphis, so any time I touch that humid soil when operating a normal bidpack trip, I am, by definition, at the end of a trip. I deadheaded to Ontario, CA Sunday night to begin a week of flying between there and Fort Worth on a trip where I never actually saw Memphis. On paper, though, the deadhead on the front end originated in Memphis, and the deadhead on the back end (Saturday, in this case) would also end up in Memphis. Thanks to our ability to "deviate" we can instead ride on a deadhead from/to our actual home instead of Memphis. All was peachy this week until the Memphis-bound MD-11 broke down in Ontario. We were conscripted to fly just their "P-1" (highest priority) freight to Memphis instead of our normal Ontario to Fort Worth leg. When we arrived in Memphis this morning, we were done for the week, and since it was not our fault any of this occurred, my First Officer and I will be paid as if we had operated the entire week. Sweet deal, huh? I jumpseated home, and since we won't be going to the cabin (Michelle has to work...Summer's over) I will finally get some time to maybe, possibly work on the Stag!

Sweltering in the Desert

A week of night flying: Phoenix to Fort Worth, then return to Phoenix via El Paso. Too hot to take pictures. sorry