Through The Mist Darkly

Friday evening at the Memphis airport I was in a great spot to watch the parade of FedEx jets taking off on their international shots.  One plane looked out of place so I grabbed the little Nikon I carry when I can’t be bothered to lug the D80 around.  It wasn’t until a few minutes ago that I realized what I’d got.

Airbus Industries F-WWYE.  The company’s first A330- 200F which first flew in November of last year.  I can only suspect that it was in Memphis to let FedEx kick the tires.

“Hub and Spoke” is a term used to describe how airlines in the US set up routes.  Instead of point to point flying (as seen in Canada) major carriers such as Delta use feeder airlines to service short routes to get passengers from smaller cities (spokes) to major points (hubs).

The map shows my trip to Memphis and back home this week.  I started off on Friday the 19th by driving to Niagara Falls for the Northeast Council of Air Shows (NECAS) meetings.  On the 21st, I hopped a flight in Buffalo on a Pinnacle regional jet operating for Delta to Detroit.  Then it was a “real” Delta flight to Memphis which, unfortunately, had engine problems resulting in a 2 hour delay.

Coming home, US Airways got me to Charlotte, North Carolina 10 minutes too late for a flight back to Buffalo so it was an uncomfortable sleep in the Airport until yesterday morning at 6:30 when they got me on a plane to Philadelphia.  There, I hopped on a Dash 8 100 operated for US Airways by Mesa Airlines to get back to Buffalo.  Finally, a snowy drive back to Toronto.

Hub and spoke may make some economic sense but normal connection times don’t leave any margin for weather or equipment delays. Of course, the fact that connecting flights NEVER, NEVER leave from the same terminal that you arrive in doesn’t help either.

I did get a nice shot of the sun rising at 31,000 feet from the US Airways 737-400 taking me to Philadelphia.

In three weeks I get to try this again for a trip to Lexington, Kentucky.  Hope everything works out better.

Wow, where did the time go?  Feels like I just got home and it’s time to get ready to get going again.

Tomorrow, it’s off to Niagara Falls, NY for the Northeast Council of Air Shows meetings at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.  Cocktails tomorrow night with a chance to do some networking and then lots of presentations and discussions on Saturday.  Hopefully, we can convince some aircraft to come our way for Wings & Wheels in May.

Sunday, it’s a quick drive to the Buffalo airport for another trip down to Memphis.  Delta to Detroit and then down to Elvis Land.  sure hope the weather is better this time.

It will be interesting to see how intense base security is.  So far, it just looks like they want to make sure that you have a valid drivers license, insurance and registration.  Sounds less stringent than crossing the border which surprises me somewhat.  Who knows what that will be like tomorrow.

After a good night’s sleep, some thoughts on the Memphis trip.

• People in the Memphis area don’t handle snow and ice real well.
• FedEx has a LOT of airplanes.  When you usually see 2 or 3 a day in Toronto you’re not prepared for 24 hour operations.  I joked on Facebook that the Tennessee state bird must be a FedEx jet.
• Sticking to a diet while on the road is tough.  Especially when traveling with folks who like red meat and really, really like beer.
• Air travel continues to get more and more of a chore every day.
• You can find a place to smoke in most US airports – just need to do a little pre-flight research
• The Chrysler PT Cruiser (my rental for the week) is a piece of shit.
• Speaking of cars, white is a very popular color in Tennessee and Mississippi.
• Graceland (at least from the street) is less than spectacular and the area is incredibly run down for such a popular tourist destination

At least I made it back without getting caught in all the travel delays and cancellations that have plagued the Southern US all week.  Luckily I had my return flights changed to get home earlier.  My original itinerary had me coming back through Atlanta.  Delta cancelled nearly all their flights to Atlanta on Thursday night.  Instead, I came back through Detroit and everything worked out fine.

Long weekend ahead, then 2 days in the office and 2 days of vacation.  Next Sunday, I get to do this whole trip again!

About 5am in Memphis and it’s snowing.  What the hell?  I leave Toronto where it’s cold but snowless, travel South and end up with this crap.  Forecast says up to 5 inches today with more coming throughout the week.

This sucks!

It’s February and it’s time to start flying again.  Tomorrow (Sunday) morning I’m off to Memphis on Delta for a week of meetings in the lovely? city of Southaven Mississippi.  First time in Memphis and I’ve picked a week that starts off with a huge snowstorm snarling air traffic all over the Eastern US.  The schedule has me leaving Toronto at 12:35pm for a flight to Atlanta and then, less than one hour later, hopping a MD-88 to MEM.  What could go wrong with that much time between connections.  Plenty.  Investigating alternatives now should I not be able to make that second flight.

In the new age of airport “security” a 12:30 departure means I have to be at Pearson by 9:30 am to see the latest instalment of Security Theatre as performed by US Customs and the good folks at TSA.  TSA as we all know stands for Totally Shitty Attitude so I can expect to poked, prodded and degraded for a few hours.  Of course, it could also be our  CATSA folks – CAnadians with Totally Shitty Attitudes.  Either way I’m sure I’ll enjoy the show.

Once in Memphis, it’s a quick drive to Southaven which is just across the state line so I hope to be in the hotel in time to watch most of the Super Bowl.  First time watching the big game in the US so I’ll be able to see all those multi-million dollar commercials that we don’t get up here.

Meetings Monday to Friday and then back to the airport for a 6:30 pm flight back to Atlanta and then home with a landing scheduled for midnight.  And just for shits and giggles, I get to do the same thing all over again 2 weeks later.

Flight reports to follow.