In Charge of the Field Trip Charter

by Split Scimitar

Articles of a Cancellation

This hire is a series of 3 flights chartered by the same organization: a K-12 school. My elementary, middle, and high school as a matter of fact. All three hire flights are to virtually the same destinations. One of them I’ve done before, to great success: US Government, for (incoming) high school seniors, or year 12s, (“Government Trip” or “GovTrip.”) The other two trips are AP US History (APUSH) for incoming high school juniors/year 11s, and a “DC trip” for year 8s.

DC Trip has been running for a significantly shorter time than Government, but this academic year has been referred to me thanks to word of mouth from the government teacher.

APUSH as a class was first offered when I was a sophomore/year 10, but I didn’t have the merit to even consider application - even if I did qualify, I don’t think I would’ve been able to keep up. Nevertheless, after all the years it’s been offered, only now did the concept for a trip similar to the by and large favorite of the student body emerge.

Government trip has been running for a long time, right around the time I began high school, so I was actually a student on one of the first few trips. Even before I was a certified pilot, I formed a good enough relationship with the teacher to keep myself on the radar for the future. The first Government Trip I did as a pilot was very successful, and from there I had my first client. I am a band geek, and played the clarinet from 5th through 12th grade, so I provided charters to the school’s band and select choir, both of whom traveled nationally (and internationally every four years). There were my second and third clients. The gigs were only once a year, but I was always in good standing with school leadership, so I always knew I had work.

Unfortunately, hard times eventually hit the school, and with the departure of both conductors to pursue their doctorates, my client list went from three to zero. I did miss them, but I also completely understood.

Fast forward to today, and I have received a call from the new Government teacher to charter again!

Government and APUSH are taught by the same teacher, so the APUSH and DC Trip are done during the school year. Fittingly, the new teacher of Government and APUSH is the daughter of the previous teacher, the one who taught me.

In celebration of the return of my original client, returning to their original colors, adorning American patriotic names formerly run by an English conglomerate are:

For the youngsters: N629VA, named midnight ride.
For the elevenses: N623VA, named three if by air.
For the incoming 12s: N624VA, named red, white & blue.

While they wear the colors of Virgin America, the interior is semi-custom. Using the cabins from American Airlines’ A321T (Transcontinental), these kids will be spoiled.

midnight ride is configured in all business class.
three if by air is fitted with a mix of first and business class.
red, white & blue is all first class.

If I’m honest, there isn’t a whole lot of difference. They’re not exactly worlds apart, but they are Oneworld apart (sorry, I had to). Both are lie-flat and quite spacious. In fact, the only difference is that the first class seats are two inches wider, and there’s only one seat per side, so other than being angled more towards the windows and not having a neighbor on your side, that’s it.

As far as in-flight entertainment, that’s where things get interesting. Each seat has audio and video connections to connect whatever device they can so it’ll broadcast from the monitor. Perfect for the Netflix binger, especially since each aircraft is equipped with high-speed WiFi.

Just a bit of background info for each trip, there are 24 slots available, filled on a first come first served basis. Government is extremely competitive, with an average waitlist of 3 to 5. DC is equally competitive, seeing as it’s basically a “free” trip with only one or two tests. GovTrip by comparison fits a whole semester’s content into about three weeks, freeing up valuable real estate in a high school senior’s schedule that fall. APUSH is kind of an in-between content wise, being able to visit American historical sites from the first semester and also seeing some sites from current material in the second semester.

Government trips traditionally used a 757, and by the same logic as Delta, even though they are very spacious, they burn quite a lot of fuel. Whether or not that was a contributing factor to losing a client to Southwest I don’t know, but I’m glad to have them back nonetheless.

Let me discuss the route on each of the trips.

DC is simple and straightforward: nonstop service to and from the Washington Metro area.

Government is a multi-leg deal. I fly them into New York but then bring them home from DC. The usual itinerary is 3 days in Manhattan, 1 day in Philadelphia, and the remaining 5 days in the 202.

APUSH is going to be an adventure. For starters, there’s the sheer number of destinations, all scattered about the East. And they’re going semi-sequentially as per the history books. In 10 days, same as Government, APUSH trip is to visit Boston, Elizabeth City, NC, Charleston, SC, Lynchburg, VA, Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham, AL, Memphis, TN, and Little Rock, AR. Tentative itineraries place them for 4 nights in Boston before beginning the almost I-can’t-believable trek. One night in North Carolina, then Charleston and Lynchburg in the same day (that’s where I come in). Montgomery, Birmingham, Memphis, and Little Rock all on the road then close out the trip before the short hop from Little Rock back to home base.

On all three of these trips, I’m lucky to have friends that live in or near most of the anchor cities.

-Rarity in New York (via White Plains).
-Spike in Philadelphia.
-Sol and Selena in Washington, DC.
-Scootaloo in Elizabeth City (via Kill Devil Hills/Kitty Hawk).
-The Apple family in Little Rock (via Fort Smith) - kind of loose, considering the 2 hour driving distance.
-Mario’s Pad from their time here, now a holiday home, in Lexington, MA.
-Mario’s parents in Brooklyn.

The first flight is in a few days, and it’s the DC trip. Ahead of the flight, I sit in on a day’s classes, since the 24 going on the trip are scattered across various class periods. I’m not making a presentation, but I am being introduced as the pilot for the trip so I’m not an unfamiliar face when we meet at the airport.

At day’s end, I receive the final copies of their itinerary, a full and complete manifest, and we share a conversation while reviewing all the material I received. This trip is the easiest one, admittedly, since it’s literally a dispatch from home base to one outstation and back.

While I do have the waivers and clearance to operate into Dulles and Baltimore, both located in the DC Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA), I do not have permission or waivers to operate into Reagan-National, which is located in the Flight Restriction Zone (FRZ). That certification process takes up way too much time and isn’t even justified. I only operate into and out of DC about three times a year, and if I wanted to operate into Reagan-National, I could just go to either Dulles or Baltimore, which ATC and the government would appreciate more.

With only a couple days to the hire, I go pick up the flight attendants. Three, for the purposes of handling 24 middle schoolers. It should be a nice, easy task, as they’re traveling in an all business-class airplane. Well, aside from the normal levels of immaturity and shenanigans. We shall see. I did promise them some nice bonuses if it gets pretty rowdy.

When we arrive in Victorville, just like the Crystal Prep hire, I give the safety demonstration and train them in how to operate the exits, access the safety equipment, and of course, communicate with the flight deck.

They pick up on it quickly but still seem to be more excited at the prospect of working together rather than the task at hand. To prove they’re in it for more than just each other, I run some numbers by them, including the 90 second total escape time and the exit limit for the aircraft, even if she’s forced to ditch. That one sadly is lost on them because as soon as I say ditch, Scootaloo goes off on a Sully tangent.

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“Canterlot Movie Club/Cutie Mark Crusaders flight attendants! YAY!!!”

When I file the flight plan, I make note of my reservation block so I don’t bust it. Of course, that’ll all depend on how punctual my clients are, but I know the school. There will be severe penalties imposed on those who are late.

With the aircraft ready on the Victorville ramp, my flight crew and I anxiously await the arrival of our clients.

The teacher is of course the first to arrive, along with the other faculty member, of whom I am acquainted through a mutual friend. Shaking hands and escorting them onboard, Sweetie Belle in the forward cabin assists in getting them settled.

“There are 56 seats, so each passenger has two seats to themselves.”

“What a great configuration!” The teacher says having seen the layout for the first time.

Once their things are set, they head back to the terminal so I can configure the aircraft and do my performance calculations.

I can take care of all the math relatively quickly. The FAA publishes “standard passenger weights” in both winter and summer, a difference of 5 lbs towards winter for thicker clothing and such. Nevertheless, despite what many would call “grossly underestimated,” the standard summer weights are “200 lbs (91 kg) for males and 180 lbs (82 kg) for females, taking the mathematical average if unknown or unspecified.” Normally, I would go on and say “this is America. No way you can assume that.” However, baggage weights are where we can compensate slightly.

In the US, 50 lbs (23 kg) is the published standard weight for checked baggage. Obviously if it exceeds, there’s the surcharge and extra considerations placed for the sake of the ground handlers. Now, as long as a bag is under that 50 lb limit, it will go on the manifest as 50 lbs. This assumes a maximum for the sake of weight and balance and thus keeps the math easy. I don’t remember how airlines handle overweight bags, but for my considerations, I round up to the nearest 5 lbs, so anything greater than 50 up to and including 55 lbs is weighted as 55 lbs, >55-60 is 60, et al.

Obviously, I’m not going to know who has overweight bags, so Scootaloo is in charge of reporting that at check-in.

Speaking of, the nurse arrives and decides to get settled onboard ahead of the others. Sweetie Belle tends to her and points out safety equipment to her just in case, and much to my grace.

About 15 minutes later, the first students start rolling in. As I do not have luggage carts, each student must take their own bag to the ramp. Apple Bloom and I will then load accordingly.

They’re only in town for 5 days, so I don’t see why anyone would need more than one large suitcase with them.

Nevertheless, as the two of us work to load bags, I can hear the footsteps of those boarding above us.

“Thanks AB.” I say as the last piece of baggage is loaded.

“No prob! Glad to help!” She says as she secures each door.

The two of us then return the baggage belts to the ramp and head onboard. No bag listed as overweight, though the heaviest was 49 lbs.

AB then takes the rear cabin and calls me back to get a drink and to arm the doors. I do the same with Sweetie Belle minus the drink. Then, with Scootaloo adjusting her seat, I enter the cockpit and greet her with,

“Alright, you ready?”

“Yeah! I can’t believe I’m going to watch a live takeoff from the right seat!”

“We still have a couple things before we leave though.”

“Ooh, can I run checklists with you?”

“Yeah! It’ll move faster if you call the item and I respond with it.”

“Sweet!”

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard our flight. My name is Sweetie Belle here in the forward cabin, assisting me is Apple Bloom at the rear cabin. Your Captain today is Split Scimitar, assisted by Scootaloo. We are all here to ensure your flight is safe and comfortable today. Captain Scimitar will say a few words before we get going, so I’ll turn it over to him in the meantime. Once again, welcome aboard.”

As we finish the before pushback checklist, I then Bluetooth the tug and check for a solid connection. With only the parking brake to release, I then head for the cabin and make my presentation.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard once again. As Sweetie Belle said, my name is Split Scimitar, but please just call me Max. Nonstop service to Dulles airport this morning, expecting about, uh, 5 hours and 10 minutes enroute. No reports of any rough weather in the area of either here or DC, however we may encounter some bumps between the Rockies and the Ohio River valley. Some systems have passed through those regions over the past couple days. We do ask that no more than 2 or 3 people congregate in the aisle in case I have to use the lavatory. Rest assured, you are in good hands today, and you are also the first class to experience this brand new business class cabin. As I’m sure some of you have figured out by now, each seat offers HDMI connectivity for screen mirroring if you find our flight track boring. If there are any questions, please direct them to a crew member. At this time, please direct your attention to the video monitor screens in front of you as we demonstrate the safety features of this Airbus A320 aircraft.”

As I roll the video, I release the parking brake and initiate pushback.

2 alight and stable. Flaps 2 for takeoff. First flight with this client, cockpit door closed.

“In case of an engine fire, failure, loss of visibility, directional control, as directed by ATC or as deemed necessary. Below V₁, full reverse thrust, spoilers up, braking set to max. At or above V₁, it’s an airborne emergency. We are guaranteed a positive climb rate through enough of an altitude where we can climb to traffic pattern altitude and return to land. Initial altitude from Joshua, expect runway heading unless otherwise assigned. Questions, comments, concerns?”

Shaking her head no, I tune the ATIS.

“Victorville airport information Echo, 1748Z. Wind 190 at 7. Visibility 10. Sky clear below 12,000. Temperature 29, dewpoint -1. Altimeter 29.99. All runways restricted access. Prior permission required. Advise on initial contact you have information Echo.”

“Joshua departure, Revere 2, IFR to Dulles.”

“Revere 2, cleared to Dulles airport via as filed. On departure, proceed direct HELDE, expect direct HEC. Departure frequency 124.55, Squawk 1775.”

“Cleared to Dulles via as filed, direct HELDE on departure, expect direct Hector, Joshua departure 124.55, squawk 1775, Revere 2.”

“Revere 2, readback correct. Void in 10 minutes, talk to you on the go.”

“Revere 2,” I respond before flipping on all the lights required by the checklist, which Scootaloo corroborates.

“Go for Sweetie Belle.” She then responds after I call the cabin.

“Cabin secure?”

“Yeah. All seated and correct.”

“Thank you.” “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve been cleared for takeoff. Flight attendants, please be seated at this time.”

Scootaloo then visibly trembles with excitement as I line up for takeoff.

Autopilot armed, lights on. Centerline set, runway heading verified. Autobrakes set to max.

Power set, takeoff thrust set. Gauges in the green. Airspeed alive.

80 knots.

“Check.” I say as I quickly eye the right side airspeed indicator.

15 knots to V₁. Scootaloo grabs the phone and utters,

“Abort.”

Throttles idle, full reverse thrust. Spoilers up, brakes on.

60 knots, disengage reverse thrust.

Exit on A.

“What was that about?” I ask just aggressively enough.

“Uh, talk to one of them I guess.”

Spoilers up, brakes off, all autopilot modes disarmed and disengaged. Strobes, pulse, landing lights off.

“Apple Bloom speakin’.” She responds a moment later.

“Are you forward or rear cabin?”

“Rear.”

“Okay. I’ll need to speak with the front.”

“Go for Sweetie Belle.” She responds when I call the cabin again.

“Scootaloo said you told her to tell me to abort the takeoff?”

“The teacher rang his call button, and I panicked!”

“Well, what seems to be the problem?”

“He wants to cancel the trip.”

“Let me talk to him.”

“One second.”

“Hello?” The teacher responds a few seconds later.

“You want to cancel the trip?”

“Yes.”

“Ok. On what grounds?”

“We’ve just been elevated from epidemic to pandemic.”

“Okay. I’ll need to talk to you and the chaperones. Let me contact my contacts and fill them in. Hopefully it won’t take too long.”

“Okay, thanks. Sorry about all this.”

“Things happen.”

“Okay, talk to you soon.”

“Flight deck out.”

“What’s going on?” Scootaloo asks now a bit nervous.

“We have a viral pandemic on our hands. They’ve decided to cancel the trip in light of. Looks like we’ll go back to the gate.”

“After landing then?”

“Yeah.”

“Spoilers?”

“Down.”

“Flaps?”

“Up.” I say actuating the lever.

“Lights?”

“Strobes, pulse, landing lights off.”

“Transponder?”

“1200. Our clearance should be void in like 2 minutes.”

“Taxi instructions?”

“We’ll come back to that in case he decides to go to March.”

“Last item on the list besides contact ground.”

“Alright. Well, in lieu, I’ll just let the flight plan go void. If he wants to go to Riverside, we’ll just go VFR.”

“After landing checklist complete.”

“Thank you.”

“Go for Apple Bloom.”

“Can I speak to the teacher? If he’d like, we can fly down to Riverside and offload students if he wants.”

“One second.”

“Hello?” He responds a few minutes later.

“Hello sir, Captain Max. Since you want to cancel the trip, do you want to hop down to Riverside and deplane there?”

“Let me see what the others say. One second.”

“What’s the word?” Scootaloo asks.

“We might just hop down to March and offload them there. I’m waiting on a final word.”

As I wait to see what’s happening, I anxiously place my hand on the throttles and wait for the call from the cabin.

“Flight deck, go ahead.”

“We’ll offload here.” The teacher says after a bit of a pause.

“Roger, let me know when everyone is seated.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“All seated.” Sweetie Belle calls a few seconds later.

“Rolling.” I respond. “Flight deck out.”

I somewhat depressingly taxi back to the gate, turning off all the lights except for the beacon. We didn’t even leave the ground, despite being literally split seconds from being able/needing to.

Once parked, I shut the engines down, turn on the APU, and turn off the seatbelt sign. Immediately, I unbuckle and head out to the main cabin door. Everyone seems to be quickly grabbing their things, but I can see the teacher calming everyone down. AB hands him the PA so he can speak to them.

“I know you’re all concerned, but let me break it down for all of you. There has officially been an upgrade from an epidemic to a pandemic. Even though we’re not traveling internationally, it’s been deemed too much of a risk to continue with this trip. We’ll be in touch with the school and they’ll be in touch with you. You can expect full refunds as this cancellation is beyond our control. I need to talk to the Captain and figure out what he wants, so for now, please hold tight. You can call your parents and tell them to pick you up from where you were dropped off. Once again, please don’t go anywhere just yet. We’ll have word for you as soon as we can, thank you.”

I then connect to the air stairs via Bluetooth and line them up with the exit door. Once I set the brakes and check for security, I call Signature at Dulles to cancel the reservation.

The teacher then steps out and starts making calls, presumably to the hotel to try and cancel it. I then step back into the cabin and see what the chaperones want to do, but they seem to be fine waiting. Glad they’re the only ones aboard and not going insane, I complete the ground power checklist so I’m not running the extremely noisy APU or generators.

Before I head down, I ask the chaperones if we should just deplane, and after hesitantly agreeing, I pick up the phone and say on the PA,

“Flight attendants, disarm all doors for gate arrival. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. Checked baggage can be claimed on the right side of the plane. Just allow us a few minutes to get everything set up.”

Since it’s pretty much confirmed that we’re not doing this, I wait for the “rear doors disarmed” so I can respond with the “front doors disarmed, cross-check complete.”

I then head down the stairs and get the baggage doors open and get the conveyors up to start the process with AB and Scoots.

With only 28 bags to offload, we finish in no time at all. The teacher then gets my attention as I return the conveyor with Scootaloo.

“So, how do we handle compensation?”

“Well, since we never left the ground, I can’t charge you for flight hours. I only charge for the time between wheels up and wheels down, or the time the landing gear is retracted, whichever number is rounder. No charge there. You didn’t make any changes or requests that warranted extra charges. Everything’s in order. So off the top of my head, I don’t think I can charge you for anything. Let’s go inside and we can review your invoice and close the tab.”

Once we sit down in the terminal office, I pull up the file and get the invoice, itemized and categorized to differentiate between base charges and surcharges.

“Okay, so here’s the tentative invoice, which would’ve been valid if we went through with it. Given my operating costs and the little time we spent on the ramp, we can basically say that all we did was get the engines warmed up. So, uh, let me just run through some things. I guess the only things I can really charge you for are the 5% security and processing fee.”

“That’s fine. I don’t want to leave you completely hanging.”

“I appreciate that, though I feel bad charging you for what basically amounts to scaring the passengers. You made the call to cancel just in the nick of time. If you had made it like 5 seconds later, we would’ve had to take to the air. In any case, I’m sorry it had to come to this.”

“So am I. I know that Ms. Constance and her daughter put in a good word for you. I’ll definitely be coming back.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that. I hope that things work out sooner rather than later. For now though, do you have a credit card to put on file? I don’t think I have one.”

“I never gave you one, but I’ll give you mine. I can always get reimbursed.”

“Can I go ahead and authorize it then?”

“Actually, do you have a money transfer app?”

“Yeah. Can I put the card on file though?”

“Please do. I’m the representative for this trip, as far as you and the school are concerned.”

“Perfect. I’ll go ahead and send you the request for the cash value, then I’ll email you the statement and invoice. I assume you can get reimbursed if you provide a screenshot or something?”

“Yes. They’ll reimburse me then I can forward the amount to you via transfer app.”

“Perfect. Not my first money transfer app rodeo, just wanted to make sure the school does recognize working with them.”

“Sort of. They acknowledge it, but we’re just cutting out the middle man.”

“Yes, yes. Of course, [of] course.” I say as I open up the app and send the request for the cash value as quoted by the invoice.

“Got your cash request.”

Then, a few seconds after sending the email, I wait for him to confirm receipt before we shake hands, head down, and wait for the last of the kids to get picked up.

My flight crew then asks me what happens next, and I tell them,

“Well, is there anything you need done with me? Since your paychecks unfortunately disappeared due to unforeseen circumstances, I’ll help you out with something you may need me for or would like/require my assistance.”

“I think my sister wanted to talk to ya. Ye’ can come to the farm then.” AB says.

“Do either of you need to go anywhere?” I ask the other two.

“I actually do need help moving out.” Sweetie Belle says somewhat shyly.

“That counts.”

“Let’s do that!” Scootaloo exclaims. “I don’t need to be home for another week. My parents are coming back from a months-long expedition. We’re going to help my aunts move to Charlotte.”

“Where from?”

“Charleston.”

“SC or West V?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen them in years. They are, fittingly, frequent fliers on American, so it makes sense for them to move to a hub city.”

“Nice.” I chuckle. “Want to head to Minnesota then? Or should we head to Arkansas?”

“Let’s go tomorrow.” Sweetie Belle says raising her hand to signify MN.

“Fine by me.”

The three then grab their things and head back to the residence terminal, but before I leave, I find a single student left behind.

“Hello. Is your ride on their way?”

“They said they were.”

“I can take you home if you’d like.”

“If they don’t show up in the next 10 minutes, would you mind?”

“Of course not, I’ll happily wait. What’s your name?”

“Luster Dawn.”

“Split Scimitar. I just go by Max. Where’s home for you if it’s taking them this long?”

“Ontario.”

“Your parents chose not to send you to a closer school?”

“They liked this one the best. Plus, [I’m] good family friends with the Headmaster.”

“That’s nice. I went to your school you know. All 13 years.”

“Wow. Nice. I have a few friends who are part of that club. Lived here their whole life.”

“Yeah… out of curiosity, what do your parents do?”

“They’re stockbrokers. Well, my mom specializes in trading. Dad’s a portfolio analyst. [Both] travel to and from New York frequently.”

“Do they use JetBlue from Ontario or do they take one of the premium transcontinental routes from Los Angeles?”

“Both, depending on how quick they need to get over there.”

“I don’t want to pry, but if they’re willing, I can shuttle them myself. On-demand as they need it, though I’d probably be slot-restricted to Westchester or the Hamptons.”

“That’s very kind, but they like to accrue frequent flier miles.”

“Of course. Figured I’d ask just in case. I can be a great backup plan though if something happens.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.“

After I head back up to the office to update client files with missing phone numbers and emails, Luster Dawn knocks on the door.

“Hello Luster Dawn. How can I help you?”

“My parents are delayed. They won’t make it back until late tonight. Can you take me home?”

“Go ahead and wait at the drop off. I’ll get a car and pick you up from there.”

“Sounds good.”

Making no effort to pick a car, I grab the keys to one of my M3’s and swing around to the drop off, loading Luster Dawn’s bag and asking for her home address.