Flying here, there and everywhere!

Flights here, flights there, flights everywhere I have a friend who is convinced that Esso is paying for our flights and our employer is making money off that by sending us home on milk runs. I don't believe it for a second but as far as conspiracy theories go it is an interesting one. The idea is that Esso pays a lump sum per guy, say $500. By sending us on the milk runs they average much less, say $250. Therefore they pocket the difference. I don't believe that theory and think instead that they pay the flights themselves and are trying desperately to save money. After all, they only recently started offering flights and what triggered the offer was their need for extra men and inability to find any. They needed the men because they were behind schedule and were probably losing money each day it continued. So I think my reasoning makes more sense. No matter what the reason for offering the flights they are booked in the most milky milk run fashion possible.  Unfortunately if one doesn't like it one could always pay for their own tickets. But it does set you up for potential trouble. When you have been in camp long enough you want a beer and a woman. As you have to get home for the woman then the first thing on your mind is the beer. With our flight we couldn't have a cold one till we reached Calgary and were waiting for the trip to Winnipeg. So we had a few pints with our food and then we flew to Winnipeg. We had a couple more beers there. But when we got onto the plane to head to Toronto the stewardess on WestJet told us we were intoxicated and put us off the plane!!! No test. No breathalyzer! Just a 'get off or we call the cops!' WestJet did rebook us for the next day but that left us at a hotel in the Peg where we REALLY drank some beer. In what can only be described as true irony when I flew out at 4:45am the next morning I truly was intoxicated where I hadn't been the night before! Did I mention that my flight back to camp at the end of the turn left at 7:35 am from Ottawa? I don't live in Ottawa but am 3 hours from it. So on Saturday my wife and I headed to Ottawa and stayed in a hotel. It was fun but cost me 2 days out of my turn at home. Irony being a theme of this entry these flights were ironic! After my longest stay in camp (24 day) it took 2 full days to get home. It took a other 2 full days to get back! That only left 4 short days at home! Painfully short but fully ironic when it is considered next to the very long work turn that proceeded it! Oh well! Two more weeks and I get to do it again! The joys of free flights!!