We Came Home With Lobsters Onboard
May 28, 1981
Boston was always a fun destination. For many reasons. This story details only one. That's the story of a FBO freebie for a flight crew. Which is worth a story about Butler Aviation at BOS, because there were two fiercely competitive FBOs located immediately adjacent to each other on the General Aviation ramp, and it was the main business plan of each to outdo the other for the corporate jet fuel business. They did everything they could to entice an arriving corporate jet to park on their piece of the ramp. Although we always went to Butler, just because that's where the passengers expected to go.
In that day and age, FBOs competing for fuel and other transient aircraft services frequently offered freebie giveouts such as caps, t-shirts and other goodies as gratuities for flight crews that gave them their business. A corporate jet's fuel purchase can be worth thousands of dollars.
This trip was a day trip, meaning out and back home the same day. And that was a good thing, too, because that meant the passengers had no bags. So there was plenty of room in the aft (pressurized) baggage compartment of the Citation for the two large styrofoam boxes, each of which contained two live lobsters on ice. I hope the lobsters enjoyed their flight back to our home base. I certainly enjoyed having them for supper.
11-22-2022
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References for Non-Pilots:
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