Told to me by a guy about 15 years senior to me.
Crew schedule called him one morning. Told him he was on crew to ferry one of TWA's new Lockheed Constellations (Queen of the fleet back then) to Tampa.
A ferry flight is simply to position an aircraft for a subsequent trip. No passengers, just crew.
"OK, then what?"
"Don't know. Dispo later. (Disposition later) Mr. Hughes just said to get one of the new Connies down to Tampa ASAP."
"OK."
They arrived in Tampa that afternoon. Full cockpit and cabin crew.
One of Hughes' minions met them at shipside. He instructed them to go to their regular layover hotel and await further instructions. All expenses paid. Just sign for meals.
The next morning, having heard nothing form the company, the captain called crew scheduling.
"Hi, this is Captain Smith in Tampa. What's going on with this Connie we brought down yesterday?"
"Sorry, sir. We have no further instructions as yet. Mr. Hughes says your crew is to remain on standby until further notice."
"OK."
'Standby' means you don't get far from the phone. Be ready to go at a moment's notice.
After a few days of hotel living, hanging around the pool, etc., the captain called again.
"Look, we've been down here almost a week. Any idea what's going on?"
"Sorry, sir. Nothing yet."
"OK, what about bringing another crew down to relieve us? This is getting kinda old. A lot of us would like to see our families again."
"Let me check. I'll call you back."
An hour later the phone rang.
"Captain Smith, this is crew schedule. I've been instructed to tell you to call any family members who would like to join you and they can come to Tampa on one of our scheduled flights. TWA will pay all their expenses."
And so they did. They also reached an agreement that only one crew member would have to pull 'standby' duty by the phone. They did it on a rotating basis so the rest could get out of the hotel and hit the beach, see some of the local sights.
After a week or so of paid family 'vacation' they finally got a call from crew schedule.
"OK, you can bring the plane back to Kansas City. You're also authorized to have your families on board."
And to this day nobody knows what Hughes might have had in mind to do with that airplane when he spent thousands of dollars to send an entire Connie crew, and their families, on what turned out to be an extended, all expenses paid vacation.
:shrug: