I figured out “Cactus” is the call sign for US Airways, but that only came to me through the media coverage of the comms between ATC and the highly skilled pilots of “Cactus 1549”, the flight that landed in the Hudson River in January 2009.
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Cactus was chosen. America West was based in Phoenix, Arizona near the Sonoran Desert – home of the giant Saguaro cactus. In 2006, America West merged with US Airways. The Cactus call sign survived the merger and all US Airways flights were soon known as “Cactus” on the radio.
Cactus – US Airways: “Cactus” was adopted by US Airways as a result of its merger with America West Airlines. The name “Cactus” was derived from America West's earlier call sign, which was chosen due to the airline's origins in the desert regions of the southwestern United States where cacti thrive.
Capt. Sully returned briefly to flying for US Airways several months after his famous flight, and retired from the airline business later in 2009, landing a lucrative book deal and speaking engagements.
Sullenberger retired from US Airways on March 3, 2010, after 30 years as a commercial pilot. In May of the following year, he was hired by CBS News as an aviation and safety expert.
The callout from the pilots like LOC blue serves to remind themselves of the current flight guidance modes, and to maintain awareness of mode changes. This is also to ensure that their mental idea of what the aircraft will do next is up to date and fits to the current flight situation.
If the aircraft lands and doesn't have any passengers booked for the flight back to its home base, it will likely have an empty leg flight. These flights may also be referred to as empty flights, ferry flights, repositioning legs, dead-heads, or one-way flights.