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We wish to thank everyone for your support of our efforts. |
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We invite you to visit our website at www.thenetletter.net/netletters to view our archives. Restoration and posting of archive issues is an ongoing project. We hope to post every issue back to the beginning in 1995. |
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We always welcome feedback about Air Canada (including Jazz and Rouge) from our subscribers who wish to share current events, memories and photographs. Particularly if you have stories to share from one of the legacy airlines: Trans-Canada Air Lines, Canadian Airlines, CP Air, Pacific Western, Maritime Central Airways, Eastern Provincial, Wardair, Nordair, Transair, Air BC, Time Air, Quebecair, Calm Air, NWT Air, Air Alliance, Air Nova, Air Ontario, Air Georgian and all other Canadian based airlines that once graced the Canadian skies. Please feel free to contact us at We will try to post your comments in the next issue but, if not, we will publish it as soon as we can. Thanks! |
We have welcomed 206 new subscribers so far in 2022.
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Check www.pionairs.ca and select your district to view the local schedule to get together with friends. |
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For example, the Nova Scotia & P.E.I. District next meeting will be held Tuesday, October 4, 2022 at Freeman's Little New York, in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. |
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Reprinted from NetLetter # 960 Recollections of London (Heathrow) International Airport (LHR) from 1954 to 1965 by Terry Baker. The original accommodations for Trans-Canada Air Lines were on the north side of the Heathrow airport, at the junction of the Bath Road and Sipson Road, in huts. The nearer hut contained the administration and next to it was the hut for ramps, communications and flight dispatch. The cargo complex was several hundred yards east and the commissary, maintenance and stationery were on the south east near Hatton Cross. Later, the administration office was moved to a hut near the control tower when the entrance off the Bath Road was improved to service the tunnel to the centre of the airport. Food was usually available in the Green Dragon and, off the airport, at the Three Magpies and The Air Hostess. Personnel who I recall during this time were:
The only events I recall were the Vulcan aircraft crash, the Edgehill Air Stairs, arrival of Pan Am Boeing Stratocruiser, Comet 4, B-707 and Concorde first flights - who can forget the black smoke from the B-707 with the water methanol injection on take-off - the passengers pouring out of the double deck Air France Bréguet 763 Provence, the marquee (large tent), which served, temporarily, as the departure lounge at one time, in the central area and the DC-8 Cabbage Patch incident. Many of us took the fam flight of the Super Connie to Dusseldorf and of the DC-8 to Shannon. Arriving at customs and being asked the fatal question "Anything to declare" and the relief on having a chalk mark applied to your luggage, which allowed one to exit - now you can breeze through the 'Green - nothing to declare' exit, which is generally staffed by groups of a few customs officers chatting to each other, seemingly paying no attention to the throngs passing before them. Of course all the accommodations have changed or are long gone, especially the huts on the north side. In the 1960's TCA/Air Canada moved the administration, Purchasing, Flight Dispatch and Communications into the Queen's building located in the central area of the airport. Editors' Note: We invite anyone with memories to share with us, please do so! |
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Jack Morath in LHR shares this information - At the last Pionairs LHR Zoom meeting the tracker devices used to trace your baggage was mentioned. Our son bought us a pack of four from Amazon and titled Apple Air Tags. We have not used them on a flight yet but our son and his family have used theirs and also our grandson used one this past week from the Canary Islands to Gatwick. Here's a brief description; it sends out signals via Bluetooth that are detected by nearby Apple devices. The devices send the location of the Air Tag to iCloud which you can access on your phone through the Find My app. Your labelled Air Tag will show up on a map that shows you exactly how far away it is. A number of people have advised how useful the gadget is. An item explained about a couple who travelled from New York to Copenhagen and on arrival in Copenhagen their baggage did not arrive on the baggage belt. When they reported the loss at the desk, the person phoned somewhere and advised that the bag was not there. The passenger then showed him their Apple Air Tag and it showed up in the terminal and later the bag turned up in the Baggage Hall. Thought you might be interested to hear these comments, Jack |
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Found in 'Horizons' magazine |
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Issue dated May 1991 |
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When you wish upon a star... Air Canada staff makes a dream come true. The 'Dream Come True' flight sprouted in the minds of four Toronto employees in 1989. Cargo Sales Manager Bob Kent, Passenger Service Supervisors Kathy Dutchak and Chris Dale and Customer Sales & Service Agent Kent Angus. This year (1991), Air Canada loaned the group a B-727 for the children, their escorts and volunteers. Ground handling, catering and aircraft cleaning were handled by volunteers, and Transport Canada waived the landing fees - so all $27,000 raised by hundreds of generous Air Canada employees went directly to fuel costs and the children's expenses. The program soon spread across the system as 'Dreams Take Flight' and operated flights from Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. Unfortunately, due to COVID, flights have been suspended since 2020. The 'DTF' are busy planning and fundraising to resume the program in 2023. See: DreamsTakeFlight.ca to check their progress. |
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Issue dated April / May 2001 |
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All Star Stores Hockey 2001 In random order are some of the great players of the YUL Stores: Paul Murphy, Ben Besner, Stan Sumsion, Steve Wells, Mike Delaney, John McKirdy, Larry Montreil, Todd Giroux, Brian Baillargeon, Anthony Laniel, Lee Bourque, Ken Marler, Patrick Swann, John Gauthier, Elio Monaco, Guy Kienholz, Nick Giuliano, Arthur Richard, Johnnie Walker, John Glass, Gary Kirbyson, Terry Burns, Gary McGregor, Brono Santella, Ross McKenzie, Rob Broderick, Martin Elie, Dave Ford, Denis Leduc, Alain Marineau, Mike Roman, Gord Speirs and Jack Patterson. |
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Congratulations go out to Brian Nelson of YYZ Stores on receiving his thirty-five year pin and passes. Brian is a Lead Stock Keeper in Toronto Stores and has been very active in the changes going on at that location. Pictured below left, from left to right are: Wayne Turner, Dave Bruce, John Agnew, Brian Nelson, Jim Armstrong, Bryn Evans, Derrick Hotchkiss, Ken Smith & Reagan Seunarine. On the right: presenting Brian with his honours was Bill Tannyan, Manager of Logistics & Supply, Central USA and South. |
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Original source by Larry Milberry at: Lockheed L14-2 Super Electra CF-TCH originally joined Trans-Canada Air Lines on August 25, 1938. Perhaps replying to the advertisement you will see in 'Postwar Adverts', Nickel Belt Airways of Sudbury bought 'TCH' on January 8, 1948, but this deal may have gone awry. Nickel Belt re-sold "TCH" to the British American Oil Co. (BA), of Toronto. When 'BA' upgraded to a Lodestar in 1953, "TCH" was sold to California-Atlantic Airways in California, where it became N66578. In December 1956 it resumed its old registration when brought back to Canada by Photographic Survey Co. While on an Arctic contract, 'TCH' suffered an accident at Hall Lake on the Melville Peninsula in July. Likely because Hall Lake had access to the summer supply barges serving the Canadian Arctic, 'TCH' was shipped south for repairs. Its final owner is listed to be Hunting Survey Corporation. It was withdrawn from service and scrapped in 1962. |
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