Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

• 1995
  • December 20 - Inaugural service between Vancouver and Hong Kong with B-747 equipment.
  • December-21 - Inaugural service between Vancouver and Frankfurt via Calgary.

Hello All,

Since the COVID-19 Global problem started in March the use of ZOOM has spread around the World. Not just for business purposes but for family and friends to stay in touch.

The UK/EC Committee have used it several times successfully, and in October the National Committee used ZOOM to hold their Annual Meeting that should have taken place in Winnipeg, again successfully (24 people took part and it lasted for just over 5 hours - with several breaks!).

I discussed with our Committee the possibility of using ZOOM for our members to "meet". We signed up to the professional version which enables up to 100 people to participate and each meeting to last longer than 1 hour.

Our District is unique in that it covers many time zones and several continents which could cause problems. To start with I'll set up our first meeting linked to GMT to see how many people will participate. Ideally it would be for Members in the UK, but could be joined by others in different time zones.

Regards,
Gerald White - Director UK/EC

Pionairs LHR district organized the first ZOOM virtual meeting of members on December 11, 2020. Some 17 retirees joined in from various locations in England, including one from Canada, making it truly international.

Greetings and general chat were exchanged with the session lasting approximately 2 hours. In future sessions, Pionairs from other areas of the UK and EC district will be invited.

Any retiree who worked in the UK but now lives outside the UK/EC district would be welcome to join.

The Flight before Christmas.

Below left is the front cover of the enRoute magazine December 2016 issue.

Inside the issue was this photo on the right on page 226.

Flight attendants Betty Wilson (left) and Vicky Stewart arrive with Santa Claus on a Douglas DC-3 airliner at Malton Airport (now known as Toronto Pearson International Airport). They carry gifts for the annual Trans-Canada Air Lines Christmas party for employees and their families, held at offices across the country.

Source: issuu.com/spafax/docs/air-canada-enroute-december-2016

Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Certified Station Agent II, Claude Bourque, receives congratulatory wishes from his fellow workers on his 30th anniversary.

Front row, left to right: Michel Gauthier, George Morrow, Claude Bourque, Marcel Guilbert, Manager, Customer Service - New Brunswick; Bob Lewis and Joel Ritcey.

Back row left to right: John Stewart, Merl McAndrew, Mark Stevenson, Jim Barriault and Harvey Muttart.

Inaugural Flight to Hong Kong.

The celebration was an absolute success," says Elaine Lee, Customer Service Assistant/interpreter who coordinated Vancouver's inaugural activities for Air Canada's long-awaited service to Hong Kong.

On December 20, 1995, flight AC837 left Vancouver International Airport at 13:00 amid a fanfare of joyous celebrations. A number of employees wore the formal "Cheongsam" for the occasion while the departure area was festooned with banners, balloons and Chinese lanterns.

Following Chinese customs, dancers performed the Lion Dance around Air Canada check-in counters accompanied by the "God of Prosperity" in full traditional dress. Even Vancouver's Dragon Boat Team, the "Dragon Flys", were on hand to see the historic event. "It's about time we flew to Hong Kong," says Joe Tassoni, In-Charge on the maiden voyage.

The carrier's name, emblazoned in six-foot high Chinese characters across both sides of the Boeing 747-400's fuselage, translates as "Maple Leaf Airlines".

Some of the Air Canada volunteers who assisted in the inaugural activities in Vancouver were:

Lisa Wong, Customer Sales & Service Agent; Frances Wong, Customer Sales & Service Agent; Tessa Liu, Flight Attendant; Kim Tye, Asian Interpreter for AC at YVR, the "God of Prosperity"; Dorothy Stauffer, Flight Attendant; Susan Hudec, Customer Sales & Service Agent and Christine Trickett, Employee Records Coordinator.

Photo by Yuki Kayo.

Waiting in Hong Kong were:

Robert Milton, Senior Vice President, Marketing & In-Flight Service, who posed with Hong Kong Sales Office Staff; left to right: Eliza Wong, Mandy Kwan, Cassandra Ko, Debbie Tse,
Anita Leung, Ginnie Chow, Janet Ip, Ivan Tsang and Robert Pinkerton...

LHR employees take to the river for a good cause.

Employees from London Heathrow (LHR) Ramp, Reservations and Sales Departments paddled their Air Canada raft in two races in the summer of 1995 to raise money for several organizations.

Their first race at Guildford saw them paddling 1-1/2 miles down the river Wey for a 12th place finish out of 33 entries. The team managed to raise GBP 456.37 for the Guildford Lions Club.

Their second race was held in Marlow on a very cold and rainy day. The team paddled over 1-1/2 miles of the river Thames for a 4th place finish. They raised GBP 233.44 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Air Canada sponsored the team by donating Frisbees, bags, hats and model aircraft, says Raft Race organizer Kim Jones, "but the majority of sponsorship came from the staff at LHR who have hearts of gold. Not only did they sponsor us, but a lot of them gave us their $100 gift allotment so we could order baseball caps and sun visors which helped raise money for various charities".

Air Canada's team of dedicated rafters included Kim Jones, Alan Corth, Alan Reeves, Chris Watson, Steve Cockton, Wayne Hayler, Tracy Haveland, Kim Dalrymple and Caroline Stanley.

AC's Raptor takes flight.

An Airbus A320 (C-FDSN - Fin #208), painted in a dramatic Raptor design, has been delighting customers and employees since its unveiling during December 1995.

It took Toronto's 23-person paint crew seven days, round-the-clock shifts and some 45 gallons of paint and primer to get the Raptor just right.

After stripping off its last coats of paint to expose the naked fuselage, the crew used detailed drawings developed by Air Canada to ensure the proportion was correct. Air Canada is the official airline of the Toronto Raptors. "The hardest part to get right was the Raptor's teeth and claws on the plane's tail", says Dennis Chislett, Foreman of AC's paint shop.

Staff at London, England moves into Radius Park.

With an eye to cutting costs and an opportunity to boost cargo sales, Air Canada, during 1995, built a new facility at Radius Park, five minutes from Heathrow Airport (LHR) at Hatton Cross.

London's Reservations group may have been the last department to move into the building around Christmas time, but they didn't let the occasion go by without a small party.

In the photo below from left to right are: Sandrine Thabet, Val Everest, Shirley Stephens, Mel Bartlett, Janice Sims and Nancy Sims...

Aeroplan Help group at Montreal Res, who were helping the Aeroplan Centre make the transition to One-Stop Shopping by pre-screening calls, got together for this group shot:

Front Row: Doreen Abdo and Hani Choucrallah.

Second Row: Nella Dilela, Helene Polychuck, Kathy Iacovella and Estella Fernandez.

Third Row: Viviane Chakour, Lorenzo Debonis, Norma Rachiele, Francois Liard, Francine Robidoux, Jeanne Duguay, Francine Vachon, Lisa Bourque, Sylvain Messier and Carole Cohen.

Back Row: Bernard Milbers and Marc Constantineau.