D-Day Squadron Finalizes Plans.

Possibly the largest flotilla of C-47's and other DC-3 variants since the Second World War will cross the Atlantic in late May to take part in a re-enactment of the first stage of the D-Day invasion.

A total of 18 “Daks” will fly to Scotland for the 75th anniversary of the most pivotal battle of the war. The 18 U.S.-based aircraft will be joined by 17 European aircraft for the flypast, which will include parachute jumps by reenactors using round canopies.

Many of the aircraft took part in the original raid, including "That’s All Brother", the plane that led the assault and was the first one over the beaches. The aircraft, which flew at Sun ’n Fun, was rescued from a scrap heap and refurbished by the Commemorative Air Force over the past three years.

(Source: avweb.com April 6, 2019) 

Additional reference: ddaysquadron.org

• 1985 - January 15, Inaugural service between Toronto - Bombay/Singapore.
• 1985- December 14, Inaugural service between Toronto - St. Lucia using B-767 equipment.
• 1986 - February 2, "Executive Class" service launched in B-767 aircraft.
• 1986 - April 27, Service between Toronto - Manchester U.K. via Glasgow with B-747 equipment.
• 1986 - June, Service between Toronto and Manchester U.K. direct with L1011 equipment.
• 1987- April 26, Service from Toronto - Vienna resumed, previously served from May 1, 1959 to March 26, 1977.
• 2000 - November 16, Service between Toronto and Sao Paulo and Toronto and Buenos Aires commenced.
• 2003 - December 3, Service launched to Lima and Santiago.

These are some of the retirees that stepped aside to reduce potential lay-offs to younger Stockeepers due to the downsizing of the Purchasing & Supply branch.

Seen in our photo are I.A.M. Chief Steward Neil McGlinchy, Chauffeur John Hore leaving June 1, Lead Stockkeper at FSES Real Murphy, Stockkeepers Jim Biggs, Vincent Floccari, Robert B-Bob Gagnon, Ian Tyer, Donato Caivano, Gilles Palmieri, Barry Tremblay, Errol Chatham, Lead Stockkeepers Bill Braidwood, Ted Thurston and Bill Robson. Absent from the photo is stationery Stockkeeper Steve Chatham.

Issue dated October 1985.

A group of European employees take the opportunity to hoist the Air Canada Rondelle atop Mount Spirstock (7,152 feet) in central Switzerland. The third annual hike was organized by Rolf Weinmann, Manager, Switzerland, a strong believer in 'Participation'.

This 1985 year's summit surmounters are, back row, from the left: Ilona Stickler, Passenger Agent, Frankfurt; Joan Lovegrove, Passenger Agent, London; Mr. and Mrs. Sieben, South African Airways and Continental Airlines, respectively; Heidi Lang, Reservations & Sales Office Supervisor, Frankfurt and Rolf Weinmann.

Front row, from the left: guests Miss and Mrs. Christener; Passenger Agents Taili Englert, Frankfurt; Shirley Dunn, London; Martina Steffl and Marion Linder, Frankfurt. 

Issue dated January 1986.

The wind-up meeting of the 1985 Employee Campaign for Funds was held in the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal on December 17, 1985. Some 24 employees representing every branch in the company were on hand to receive trophies and plaques on behalf of their respective groups in recognition of their efforts to achieve the goals established at the beginning of the campaign. Annual contribution for 1985 was $687,677.00.

Employee representatives received plaques indicating the percentage of employee participation in their respective areas and branches. In our photo from the left, are: Yvette Ste-Marie, General Clerk, Human Resources; Sylvie Lefebvre, Secretary, Cargo; Monique Booth, Secretary, Law; Ed Spaiches, Manager, Telecommunications, Central & East, Computer & Systems Services; Jeannine Rivard, General Clerk, Marketing & Planning Support; Jack Kantor, Vice President, ln-Flight Service; Pauline Noel, Executive Secretary, Passenger Marketing - International; John Gomes, Senior Economic & Pricing Analyst, Finance; Lynda Bowles, Customer Relations Representative, Transportation Services; Bob Doret, Director, Processes & Program Development, Facilities & Supply; Johanne Legault, Secretary, Government & Public Affairs and Rhanda Spotton, Public Affairs Assistant, Sales & Service - International (U.S.).

Issue dated June 2012 (Used with permission)

"Horizons" magazine launched a new semi-permanent 75th anniversary column in the February 2012 edition.

We had the first photo of the page in NetLetter #1410. Here is the 1980's version.

Issue dated July/August 2012. (Used with permission)

Our greenest flight ever - Perfect in more ways than one.

On June 18, 2012 we operated our greenest flight ever! Airbus A319 C-GBHM fin #274 operating flight AC991 YYZ-MEX under the command of Captain Todd Martin and First Officer
Jeff MacLellan.

It also happened to be our first bio-fuel flight, our first “perfect flight” (defined as “one which helps meet aviation’s short-term goals of improving fuel efficiency by 1.5 per cent every year until 2020”), and a world first - the second flight in a relay of four commercial bio-jet flights. Three successes rolled into one.

On July 24, Air Canada celebrated its second bio-fuel-powered flight! AC864 departed from Montreal for London using jet fuel derived from recycled cooking oil as well as employing other fuel-saving measures.

New flights to Brazil set.

A bilateral agreement between Brazil and Canada has resulted in the establishment of non-stop, scheduled air service between the two countries.

The federal Department of Transport says that Canadian Pacific Air Lines will be entitled to operate flights from anywhere in Canada to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo.

Varig, the Brazilian national carrier, will be able to fly from points in Brazil to Toronto and Montreal. The department expects direct service to begin in the spring of 1986.

(Source: AC "Horizons" magazine issue November 1985)

CP Air changes name and colours

CP Air is going back to its former name, Canadian Pacific, and adopting its former red, white and blue colours.

One DC-10 has already been repainted and the new colour scheme will appear on the fleet over a three-year period, with newly acquired Eastern Provincial Airways planes among the first to be painted.

The cost of the switch is being minimized by timing the painting to coincide with major maintenance work. The main reason for abandoning the shorter CP Air name is the lack of public recognition abroad.

The existing orange and red emblem will give way to a combination of 'sky' white, 'corporate' red and 'Pacific' blue, and the words 'Canadian Pacific' will be painted in 'corporate' grey.

(Source: AC "Horizons" magazine issue January 1986)

Croydon Airport, U.K. 

London Croydon Airport was once Britain's major and only international gateway airport.

As global air travel developed after World War One it played a significant part in early twentieth century British history and shaping global air travel.

With the March 1920 closure of the temporary aerodrome at Hounslow Heath, it became operational as London Terminal Aerodrome from March 29, 1920 until September 30,1959.

It began life using the former 1915 World War One airfield with commercial operations commencing when the RAF vacated the aerodrome in March 1920.

Britain's first airport expansion Act of Parliament in 1925 led to the 1926 redevelopment of the airport with the completion of the new buildings in 1928.

• Amy Johnson's record-breaking flights
• Birthplace of Air Traffic Control
• Innovation of "Mayday" international distress call
• World's first integral airport terminal
• World's first Air Traffic Control Tower
• Establishment of Britain's national airline, Imperial Airways
• Britain's first international air routes across Europe, Asia and Australia
• Site of multiple world record- breaking flights

Significantly, the new airport introduced the world to two new types of specialized building:-

• Airport Terminal
• Air Traffic Control Tower.

These two types of new building were the first built in Britain, Europe or across the world and are instantly recognizable features of all modern airports. The buildings were of importance as they identified the key functions and processes needed in these transport buildings and were designed around those functions.

A de Havilland Heron stands outside marking the airport's final flight by Morton Air Services to Rotterdam on September 30, 1959. 

(Source: www.croydonairport.org.uk

Terry Baker, co-founder of the NetLetter scours the internet for aviation related Trivia and Travel Tips for you, our readers, to peruse.

Canadian ULCC Jetlines postpones start-up date to December 2019. Aspiring Canadian ULCC Jetlines said its first day of revenue flights will be December 17 — later than its most recent plans, but for the first time pinned to a definitive date.

(Source: ATW Daily News April 5, 2019)

The early days, a Canadian review in 1946.

Mr. H. J. Symington, president of Trans-Canada Air Lines, in a review of the activities of the company during 1946, referred briefly to its history. Incorporated in April, 1937,

T.C.A. reached the stage of operating a full daily service between Montreal and Vancouver two years later. During the war years, in spite of the shortage of men and materials, it expanded, linking Canadian centres with Chicago, Cleveland, Duluth and Seattle. Trans-continental flights were increased to four a day in each direction and larger aircraft were purchased.

The Trans-Atlantic operation began in July, 1943, as the Canadian Government Trans-Atlantic Air Service, entrusted to T.C.A. It was designed primarily for the carriage of mails to and from the Canadian Forces overseas, and for urgent delivery of medical supplies and other equipment. When the war finished it developed into a fare-paying passenger service.

Within the next few months T.C.A. will assume full control under a wholly owned subsidiary company, Trans-Canada Atlantic Limited. A decline in air-mail traffic has given the company serious concern, particularly as the new contract with the Post Office department, which became effective in April, 1946, has resulted in decreased compensation for the carrier.

This contract is based on the amount of mail carried rather than, as formerly, on miles flown, so it is important that the transport of mail should be fostered and encouraged. In the United States this has been accomplished by a reduction in the air-mail surcharge. This diminishing mail revenue was the disappointing factor of the year's operations.

T.C.A. have had to face those increasing costs which normally attend great extensions of airline services, involving, as they do, the engagement of new personnel, their training and familiarization with new types of aircraft, as well as with the opening up of new offices, airfields and communications. These difficulties were accentuated by the failure in delivery of some new equipment due to the lack of materials arising from industrial strikes.

(Source: Flightglobal.com 1947 - 0048)

(Part two will be in NetLetter nr 1415 – eds)

Asia.

8 Night Asia - Princess Cruises - Diamond Princess
Jun 20 - More Dates...
Kobe; At Sea; Hakodate; Sakata; Kanazawa; Sakaiminato; Busan; At Sea; Kobe;
From: Inside: $479 Oceanview: $599 Balcony: $689 Suite: $1289.

14 Night Asia - Holland America Line - ms Maasdam
Aug 14 - More Dates...
Yokohama; Shimizu; Kobe; At Sea; Kochi; Cruise Kanmon Strait; Kanazawa; At Sea; Vladivostok; At Sea; Otaru; Hakodate; At Sea; Yokohama;
From: Inside: $1124 Oceanview: $1199.

Canada & New England.

11 Night Canada and New England - Oceania Cruises - Riviera

Oct 19 - More Dates...New York City; Newport; Boston; Bar Harbor; Bay of Fundy; Halifax; Sydney; Charlottetown; Cruise St. Lawrence River; Quebec City; Montreal; From: Balcony: $1925.

Caribbean.

5 Night Caribbean - Carnival Cruise Lines - Carnival Valor
Sep 09 - More Dates...
New Orleans; At Sea; Cozumel; Progreso; At Sea; New Orleans;
From: Inside: $239 Oceanview: $265 Balcony: $373 Suite: $609.

Europe.

9 Night Europe - Norwegian Cruise Line - Norwegian Getaway
Jul 31 - More Dates...Copenhagen; At Sea; St. Petersburg; Helsinki; Tallinn; Nynashamn (Stockholm); Visby; At Sea; Copenhagen;
From: Inside: $999 Oceanview: $1099 Balcony: $1249.

12 Night Europe - Royal Caribbean International - Brilliance of the Seas
Jun 24 | More Dates...
Amsterdam; At Sea; Skagen; At Sea; Tallinn; St. Petersburg; Helsinki; Stockholm; At Sea; Copenhagen; At Sea; Amsterdam; From: Oceanview: $1210 Balcony: $1330.

All prices are in USD

For more information on these & other Dargal Interline specials.

Call Toll Free: 1-800-690-3223. International Toll Free: (country code)-800-2832-7425

Suite 200-1632 Dickson Ave Kelowna BC V1Y 7T2.

• Customs Official: 'May I have your name?'
  • Passenger: 'Batman'
• Customs Official: 'What's your name!?'
  • Passenger: 'My name is Bat-man'
• Customs Official: 'Trying to be funny!? What's your surname?'
  • Passenger: 'Super-man'
• Customs Official: 'So you're telling me your name is Batman Superman?'
  • Passenger: 'Yes'

Customs Official called security: 'Arrest this man...

When they had him in custody, he was asked to show his identification card: Click on the image for full view.

(Source: jethros.org.uk)