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Heather Johannson sent us these photos -

She writes that the only good thing about staying home is that you find all sorts of things you had forgotten you had.

The first picture was an article in the Vancouver Sun on  April 14, 1978, “Cold Cargo, 133 pound block of ice is held by CP Air cargo agent Heather Hunter today”.

"Glacial ice from Northwest Territories is to be used at cocktail party in Tokyo in May when a Japanese distillery introduces a new brand of Saki to 30,000 guests”

The lady in the photo is me, now Heather Johannson.

The article under the photo reads -

(Editor's note: Some of the text is illegible).

“Have outdone mixing an acceptable martini. Well  the Takara Shuzo Distillery in Tokyo is having 30,000 friends in for drinks May 12-14, 1978 to introduce a new brand of saki and they want to do it right. So they are spending $40,000 to have 32,000 pounds of century old ice from Cambridge Bay in the Northwest Territories sent to Japan to cool the drinks. Part of it goes by CPA jet, the bulk goes by ship Arigato, but can I just have coffee?’”

Ron Rhodes sent us this photo -

This painting was done for me by my wonderful neighbour, Marion Armitage!

It was part of the pandemic collection of paintings she has been doing. I thought you might like to share it. 

Ron Rhodes, Waterloo, Ontario

Air Canada recently announced that it is closing its stations in Bathurst, New Brunswick; Wabush, Newfoundland; Gaspé, Baie-Comeau, Mont-Joli, and Val d'Or, Quebec; Kingston and North Bay, Ontario.

It is hoped that service to these small communities may be restored after the COVID-19 crisis. Possibly this will create an opportunity for other smaller carriers to initiate new routes.

Grande Dame of the Skies.

Lufthansa's historic aircraft receives award.

One of the oldest passenger planes in the world is still flying and received an historic award.

Tante Ju (Auntie Ju) is known as the "Grande Dame of the Skies" and was built in 1936 in the Junkers aircraft plant in Dessau, Germany.

As Lufthansa's first and only historic commercial aircraft, 'Ju 52' received a "Movable Monument" award and protection from the Office of Historic Monuments of the Hamburg Cultural Authority.

The 'Ju 52' is an important and well-loved piece of history. During the summer months of 2015, about 9,000 passengers enjoy the many sightseeing and regular flights offered across Germany and Austria, allowing themselves to experience the pioneering days of passenger flights.

(Source: “Horizons” magazine issue October 2015. – used with permission)

1992

March 16 - Inaugural Boeing 747-400 flight to Los Angeles from Toronto.

May 17 - B-747-400 service introduced Toronto-Frankfurt.

Found in the "Horizons" magazine.

Issue dated December 1990.

Briefcase gets the message across.

We've come up with a big, bold and very apropos way to promote our Executive Class service - a giant billboard designed to look like a briefcase.

Located at Montreal's Décarie Circle, the 240-tonne billboard was hard for the thousands of motorists on the busy highway to miss.

"We wanted to come up with something that would grab the attention of business travellers," said Sharon Core, Manager, Advertising - Business Canada. 'We estimate that about 302,000 drivers will view it every day."

The giant briefcase, measuring 59 feet wide and 25 feet high, is perched atop a two-tonne cement base, with its summit reaching the level of an eight storey building. The metallic baggage tag attached to the handle weighs two tonnes and was illuminated by some 40 neon tubes, while the Air Canada logo measured eight feet in diameter.

A huge newspaper with two inch typeface and a pen two feet in diameter add to the realistic appearance. There was also an electronic message centre that displayed information on various Air Canada products and services.

This information was delivered more rapidly during rush hour, when traffic now is often congested.

Issue dated June 1991.

50 years of service to New York.

Back on May 10, 1941, Trans-Canada Air Lines inaugurated service to New York with two daily flights between Toronto and LaGuardia Airport.

Over the past 50 years, New York has grown to be an important destination in our system. In 1991 we offered 20 daily flights from the New York metropolitan airport to Toronto and Montreal and carried more than 750,000 passengers every year between these cities.

In the photo, Claude Taylor, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer and John Ring, Manager, LaGuardia (right) stand with Georgina Ingram Jackson, a former stewardess who worked on our first flight to New York. In the background are our oldest and newest aircraft, a Lockheed L10A and an Airbus A320.

Bermuda staff breathes life into CPR classes.

Bermuda Senior Customer Service Agent Veronica De Silva and the Bermuda Civil Air Terminal Health & Safety Committee initiated a program of CPR courses to be offered to all Air Canada and airport employees. In early 1991, 51 people from Bermuda Airport have been certified in CPR, including 12 Air Canada employees.

Pictured here are Air Canada and British Airways staff who had passed the course with flying colours:

Kneeling, left to right: Customer Service Agents Floyd Smart and Janet De Silva; one BA staff member and Veronica De Silva, Senior Customer Service Agent and CPR Instructor.

Middle row, left to right: Two BA staff members; Polly Peters, Customer Service Agent; Ms. Rususci Annie, Demo mannequin; Customer Service Agents Lynette Harris, Eric De Silva and Carol Ann Ramsay and Geoff Yeomans, CPR Instructor.

Back row, left to right: three BA staff members; Ronnie Tuckett, CPR Instructor and Felecia Pike, Customer Service Agent.

Issue dated July 1991.

LHR's newest office is in the bag.

Our Heathrow (LHR) baggage office moved to a new land-side location in Terminal 3 where it will be accessible to passengers. What marked this move - the fifth in 25 years - different, is that the office was designed by Air Canada's own baggage staff. With a tight budget and time frame, the staff also helped out with the decoration, carpet laying and furniture moving.

"A big thank you is due to this team of employees," said Peter Baldry, Manager Airport Services, UK & Ireland. "Air Canada's Heathrow customer care program has demonstrably improved with this new facility and all at a lower cost than staying air-side in the previous premises." 

The new office opening was celebrated with a suitcase-shaped cake, displayed here by, left to right: Jack Morath, Baggage Services Supervisor; Tony Coleman, Aircraft Services Manager; Tony Keeler, Baggage Agent; Jim Watson, Baggage Agent; Peter Baldry and Baggage Agents Tony Wardlaw, Barry Bryant and Laurie Sandford.

Issue dated August 1991.

Some 550 Pionairs gathered in San Francisco for their 14th Annual General Meeting.

A few members of the Pionairs Executive who took time out from the meeting to pose for the camera are:

Standing, from left to right: Bill McNutt, Treasurer; Lorne McDermot, Second Vice President and John Innes, President.

Seated, left to right are: Kay Napolitano, First Vice President and Laura Innes, Secretary.

National Pionairs Executive 1991.

• President - John Innes
• Immediate Past President - Leo McIntyre
• First V.P. - Kay Napolitano
• Second V.P. - Lorne McDermot
• Treasurer - Bill McNutt
• Secretary - Laura Innes
• Pension Rep - George Clifford
• Air Canada Liaison - Normand Cadieux
• Pension Estate Office - Bernice Paul

Pionairs District Directors:

Frank Takasaki, Donella Robertson, Ken Morrison, John Kiern, Stephanie Mandzie, Chuck Taylor, Lloyd Wedge, Maureen Swiednicki, Peter McCarthy and Ralph Goodmurphy.

The Executive underwent several changes soon after the AGM.

Lorne McDermot, Second Vice President has resigned due to illness and has been replaced by Leo Goulet.

Donella Robertson has resigned her position as District Director. Her replacement was Wilse Jessee.

Doug Lovat, Director. Pensions & Employee Benefits has been appointed the new representative for the Pionairs.

1992 Annual General Meeting was held May 28-31 in San Francisco.

Lapel pins sporting the new Pionairs logo were available through District Directors and were also distributed. The Pionairs continue to grow and now boast a membership of 4,575 as of 1992.

Issue dated January 1992.

AC agent crowned Miss Heathrow (LHR).

Congratulations to Julie Wilmott, Customer Sales & Service Agent, London, who was recently crowned  'Miss Heathrow Airport 1992'.

Julie competed against 23 other uniformed Heathrow ground staff representing airlines, hotels, handling agents, Heathrow shops and Customs. All of the contestants' jobs bring them into contact with the travelling public and they were judged on their appearance, personality and ability to act as an ambassador for their own company and Heathrow Airport.

Julie, who joined Air Canada in 1989, worked in the London city sales office before moving to Heathrow in April 1991. In her capacity as Miss Heathrow, Julie was to open charity events and attend local celebrations on behalf of the airport.

In this photo, Julie's proud colleagues help her celebrate her win. Getting into the spirit are, back row, left to right: 

Bob Lynch, Airport Passenger Service Manager, London and Peter Baldry, Manager, Airport Service, U.K. and Ireland.

Front row, left to right: Customer Sales & Service Agents Karen Tant, Rula Stavrinou, Tom Doggett, Julie Wilmott, Geraldine Jolly, Rebecca Waddington, Andrew Gardner, Joanna McAinsh and John Mitchell, Station Attendant.

Issue dated February 1992.

Air Canada granted designation to Berlin.

The Governments of Canada and Germany have expanded their air transport agreement to enable Canadian carriers to serve Berlin, the new German capital, and Lufthansa to serve Ottawa.

As a result, AC plans to begin service between Toronto and Berlin's Schoenefeld Airport this summer (1992), in addition to the existing flights to Frankfurt and Dusseldorf.

Also in 1992, Air Canada introduced service to La Grande, Quebec, its first new domestic destination in 16 years.

The airline operated weekday DC-9 service, with a Saturday flight added in April for the peak summer construction period. La Grande is located in northern Quebec and is the key airport for James Bay construction projects.

A320 a hit in Bermuda.

Air Canada's A320 has some new fans after its inaugural flight to Bermuda.

The airline is the first carrier to fly the A320 into Bermuda and the news media were out in full force to cover the special event.

Ian Davis, Manager, Bermuda was also on hand for the event and admitted, "It was amazing to see the reaction of our staff to this brand new aircraft. You could see that they were (and still are) very proud of the fact that we have begun flying A320s into Bermuda."

Celebrating this special event were, left to right: Gary Parker, Route Contribution Manager, Caribbean; Marc Rosenberg, General Manager, Passenger Sales US & South; Customer Service Agents Janet De Silva, Lynette Harris, Eric De Silva, Polly Peters, David Lambert, Felicia Pike, Carol Ramsay and Ian Davis.

Introducing the B747-400.

On the wing of the simulator, at the new In-Flight Training Center in Dorval, we see the training instructors.

From left to right, standing: Flight Attendants Alain Grenier, YYZ; Ron Allain, YHZ; Mark Adams, Purser, YYZ; Flight Attendants Arlene Murphy, YYZ; Michel Casavant, YUL; Chantal Viau, YYZ; Mark Olivier, YUL; Bonnie Simpson, Purser, YVR; Flight Attendants Ravi Zilka, YYC and Carol O'Connell, YYZ.

In the front row, from left to right: Christian Aveline, Training Supervisor, Dorval; Paul Bouchard, Supervisor, B-747-400 Program, Dorval; Flight Attendants Christiane Mineau, YUL; Jacques Johnson, YWG and Linda Valiquette, YUL.

TCA Alumni Reunion.

The 20th annual reunion of the TCA Alumni was held from November 12-15, 1991 at the Breckenridge Resort Hotel in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida.

Issue dated March 1992.

Maple Wings AGM.

The Canadian Maple Wings, an association of former and current TCA/Air Canada Flight Attendants held their 12th Annual General Meeting April 24-25, 1992 at the King Street Holiday Inn in Toronto.

We extracted this photo of Queen Elizabeth II with Prince Phillip deplaning from a Nordair aircraft.

Unfortunately it was too difficult to read any of the text.

Neil Burton sends us this information -

Hercules news from the past in Cargo Clan – 22nd Edition – No. 3 – Year 1978.

'Cargo Clan' was an official journal of the Cargo Clan – a division of the Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Club of Hong Kong. 

Writer/photographer Saul Lockhart journeyed to Hay River, N.W.T., in April 1978, to see and cover a Pacific Western Airlines Hercules operation.

He joined the crew on Hercules No. 385, making 3 trips to Banks and Melville Islands. Captain of this Hercules aircraft was Richard (Rick) S. Soley, “the Midnight Cowboy”.

First Officer Chris Knight, “the Slug”; Second Officer Henry Pasemko, “Super Uke”; and Loadmaster Norman Geiger, “The Dangerman”.

Project managers, in Hay River during Lockhart’s stay, were Al Philpott and Garry Mathewson.

Neil Burton, May 6, 2020.

Neil Burton also sent us this information -

A file of a paper I prepared on the P.W.A. Trucking Division, that does not include information from 1974 Shareholders' Report, that I do not have.

Click the icon or the image below to view the full document.

Neil Burton, May 21, 2020.

A group of Alberta aviation enthusiasts are hoping to raise enough money to give a decommissioned Fokker F-28 jet a permanent home in Lethbridge. The plane used to fly for Time Air, a former regional airline with roots in southern Alberta.

(Source: globalnews.ca)

Fokker F-28 aircraft C-FTAV in its heyday in 1991 - decked out in special "Silver Bullet" colours to mark Time Air's 25th anniversary in Lethbridge.

The Time Air Historical Society is asking for public support to return the aircraft to Lethbridge with a special GoFundMe campaign.

(Source: Handout courtesy Anthony Hickey/Time Air Historical Society)

This photo of the CP Air Flight Attendant training class in 1975 was posted to Facebook by Paul Goodman.

Kim Deuling supplied these names:

Front left to right: Lori Henry, Nora Suen, Wendy Harper, Rill Macdonald, Kim Deuling, Sue Papworth, Yoki Mathews, Mary Barrett, ? and Suwako Douglas.

Men in back left to right: Peter ?, Lorenzo Dipalma, John Brennan, Ian Marsh, Bruce Carmichael, Arnold Philipsen, Howard Tuff and Ted Hewitt.

Ralph Quick sends us this video with this comment -

It reminds me of a five year old boy that wanted to come up in flight and I said OK and then changed my mind as we were shortly starting descent. Told the cabin attendant to bring him up when we got on the ground.

When he marched in before I knew what was happening, he was between my leg and the pedestal then around between my legs and had grabbed the wheel and was vigorously turning it back and forth.

If we had been in flight I would have had to grab him by the scruff of neck to stop him. Now that’s determination to be a pilot that this boy seems to possess.

Click the image to view the video.  

Here we have the timetable for Atlantic Central Airlines issued February 24, 1975.

There does not appear to be any history of this airline.

(Source: from the collection of David Zecria)

The world's largest passenger plane just completed a 4-day trip around the world trip delivering medical supplies.

The Airbus A380 operated by Portuguese charter airline, Hi Fly,  has returned to service to assist in humanitarian efforts related to COVID-19, flying an around-the-world trip earlier in May, 2020.

Hi Fly operates the only second-hand A380 which it uses for recovery, repatriation, and medical supply flights under its wet-lease and charter purview.

The world's largest passenger jet, the A380 in Hi Fly's configuration seats nearly 500 passengers with amenities and features held over from its former owner, Singapore Airlines.

(Source: MSN.com May 22, 2020)

Airbus just trucked its final A380 fuselage through a small French village as the world's largest airliner is killed off.

A crowd would typically form to see the A380 convoy, which only proceeds at night through Levignac, but the June 17, 2020 convoy was special as it was the last one ever.

Emirates will take delivery of the final Airbus A380 in mid-2021 after largely keeping the program alive with new orders in recent years. After 15 years and less than 300 models built, the Airbus A380 program is coming to a close.

The A380 product line is being shuttered as no more orders have been placed for the super-jumbo jet and next-generation aircraft are taking its place.  The aircraft simply has no more new customers and cannot compete with new, next-generation aircraft.

Photos of workers on the final project lined the fuselage, temporarily painted in green to protect the aluminum alloy.

(Source: www.msn.com/en-gb/news)

Canadair CP-107 Argus (CL-28)

I love living at a time when we have so much history on film and available on platforms such as YouTube.

I recently came across a film produced by the National Film Board of Canada, entitled 'Birth of a Giant'', about the development of the Canadair CP-107 Argus.(CL-28).

Developed as a marine reconnaissance aircraft during the 'Cold War' era, the CL-28 was the largest aircraft built in Canada at the time. Derived from the Bristol Britannia but built with North American parts, it was the most effective anti-submarine aircraft of its day patrolling the Atlantic.

The CL-28 had an endurance of approximately 26½ hours with full armament. An Argus flown by 407 Maritime Patrol Squadron held the Canadian military record of slightly over 31 hours for the longest flight by an unrefuelled aircraft.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadair_CP-107_Argus

Additional Info: National Air Force Museum of Canada

Birth of a Giant -Click the image below to open the video

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

Answer for the mystery airline in Odds and Ends.

Air Mauritius is the flag carrier of Mauritius, an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar.

The company was founded in 1967 by Air France and the government of Mauritius. The airline was placed in voluntary administration April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early aircraft interiors - Powder Room.

On the world's first jet airliner service in 1952, a passenger freshens up in the ladies' powder room.

Photo: Getty Images.

(Source: aviationweek.com May 13, 2020)