We have welcomed 19 new subscribers so far in 2022.

We wish to thank everyone for your support of our efforts.

Back issues of The NetLetter are available in both the original newsletter format and downloadable PDF format.

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.

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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We will try to post your comments in the next issue but, if not, we will publish it as soon as we can.

Thanks!

The article regarding automated tickets in NetLetter #1477, and the comment by Doug Davidson that the audit coupon was like bank notes, brought back this memory for Terry Baker.

When I was working for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in London, as a lowly office boy in the late 1940's, one of my chores was to take coupons, which had been collected from other airline tickets, to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) clearing house for distribution to the airline involved.

While working for the airline LIAT (1974) in Antigua, operating their computer section in 1978, I recall having to, occasionally, interpret a badly written audit coupon for the key entry person so that the details could be entered correctly.

Ed McManus recalls his experience with the 'short' DC-9 from NetLetter #1477 -

During the time when the 'short' DC-9-14's were being returned to McDonnell Douglas, I was working in the autopilot section of the avionics shop (most called it the radio shop) at the Dorval Base.

We had one autopilot that kept coming back with an intermittent problem that nobody could find and after a thorough bench test, it would be returned to our parts depot we called 'Stores'.

After many return visits of this problem child, one of the foreman decided enough was enough. He took this headache and returned it to its mother who was leaving the next day for its birthplace.

Ed McManus

John Rodger sent in a few photo memories of departed friends:

Just found out before Christmas that another member of this hockey team had passed away, our goalie Larry Courville.

First photo:

Back row, left to right: Manager Jacques Belanger, Dave Russel, Leo Paris, Ed ??, Captain Henley Tuff (deceased), John Rodger, J.P. Tessier (deceased), Joe Stracina (deceased; he also played CFL football with the Ottawa Rough Riders & the Montreal Alouettes), Ron Stabb, Bobby Todd, Coach Claude Nadeau.

Front row, left to right: Bill Quirk, Ray Proux, Larry Courville (deceased), Rick Schofield (deceased), Ken Walker and Ray Duval.

Second photo:

The late John Brodeur (lying on the ice after taking a shot) became a life long friend. He was a huge Montreal Canadiens fan living and working in YYZ. 

Not sure of the year either '59 or '60. Our team was called the TCA Viscounts. We played against the Toronto team in Maple Leaf Gardens and the Montreal Forum.

Cheers,

John

This other photo taken in PEI at the National Golf Tournament 2004 (I was President of the Pionairs at the time) where some of the old hockey players met again.

Left to right: Chuck Taylor, YYZ; Rick Scofield, YUL; Bill Gallant, YYZ (retired in PEI); John Rodger, YUL; Ken McLeod, YYZ (retired in Nova Scotia); Bernie Danis, YUL and Dean McKinnon, YYZ.

Zoltan Zavorsky sent in the photos below of the Air Canada teams that participated in the 'Priority Challenge' race against some major Montreal companies in 1990.

The ladies are, from the left: Pauline Kot, Irene Tsoukatos, Joan Rossy and Cheril Girard.

The men are, from the left: Raymond Cote, Zoltan Zavorsky, Patrick Chow and Roger Laberge.

Only rich people used to be able to afford these things.

It's fair to say that many of us take many aspects of 21st century life for granted.

Our phones, our computers, our TVs... even a cup of tea! Yet for many people in decades and centuries gone by, the simple commodities we love today were once a luxury, which only the wealthiest members of society could afford.

Flying became widely affordable beginning in 1978.

Although commercial air travel had begun to gain momentum in the 1920's, it only really began to take off in the 1950's. Despite this, more than 80% of Americans had never been on a plane by 1958 due to the sky high prices. A round-trip ticket from Boston to Los Angeles cost the equivalent of $4,539 in 1941, compared to $480 in 2015.

Cost aside, flights took significantly longer too. In 1941, for example, that same flight took longer than 15 hours and included 12 stops, compared to a direct flight of six hours in 2015. With all that in mind, it's safe to say that the early days of commercial air travel were very much a luxury for the rich.

Source: MSN News - December 19, 2021

Emily Crombez, the first Canadian female pilot to crew the CL-415 to fight forest fires says, "Firefighting involves scooping up many loads of water and dropping them in a specified fire target area, while often encountering updrafts, turbulence and smoke.

You are heavy and slow, performing steep maneuvers, exercises you are usually taught to avoid."

The Emily Crombez stamp was launched on June 19, 2020 at the Tillsonburg Airport, the anniversary of Emily's first solo on floats.

Click the image to open and view the YouTube video of the launch ceremony.

Source: canadian99s.com/stamps

International Youth Exchange program is back.

Following a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the International Youth Exchange (IYE) program has returned and is accepting applications.

This program gives the children (ages 14 to 19) of airline families the opportunity to travel abroad and immerse themselves in a new culture. The teens are paired up and each resides in the other’s home for a four-week period, spending time with the respective family, learning about their peer’s culture and improving their foreign language skills.

Since 1996, IYE has matched nearly 7,000 youths, helping foster lifelong friendships for participants.

Exchanges are available in: Canada, United States,  Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Australia.

Registration is now open, and the children of Air Canada families can apply. Visit www.intlyouth.org to register and create a profile. For questions, contact Camille Wheeler, IYE Program Director.

Source: AC Daily January 4, 2022 (access to ACAeronet required)

Denmark says it will join a handful of neighbouring countries and make all its domestic airline flights fossil fuel free by 2030. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in her New Year’s address that making flying green is part of the government’s overall goal to reduce carbon emissions by 70 percent of its 1990 totals.

France recently announced it was working on banning short-haul domestic flights where the distance between the cities served can be covered by train in 2.5 hours or less.

Sweden has already made a similar commitment and has also announced plans to increase airport fees for “high-polluting planes.”

Source: avweb.com January 2, 2022

• 1947 - As Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA), the company began passenger operations at Shannon in September, 1947, with a regular service to Montreal.
• 1966 - November 1 - Montreal to Copenhagen and Moscow.
• 2000 - June 19 - Toronto to Kelowna, British Columbia.
• 2000 - October 30 - Vancouver to New York (JFK).

Found in 'Horizons' magazine

Issue dated December 1999 - January 2000

Pionairs' 1999 - 2001 Executive Board.

The millennium team working for all retirees, left to right: First Vice President Bill Fisher, Treasurer Norm Stoddart, Secretary Barbara Hambleton, Second Vice President Kay Napolitano,
President Saville Hambleton, and Pensions and Benefits Representative Leo Goulet.

A half century to Barbados.

'Christmas present for Canadians with a yen for distant vacation lands, the island of Barbados is the newest port-of-call on TCA's West Indies route.'

That's the advertisement that appeared in all Canadian newspapers during the last week of November 1949. On December 1, Trans-Canada Air Lines inaugurated service to Barbados, which was added as a stop onto the once weekly Montreal/Bermuda/Trinidad route.

Ever since their introduction to each other, the beautiful Caribbean island and our airline have been involved in a relationship that has grown deeper and deeper throughout the years.

The first flight on a 44-seat Canadian-built North Star wasn't a perfect one. Its long-awaited appearance in the early morning of December 2, 1949 saw hundreds patiently waiting in the Barbadian early morning to see TCA's inaugural landing. Scheduled to arrive at 6:40 am, the plane touched down at 7:35 am, delayed at Bermuda by a thunderstorm. From Bermuda, the trip had taken just under six hours. The first leg, Montreal / Barbados, had taken over 10 hours. Today, (in 2000), the total flying time from Toronto to Barbados is just over five hours. That first year of operation saw 1,000 souls venturing back and forth on the budding air route.

The airline was then a mere twelve years old. Its equipment still in the developing stages, so much so that eight different aircraft types were used during the half century. After the North Star, the links then became the Super Constellation, the Vanguard, the DC-8, B-727, and B-767. Now it's the A320 and, during the winter, the A340.

Our photo is of the passengers boarding a TCA North Star at Barbados Seawell Airport for the return trip to Canada on December 2, 1949.  

Issue dated July / August 2000

Shalom from Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv, one of Air Canada's popular destinations, is Israel's largest city— it's modern, thriving, bustling, and vibrant. On June 20, Air Canada celebrated its fifth year of service to this earthly paradise.

Our photo of the team was taken on June 20, 1995, the year when service commenced between Tel Aviv and Toronto.

Standing, left to right: Yoram Sviri, Accounts Co-ordinator; Ilana Menn, Customer Relations Manager; Fabienne Idar, Service Agent; Dorit Seror, Sales Representative; Esther Castiel, Sales Manager; Zehava Pesso, Sharon Herszaft, Shirly Ordo, Dorit Schalinger-Bechor, Customer Service Agents; and Adi Aharoni, Senior Assistant General Manager.

Sittng, left to right: Ruth Ben-Tzur, General Manager; Anita Asman, Accounts & Human Resources Manager; Nathalie Luzon, Customer Service Agent; Noemi Livny-Stein, Reservation Manager and Hani Ben-David, Accounts Coordinator.

Absent were Ran Pollak, Tzafi Horovitz, Customer Service Agents; Ariel Harris and Nir Zadikevitch, Airport Duty Managers.

Air Canada Opens Way To Israel.

Air Canada's Flight 884 touched down at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport on June 21, 1995 it became the only Canadian carrier to fly to Israel. The warm reception by Israeli representatives made the historic moment even sweeter in the "land of milk and honey."

Sporting the official symbol of Israel's tourism/peace year, Air Canada's Boeing 767-300ER was a hit with Israelis.

'Keeping It Cool' - This photo by Brian Losito of the Toronto Station Attendants Michael Meleca, Bruce Smith, Phil Lettieri and Randy Reid, otherwise known as the "Incredible Ramp Test Dummies" had everything under control for the Tel Aviv launch. 

Members of the crackerjack Tel Aviv start-up team included, left to right: Jim McCall, Cargo Sales Coordinator - Prestwick; Mike "Mr. Belly" Bailey, Operations Coordinator - Heathrow; Steve Ruffle, Commissary Agent - Heathrow; Roddy McPhee, Customer Service Manager - Prestwick; Deborah Gilbrook, Customer Sales & Service Coordinator - Heathrow and Howard Lewis, Load Agent - Heathrow.

From the "InfoCanadi>n" magazine.

In 1980, the 50th anniversary of flight attendant service in the airline industry, Jewel O'Hanlon, née Butler, inset, made a nostalgic trip to Whitehorse dressed in a recreated original CPAir Lines uniform.

Jewel, one of the first two flight attendants hired in 1941 by Canadian Pacific Air Lines, is also seen here serving a customer in about 1942.

Reflecting on flight service over the years, Jewel said one of the biggest changes is simply numbers. "Today's flight attendant must handle many more passengers’ sometimes with minimal time to perform duties.

On those early flights I had only 12 to 14 passengers to look after and we weren't going anywhere terribly fast so I had the opportunity to get to know them."

Jewel left the airline when she married in 1943. The original uniforms were cut from the same material as pilots' but accentuated the "nurse" look. 

Contributed by Andrew Geider, Corporate Archivist

Videographer, Alex Praglowski, sure does keep busy posting excellent content on YouTube.

He recently took a trip to Timmins, Ontario to to be on board the last trip of an Air Canada Express Dash 8-300 as the fleet is being retired.

Registration C-GKTA was built as a De Havilland Canada DHC-8-300 at Downsview, Ontario and delivered to Time Air in February 1989.

When Time Air merged with Ontario Express to become Canadian Regional Airlines in 1993, it was named 'Spirit of Lethbridge'. 

In March of 2002, it became a part of the Air Canada Jazz fleet (now operating as Air Canada Express) until this final flight.

Additional info:

C-GKTA @ www.planespotters.net

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Air

Found on the Nordair Facebook page -

Flying to Extremes by Dominique Prinet

Published by Hancock House

Contains 280 pages, 180 colour pictures and 15 maps!

Describing some of most memorable adventures and misadventures conducted in the Canadian Arctic with bush planes, “Flying to Extremes” covers the era of the late sixties and early seventies from a base at Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. 

Available in paperback from Amazon

Source:
marinenavigationbooks.com/book-flying-to-extremes

Canada Jetlines takes delivery of first aircraft.

Canada Jetlines, which promised to launch a low-cost airline for years, has taken delivery of its first  aircraft, an 11-year-old Airbus A320.

For more info on the history and start up plans of Canada Jetlines, check out Alex Praglowski's YouTube video.

De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Series 300

While I was watching this edition's 'Featured Video' about the retirement of the DHC-8-300, I thought I'd look into the lifecycle of this fleet.

Planespotters.net lists 27 aircraft that eventually flew as part of the 'Air Canada Express' brand. All were built at the Toronto-Downsview plant from 1989 to 1991 and, with only a few exceptions, were originally delivered to the various connector airlines that would become AC Jazz/Express and serve their entire careers in Canada. The majority were originally delivered to Time Air of Lethbridge, Alberta.  

Here is a list of the original operators:

• Air Nova - 2
• Air Ontario - 4
• Air BC - 6
• Time Air - 14

Two aircraft of the Time Air fleet, C-GTAT & C-GTAQ, were not taken up by Presidential Airways of Washinton D.C.

One interesting exception is C-FRUZ, delivered to Guinness Peat Aviation of Shannon Ireland in October 1991 and leased to several airlines in Europe before being acquired by Jazz in December 2007. It remained in the AC Express fleet until December 2021.

C-FRUZ in Victoria, British Columbia, October 21, 2019

Photo  by Brandon Siska @ commons.wikimedia.org

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

Extracted from the 'Horizons' magazine.

Issue dated June 2000

From an article by Mary Manni, Call Centre Coach & Counselor - Toronto.

On June 16, 1995, Air Canada became the first North American operator of the Airbus A340-300 when it took delivery at the Paris Air Show. In the words of former Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Hollis L. Harris, "this ceremony marks the beginning of a new era in Air Canada's ability and comfort on long range routes."

Pioneering pilots.

Captains Cam Bailey, Chief Pilot, A340, and Gilles LaRue, Flight Manager, were the first pilots to fly Air Canada's A340-300. "The airplane smelled like a brand new car," says Bailey. "Before we flew it to Montreal, we stopped at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport and loaded the belly up with cargo.

The fleet works well and it's a terrific airplane to fly!"

Valuable fleet member.

Twelve aircraft and five years later, this four-engine long-range aircraft has proven to be a valuable addition to the fleet. The A340's state-of-the-art design makes it an environmentally friendly, cost and fuel efficient aircraft.

This aircraft type has flown major long haul routes, such Vancouver-Osaka, Calgary-London Heathrow, Toronto-Tel Aviv, Toronto-Zurich, Montreal-Paris and, most recently, Toronto-Tokyo.

Future orders.

With new versions of the aircraft scheduled to enter the market in 2002, Air Canada has ordered two A340-500's and three A340-600's, with options for more.

With a 7,600 mi (12,231 km) flying range, the -600 version can seat 360 customers and is designed for high density or slot constrained markets. With certification and entry into commercial service planned for the first half of 2002. Although Virgin Atlantic Airways will take delivery of the first aircraft, Air Canada's order will begin to arrive in March 2002.

According to Airbus Industrie, the A340-500 can seat 308 passengers and fly up to 8,450 mi (3,599 km), making it one of the world’s longest range airliners. The first flight took place at the end of 2001 and entry into service is scheduled for the third quarter of 2002. In August 2002, Air Canada will become the first carrier to take delivery of the A340-500.

"These types of aircraft help us offer customers more nonstop service on new routes across the Pacific and Europe," says Mike Hewitt, Director, Fleet Planning. "Once the A340-500 enters the fleet, we can begin to explore opportunities such as non-stops to India and South Africa, and from Vancouver to Singapore, Thailand, India and the South Pacific."

Editors' Note: As is now known, plans for the A340 fleet did not materialize as projected.

See 'What happened to Air Canada's Airbus A340's @ SimpleFlying.com.

Our cartoon by Dave Mathias appeared in the 'Between Ourselves' magazine issued July 1964.