We have welcomed 116 new subscribers so far in 2023.

We wish to thank everyone for the continuing 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 2024 show is scheduled to take place July 22-26 at Farnborough Airport (FAB) in Farnborough, Hampshire, United Kingdom.

The U.K.’s Farnborough International Airshow celebrates its 75th anniversary in September 2023.

The event was established by the Society of British Aircraft Constructors in 1948, with the first edition featuring 66 British aircraft. Organizers noted that the show has seen aerospace industry milestones including the launch of the world’s first jet airliner, the de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, in 1949, the Black Arrows’ world-record 22-aircraft formation loop in 1958 and the BAC-Aerospatiale Concorde’s Farnborough debut in 1970.

Source: AVWeb.com

Extracted from the 'Parts & Pieces' magazine

Issue dated June 1990

Harry Van Zyl (right) who left us last year for sunny Florida is greeted by Stan Sumsion and Ian Bentley on a recent visit to Dorval Stores.

Harry informed us that he is working as a Passenger Agent for Air Canada at Tampa Airport.

Retired stock keeper, Maurice Fitzgerald (left) and Bob Hofman (rear) are shown welcoming Heidi Frauenhoff who transferred from the Dorval Cafeteria.

Heidi, who had spent the last 11 years over a hot stove, began working in Dorval Stores in late May in a new air-conditioned environment.

Jean Parent our Grand Knight, Knights of Columbus of St. Laurent, was invited as an honoured guest in the launching of a campaign for the handicapped children of Quebec.

Towering above Jean, from left to right, are Maurice Richard, Gordie Howe, Jean Beliveau, Bobby Hull and Ted Lindsay.

The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) in England needed pilots, perfect for the young, experienced flyer.

Vi Milstead Warren was one of only four Canadian women in the ATA.

They were part of the 1,152 men and 166 women assigned to fly brand-new aircraft fresh off factory lines to military sites in England and Europe.

Milstead easily acquired the Class IV ferrying rating for twin-engine aircraft, earning the rank of first officer.

References:

www.gmam.ca

cahf.ca/vi-milstead-warren

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violet_Milstead

Found in 'Horizons' magazine

Issue dated April 1981

'Contact' looks for sales leads

Six passenger agents contacted some 3,000 employees during 1981 in a nine-day sales blitz.

The purpose of the blitz was to encourage employees to, in turn, encourage their friends and relatives to fly Air Canada, or at the very least to make their travel plans through the company's travel agency facilities.

The blitz program known as 'Contact' asks employees to play a liaison role between the company and the friend or relative who wants to travel.

The group made their first 'Contact' by calling on President Claude Taylor. Pictured with him in his office are, from the left: Nicole Sauvé, Diane Neuschwander, Lucienne Fitzpatrick, Paula Ravenda, Ann Dickson and Micheline Dilalo.

Purchasing & Supply graduates.

Reid Cavers, formerly a Regina Passenger Agent, and Harry Hall, formerly a General Clerk in Purchasing & Supply, Dorval, are the tenth and eleventh graduates of the Purchasing & Supply Management Program, inaugurated in 1975.

Participants undertake an intensive study of P & S functions and their interrelationships over a ten-month period. Graduates are then assigned to permanent management positions on the basis of demonstrated potential.

At Dorval, Bruce Aubin, Vice President, Purchasing & Supply, left, presents Harry Hall with his certificate while Reid Cavers examines his diploma. Looking on is Jeff Reynolds, Program Coordinator.

From 'CPA Newsletter' magazine

Issue dated February 1969

Klondike Hay foils racetrack odds makers.

There's nothing like a little home-grown feed to bring out the best in a horse.  In the summer of 1968, Whitehorse hotelman Cal Miller's horse Scarlet Question, racing at Vancouver's Ex Park, was not really paying for his feed.

So, friends of Miller's thought some Klondike Hay might do the trick and placed a bale on a CP Air Boeing 737.

You guessed it - Scarlet Question won its next race. Of course hay shipments continued and Miller's stable experienced a series of victories. They were scratching their heads at Ex Park.

Breakfast of champions, 'Klondike Hay', air shipped from Whitehorse to Vancouver. Horse owner Cal Miller, poses with a hay shipment and stewardesses Gay Meredith (left), Wanda Anderson (centre) and Shirley Rickey (right).

Photo from the Whitehorse Star

Special Commemorative Issue - March 30, 1987

A well-kept secret.

Canadian Airlines International made its first public appearance at a press conference in Vancouver, B.C. on March 24, 1987.

The new corporate identity was already being promoted to the public. A major nation-wide advertising campaign began on March 30, 1987 spreading the Canadian word to the public.

Flight attendants were announcing the new name to passengers and administration offices were answering the telephone, 'Canadian Airlines International'.

To avoid passenger’s confusion, reservations offices continued to identify themselves as 'Pacific Western Airlines' and 'Canadian Pacific Air Lines' until proper signage was in place at the airports, and reservations offices were fully integrated on April 26, 1987. 

Creating an image.

Employees play a major role in new advertising.  

Issue dated April 1991

YYZ Terminal 3 STOC Centre representatives.

Background, left to right: Tom Theaker (Arrivals/Departures Coordinator), Claudia Falkenberg (Coordinator), Stan Kowalewicz (Terminal Control Manager).

Foreground, left to right: Paul Umpleby (STOC Cargo Coordinator) and Todd Tripp (STOC Ramp Coordinator).

Our video is posted on YouTube by Montreal-based videographer, Mark Brandon, showing 30 year old C-FNVV (fin #416), in its new 'Air Canada Jetz' livery, arriving and departing Montreal - Pierre Elliott Trudeau International (YUL) on September 14.

Please take some to time to view more of Mark's videos and subscribe to his channel, he does great work.

City Express was founded by Joseph Csumrik in 1971 as Atonabee Airways based at Peterborough Airport in Peterborough, Ontario. 

It took over Wagner Airways and began scheduled service in 1975. In 1980 the company was renamed to Air Atonabee.

In 1984, Air Atonabee was acquired by and reorganized into City Express.

The airline relocated its base to Toronto Island Airport (now Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport) (YTZ) where it began STOL service.

City Express ceased operations in February 1991.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Express

City Express Saunders ST-27 (C-FFZP) at Montreal (YUL)

Photo by Alain Rioux @ commons.wikimedia.org

 C-GDUZ Life in Photos

Ken Pickford noted that the aircraft (C-GDUZ - fin #646) in our 'Featured Video' section in NetLetter # 1517 was one of two aircraft originally delivered to Asiana Airlines in 1991.

They were acquired by Canadian Airlines late in 1991 and, for around six weeks, flew in Asiana livery with the 'Canadi>n' logo on the fuselage (until painted in the 'Proud Wings" livery). They transitioned to Air Canada in 2001 and then to the Rouge brand in 2017.

C-GBZR (fin #645) was returned to the lessor, AerCap, in 2022. However, 31 year-old C-GDUZ (fin #646) has remained with Air Canada in cargo configuration. 

Ken did some internet searching to find photos of C-GDUZ in its various liveries and shared the links with us. I thought that it would be interesting to share this aircraft's known liveries, in chronological order, with our readers.

Editors' Note:

Aircraft photos that can be found on the internet may be copyrighted so I contacted the photographers (where copyrights apply) and asked permission to post the thumbnails below.

We wish to thank the photographers who have given us permission. All the photos link the original source, so please click on each to view the photographers' original. 

Original delivery livery as registration HL7266

Hong Kong - Kai Tak International
November 16, 1991

Photo courtesy of LRS747

Asiana livery with Canadian logo on fuselage

Nagoya Airport, Japan
January 1999 

Source: flyteam.jp/photo/3638742
(Copyright status unknown)

'Proud Wings' livery

(Location Unknown)
April 1999

Photo by Aero Icarus

First Air Canada livery 

Santiago de Chile Arturo Merino Benítez International - Chile
January 26, 2008

Photo courtesy of Fernando Olivares

Second Air Canada livery

Geneva International - Switzerland
January 24, 2016

Photo courtesy of Chris N

Air Canada Rouge livery

Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International, Florida
February 6, 2019 

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Denton 

 After cargo conversion - before new paint job

Guadalajara Don Miguel Y Hidalgo International - Mexico
May 14, 2023

Photo courtesy of Mario Orozco

Current 'Air Canada Cargo' livery 

San Jose Juan Santamaria Int'l - Costa Rica
September 1, 2013

Photo courtesy of Alonso Cisneros

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

• 6 Days Australia/New Zealand
  • Cunard • Queen Elizabeth
  • Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne
  • 1 departure dates: November 27 2023.
  • Prices from: Inside $599 - Outside $659 - Balcony $719 - Suite $2299. 

• 10 Days US & Canada Eastern
  • Royal Caribbean Int. • Jewel of the Seas
  • Quebec City, Saguenay, Charlottetown, PEI; Sydney, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New Brunswick; Portland, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts;  Bayonne/Cape Liberty, New Jersey.
  • 1 departure date: October 30 2023
  • Prices from: Inside $406 Outside $477 Balcony $813 Suite $2630.

The BC Aviation Museum, located at the Victoria International airport (YYJ) has a large collection of aviation memorabilia, many static aircraft, including an ex-Air Canada Viscount.

One of the most famous aircraft in BC aviation history, the mighty Martin Mars water bomber, could be coming to the BC Aviation Museum, negotiations are ongoing.

The Mars flew from 1961 to 2015 around North America fighting over 4000 wildfires with its massive water dropping ability that could end a huge blaze in a single pass. These enormous red and white aircraft captured the hearts of British Columbians for how they saved BC forests.

See: BCAM-MARS-PRESS-RELEASE.pdf

Editors' Note: 

We note the press release refers to the Mars as "equal in size to a Boeing 747". In fact it's much smaller. The only similar dimension is the wingspan.

The Martin JRM-2 Caroline Mars

Photo in Public Domain

The BC Aviation Museum recently acquired a CF-104 Starfighter, a Cold War fighter-bomber that was a major Canadian contribution to NATO. It features very thin and stubby wings, a distinctive “T” tail and a powerful engine.

See: CF-104-Press-Release.pdf

The Canadair CF-104 Starfighter

Photo in Public Domain

Our cartoon, from the 'Mirth with Mathias' series, appeared in the 'Between Ourselves' magazine issued December 1963.

"Mr. Finchley, sales representative, Trans Parent Air Lines to see you Sir John!"