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NetLetter #1353 | October 23, 2016 |
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Inter Canadi<n Fokker F-28
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Dear Reader,
Welcome to the NetLetter, an Aviation based newsletter for Air Canada, TCA, CPAir, Canadian Airlines and all other Canadian based airlines that once graced the Canadian skies.
The NetLetter was created in 1995 by Vesta Stevenson (RIP) and Terry Baker and is published on the second and fourth weekend of each month. If you are interested in Canadian Aviation History, and vintage aviation photos, especially as it relates to Trans-Canada Air Lines, Air Canada, Canadian Airlines International and their constituent airlines, then we're sure you'll enjoy this newsletter. Our website is located at www.thenetletter.net
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ACFN/NetLetter News
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ACFN Obituary site nearly completed.
We have made great progress on the ACFamily Obituary web site and plan to announce its opening in the next NetLetter (#1354). We have some final adjustments to make and also need to finish importing nearly 300 obits from the old site. The site will be completely searchable and will be funded using donations made to the ACFN. (more on this later as well).
We know that not everyone is "into" obits, but as we all age many of our airline friends and colleagues will pass before we do. The most important aspect of the site is to be aware of the passing of former colleagues in a timely manner so you can attend their service if desired.
We also found a need to build a permanent (at least as permanent as the internet can be) site to honour the past and present airline employees who have contributed to Canadian aviation. There's no need to be inducted into any "Aviation Hall of Fame" *** to be recognized in the ACFN Obituary area.
After many requests to post obits in the past year, we have been busy creating the new site to replace the old one which was obsolete and difficult to maintain.
Subscribers to the NetLetter (and anyone else), will be invited to post obituaries for their loved ones that were Air Canada, TCA, Canadian, CP Air, etc. employees. More info next week.
Regards,
Alan and the NetLetter Team
*** This is not meant to be a slight against the CAHF which can be found at: www.cahf.ca, we realize that not everyone can be a hero, leader or innovator. |
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Air Canada News
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 Jazz Aviation has extended its Smart Parts agreement with Bombardier, which will see the Canadian OEM provide the carrier with long-term support on its Q400 aircraft fleet, which it flies under the Air Canada Express banner. The contract which was originally scheduled to conclude in 2020 has been extended to December 2025. (source MRO Network daily September 30, 2016)
Air Canada will extend its international reach to North Africa in 2017, the airline announced on September 28, 2016. The airline’s leisure travel subsidiary Air Canada Rouge will operate the routes, utilizing Boeing 767-300ER aircraft configured with 282 seats.
Air Canada Rouge will resume its direct nonstop Montreal–Casablanca, Morocco, route on April 19, 2017, with 3X-weekly service, increasing to daily service in June 2017 before returning to 3X-weekly flights during the winter season. The 2017 start up of the direct Casablanca route will be an expansion of Rouge’s present seasonal service to full-year service.
Additionally, Air Canada will start seasonal service between Montreal and Algiers, Algeria, on June 26, 2017 (subject to government approvals) and Montreal–Marseille, France, on June 9, 2017. Montreal–Algiers will be 4X-weekly nonstop service, running through October 27, 2017. Montreal–Marseille will be 3X-weekly nonstop service, running through October 13, 2017. (source ATW Daily news September 30, 2016)
AIR CANADA completed previously announced C$1.25b refinancing to result in expected C$60m savings in interest annually. (source SpeedNews October 7, 2016) |
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Star Alliance News
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Juneyao Airlines and Star Alliance have formally sealed a strategic partnership which will see the Shanghai-based carrier become a connecting partner in 2017. (source ATW Daily October 10, 2016) |
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Reader Submitted Photos
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Frank Pedder has sent us this photo of a Pionairs Coffee Group meeting of P & F Stores and Purchasing at the Manoir in Lachine on October 6th, 2016.
 In our photo of the dozen attendees from the left are: Bhisham "Kumar" Sindhwani, Julian Ireland, Jamie Palmer, Real Dufort, Denis Leduc, Gary Porter, Marcel Dionne, Joe Nagy, Frank Pedder, Robert "Bee-bob" Gagnon, Frank Dominick and Danny Sup.
Thanks again to Marcel Dionne for the great photos. |
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TCA/AC People Gallery
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Dragged out of the "Regional News" magazine issue dated March/April 1981.
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35 years and still hanging on.
 The year was 1946, the name was Trans-Canada Air Lines, and the symbol was TCA rampant on a maple leaf when these "students" joined at Winnipeg in what has become the self-styled College of Airline Knowledge - the indoctrination course for new employees of the airline that became Air Canada. This year (1981) seven of the original 19 of the class of '46 gathered in San Francisco for a third reunion (others were held at the 25th and 30th anniversaries).
From left to right: David Young, now area manager, western U.S.; Reginald Cook (retired); Walt Mannell, former sales, rep New York and now a Kansas City travel agent; Dick Forrest, retired AC personnel director; Bob Nicholson, AC D.M. Winnipeg; Vince Brimicombe, sales rep, SFO; and Hugh Bolduc, retired.
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ACCESS reaches POS.
 Major customer service improvements were added with the introduction of ACCESS in Port of Spain. In this photo we have Larry Conway, seated, ACCESS co-ordinator explain the system. Surrounded by him from the left: Dennis Rawlins, airport mgr; Indra Maraj, CSA; and Gerald Daniel, station agent.
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| Â Extracted from the "Horizons" magazine issued July 1980 |
| Â "Whitelaw joins the club"
 What better way to join the quarter-century club than to call on those with experience., thought Jim Whitelaw, V.P. Atlantic Canada.
He is shown here in the photo, seated with 25-year colleagues Nancy Fitzgerald and John Connolly. Other veterans are, standing from the left: Dick Gormey, Al Rach, Bernie Fellows, Ken Gordon, Dave Russell, Jack Fardy, Bob Lennox, Tom Love, Pete Gauthier and Don Nelson.
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Capital connection.
 The recent inauguration of service between Victoria and Edmonton was a birthday celebration for both the company and its first passenger on the new route. Mrs Thora Howell hails from Ladysmith, Vancouver Island.
Glen Steeves, District Manager noted that this service augments existing coast-to-coast service between Victoria and St. John's, Newfoundland. The route serviced by stretched DC-8s on the 3,500 mile flight has stops at Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax, and is believed to be the longest overland domestic route in the world.
In this photo from the left: Glen Steeves, Flight Attendants Denise Fridlet and Marianne Peacock; Purser Pierre Valiquette and Passenger Agent Sheila Mackinnon.Â
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Alan's Space
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 Meet the 26-year-old airline captain and her 19-year-old co-pilot
(Source - CNN)
Their combined ages are just 45. But that didn't stop 26-year-old captain Kate McWilliams and her 19-year-old co-pilot Luke Elsworth from flying hundreds of passengers to their destinations this week.
The young pilots manned a flight from London to Malta, after McWilliams earlier passed a course ascending to the rank of captain. Their employer, the British carrier EasyJet, believes McWilliams has become the world's youngest commercial airline captain -- with co-pilot Elsworth also one of the country's youngest co-pilots.
For the full article on CNN, please follow this link.
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CPAir, Canadi>n People Gallery
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Nordic Aviation Capital has sold one ATR 42-500 to First Air, Canada. (source MRO Daily Oct 9/16)
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Extracted from PWA "Flightlines" magazine issue dated July 1986
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PWA Flight Attendant graduating class June 27th., 1986:
 Front row, L to R: Rhonda Hunsley, YYC: Barb Roberts, YYC; Kelly King, YXD; Lisa Ringoir, YYC; Laurie Sorette, YYC; Glenna Furguson, YXD; Lisa LaMessiur, YXD;
Back row L to R: Deborah Whelan, YXD; Doris Morganstern, YXD; Joanne Gordey, YXD; Doug Webster, YXD; Carol Gjernsten, YYC; Lorie Shaigec, YXD; Kathy Hanna, YXD.
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Issue dated July 1986
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| 1986 - July 14th - Air Nova commenced services out of five Atlantic communities. Halifax, Sydney, St. John's, Deer Lake and Goose Bay. |
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 The spirit of Pacific Western grew with the signing of long term agreements between the company and Time Air of Alberta and Calm Air of Manitoba.
Pacific Western didn't take over either of the two smaller airlines, but through the two carriers it extended Pacific Western services.
This new logo appeared on aircraft owned and operated by Time Air and Calm Air starting September 14th, 1986.
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A four year contract between America West and Pacific Western to do heavy maintenance became effective January 1987.
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| Found in the CP Air "Blue Skies" magazine issue dated July 1978 |
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 On July 13th, 1949 CP Air inaugurated its service to Australia.
The crew was F/O C.N.Sawle (Chief Pilot); Captain J.K. "Bud" Potter, Helen McCracken and Pamela Hookham.
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From the "CP Air Blue Skies" magazine issued spring 1978.
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The CP Air Vancouver Passenger Sales Office staff took a moment to pose for this team photo outside their Granville Square office.
 Front row L to R: Tom Laurie, Janet Armstrong, Barb Koopman, Violet Hsiung, Dave Solloway, Greg Smith, Jim Watson, Wayne Dale and Dan Cotter.
Second row L to R: Teresa Donald, Linda Isman and Frank Suto.
Back row L to R: Avo Kingu, Debbie Goll, Dennis Myttenar, Claude Rougeau, Val Herring, Candice Field and Dave McLean.
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 Wayne's Wings
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 Â Fokker F28 Fellowship
The Netherlands built F28 is a regional jet that was operated by several airlines in Canada from 1986 to 2004. I have not been able to confirm which airline was the first introduce this fleet but it was probably Time Air which operated a fleet of 10 of the aircraft domestically and on transborder routes.
C.A.I.L acquired Time Air in the early nineties and rebranded it as Canadian Regional Airlines. Canadian Regional continued to add to the fleet and at one time was the largest F28 operator in the world.
My attempts to track them down has been quite challenging. RZJets.net list 34 aircraft that at one time were registered to Canadian Regional. I count 15 of which that had been sold to Quest Aviation Holdings of Saskatoon shortly after the merger with Air Canada. 
I found an image of twelve of the aircraft parked at Saskatoon airport at Vitualglobetrotting.com and a gallery of images in an article in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix from June 25, 2013.
Can any of our readers confirm that these aircraft are still parked in Saskatoon? |
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Reader's Feedback
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David Townson, after reading NetLetter #1352, sends this observation -
Terry, you'd think the Leader-Post would have spelt Punch Dickins's  name properly. I hope the King got it right.
Regards, Dave Townson.
Here is the comment from Hildegard Sachs after seeing the Nordair photo in NetLetter #1351
Mount Royal can be seen in the background of the Nordair photo. The view from Dorval could make one 'homesick', and then "Fat Albert" arriving. Lots of excitement and then starting to lift over Lake St. Louis (seemed so slow.. is it going to make it??) from our dining room window at the 'Royal Dixie' in Dorval. Thank you for the NetLetter, always welcome.
Have a Happy Fall, Hildegard Sachs.
Having read the article on the Bristol Freighter in NetLetter #1350, we received this memory from Kent Davis -
(Note: David Wall also brought this story to our attention in NetLetter #1351)
My name is Kent Davis and I am a retired AC pilot. My father, Bing Davis was chief pilot on the Bristol Freighter in Montreal. The story, true or not goes like this.
On approach to Idlewild airport in New York one sunny day, the tower with TCA in sight called them up.
"Trans Canada, what type of aircraft is that". Bing replied, "It is a Bristol Freighter". With that the tower responded. "Wow, did you build it yourself".
No Respect |
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Odds and Ends
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Canadian charter carrier Flair Airlines has selected software provider AIS’s RAAS aircraft management solution for the management of its 737-400 aircraft. By signing up for RAAS, the British Columbia-based airline will now be covered for the management of technical records. (source MRO Network daily Oct 3/16)
Calm Air
Anyone with an interest in Calm Air, may be interested in viewing the dialogue exchanged on this web site - Click Here
Trivia note: Ken Pickford our valued proofreader informated us that Calm Air was named after the founder's first name (Carl Arnold Lawrence Morberg).
Ted Beaudoin tells us that both the hard-cover and soft-cover second edition versions of his latest book - “Pilot of Fortune” - has been launched by the Elm Grove Publishing, San Antonio, Texas. The book was originally published as "Walking on Air." The second edition is fully revised and expanded.
 The story of the late dauntless, intrepid and pioneering pilot, Sheldon Luck, the first chief pilot of Canadian Pacific Air Lines.
From barnstormer to bush flyer to airline pilot, wartime ferry pilot and airborne firefighter, no job was too big, too small or too hazardous for William Floyd Sheldon Luck earning him a niche in Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. You can view his listing by clicking here.
Â
He ferried Gold Rush miners to distant claims in the Yukon, then carried hookers to visit the miners, often in outrageous weather conditions and to locations so remote that they have never been mapped or even named. He delivered unarmed aircraft across the Atlantic in World War II and carried top secret messages across occupied France for Winston Churchill. He blazed a trail of routes over Northwest Canada and later helped establish a chain of early warning radar stations across the Arctic Circle. His amazing aviation career spanned more than fifty years, yet few today are familiar with his name.
Click Here for Full Details |
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Terry's Trivia and Travel Tips
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 TAP and SATA added to myIDTravel
Employee Travel is pleased to announce new ZED fare agreements with TAP (Transportes Aéreos Portugueses) and SATA (SATA Air Açores). To purchase these fares or to list for flights, please login to the Employee travel site (ETS), go to Flights/Other Airline Ticketing and click on launch myIDTravel.
The agreement highlights include:
TAP (TP) ZM discount in Business Class for employees, retiree, legal spouse and dependent children 12 – 23 years of age.
ZH discount in Business Class for parents of employee/retiree and partners.
ZL discount in Economy Class for employee/retiree, legal spouse and dependent children.
ZH discount in Economy Class for parents of employee/retiree & partners SATA –
Azores Airlines (S4)
ZL discount for employees, retirees, their spouse and dependent children.
ZM discount for parents
(source Daily Oct 5/16 and myIDTravel)
Recently, my wife and I took a trip to visit our son and his family. We decided to use our "Airmiles" which were due to expire on December 31st. The flight to YVR was good, and the onward flight smooth. The weather at the destination was cool but sunny, the next day the heavens opened for a while, then remained cloudy, but the company of our family helped us to forget the poor weather.
 We were only visiting for the week end. Our return flight, on a Dash 8, it was one hour late, having been delayed at YVR due to a balance problem we were told. This delay cut down our window for the connex at YVR. My wife had been assigned seat 13C and myself in 10D, why we were separated heaven only knows. But the agent checked the flight and found the only empty seat was next to my wife, so I was assigned 13A, and there went my chance of sitting next to a young blonde lady!Â
Sitting in row 13, which is opposite the entrance/exit, faces to the rear. Facing you is row 1A and 1C. Should the aircraft come to a sudden stop, for whatever reason, I could imagine receiving, at best, two very slightly built passengers in my lap, or, at the worst, two CFL line backers at about 275 lbs each! Not all pax use the seat belts; do they!
When we arrived at YVR, at gate 33, our window of connex was down to 6 minutes. A few of these minutes were swallowed up by idling on the ramp waiting for the ground crew to get their act together. Upon deplaning, one other pax for our flight was a young nubile teen who grabbed his backpack from the ground agent and sprinted to the next gate 32. When we got to the gate 32, the agent had deserted, no doubt being aware of the OTD statistics, so we missed the flight. We went to the Customer desk and were served by the agent from gate 32, who apologized for not holding the flight.
He gave us standby for the next flight at 15:00, which was full, but he said that 6 pax from the US may not make it. Unfortunately, for us, the last two arrived red faced and got on. The agent then gave us standby for the 18:00 flight, with a pair of confirmed seats on the 21:00 flight. I asked, and received, two lunch coupons for $10.00 each.
The 18:00 was 20 minutes late from Kamloops, so there went our hopes of any no-shows. To pass the time, we listened to a stream of requests for volunteers due to over sales, with an offer of a travel certificate and the guarantee of a seat on the next flight.
Kamloops and Castlegar went for $800, Prince Rupert at $400 and a suggestion of a seat to Terrace as an alternative flight. Victoria had several requests, going at $200 each plus a dinner coupon, but no hotel as they were full, probably due to spectators to see the Royal visitors. Unfortunately, there were no volunteers wanted for our flight. We finally got back home just before midnight. Oh the joys of air travel.
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In NL #1352, we passed on the information from the "Daily"Â regarding the new OAL agreements, and we received this query from Gale Drew-
Thank you for sending this news to us retirees. I'm wondering if you've since confirmed that retirees are in fact eligible for ZED tickets in J/C or did you excite us in vain. The employee website policy page leaves out the word retiree. I'm sure all retirees want to know.
Thank you ...Gale
The NetLetter contacted Air Canada's HR Connex Centre regarding this information and received the following information -
“As long as the retiree is eligible for full retiree travel privileges, he/she will be able to avail the business class ZED fares”.
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Smileys
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 Our cartoon, by Dave Mathias, appeared in the "Between Ourselves" magazine issued November 1953.
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Terry Baker | Alan Rust | Wayne Albertson
NetLetter Staff for 2016
(you can read our bios at www.thenetletter.net/history)
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E&OE - (errors and omissions excepted) - The historical information as well as any other information provided in the "NetLetter" is subject to correction and may have changed over time. We do publish corrections (and correct the original article) when this is brought to our attention.
Disclaimer: Please note that neither the NetLetter or the ACFamily Network necessarily endorse any airline related or other "deals" that we provide for our readers. We would be interested in any feedback (good or bad) when using these companies though and will report the results here. We do not (normally) receive any compensation from any companies that we post in our newsletters. If we do receive a donation or other compensation, it will be indicated as a sponsored article or link.
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