Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

2009

• December  5, - service Calgary - Maui and Calgary - Honolulu both non-stop with B-767 equipment.
• December 25, - service between Vancouver - Varadero for Air Canada Vacations.

2010

• March 1 - operate Vancouver non-stop to Zurich, Geneva, Paris and Frankfurt. (Note: These were only ad hoc flights for 2010 Winter Olympics/Paralympics, not permanent newly scheduled routes. (Source Newswire.ca)
• November 1 - commenced Montreal - Houston non-stop.
• May 1, Air Canada transitioned to “credit card only” for the purchase of all in-flight products such as Onboard Café, bar or duty-free boutique items.

Fast action by Regina staff kept everything under control following the incident on May 12, 1983 in which Flight 234 from Vancouver, CF-TLJ,  Fin #709 c/n 47019 a DC-9, slid off a Regina runway upon landing in a freak spring snow storm..

All 57 passengers and five crew members were evacuated. Two passengers received minor injuries. Crew members Lucille Parkinson, Purser; Barbara Brown and Jocelyne Landry-Altmann, Flight Attendants; as well as Captain Jack Proulx and First Officer Ian Watson were all checked for injuries and then transported to a local hotel.

Below we have these photos -

This image shows Regina employees,  while surveying the damage, taking a moment to smile for the camera.

From the left are: John Delwo, Station Attendant; Bob Krause, Station Attendant and Jim Colliness, Station Agent.

A legend in her own time.

A fond farewell was arranged recently by In-Flight Service in Vancouver for Billie Houseman to mark her retirement after 38 years’ service. As a reminder to Billie of all the uniforms she has worn over the years, her colleagues arranged a group parade.

From the left: Sherie Christensen, lsobel Rose, Joyce Ernyer, Evelyne Newman, Billie Houseman, Ardych Cleveland, Audrey Chernowas, Gloria Bramucci and Louise Chong.

As everyone wished Billie good luck, many were heard to say "we'll miss you".

Issue dated June 1983.

The Pionairs 6th annual May 20 - 23, 1983 was held at Anaheim’s Marriott Hotel where some 500 Pionairs gathered from a total membership of 1,827.

New executive elected for a two-year term 1983/4 are, standing from the left: Gord Smith, George Fox, Shirley Goodwin and Norm Donnelly.

Seated are Nancy Walchuk, left, and Kay Napolitano.

Representing the districts are, from the left, standing: Gord Smith, Roger Alain, Jack Somerset, Don Jarvis, Bill Storey and Tony Bruneau.

Seated from the left are: Beth Ferguson, Mary Young and Evelyn Desjardins.

Vancouver fetes retirees from then and now.

Highlights of the 7th century included the year 622, the traditional date for the start of the Muslim era, and the year 687, when the first Doge of Venice was elected. The year 653 might also have been a significant date if an imaginary Air Canada employee had joined a fledgling TCA then.

If that hypothetical employee elected to retire today, he or she would match the shared service represented by 40 Vancouver-based employees who retired at the end of April 1983.

Collectively they represented 1,331 years of service. To commemorate such an achievement, a farewell gathering was held at the Richmond Inn, near Vancouver Airport. Plaques were presented and fond farewells given by a sell-out group of friends and well-wishers.

Pictured at the gathering are, back row, from the left: Doug Mcleod, Bill Graham, Doug Armitage, Stan Swabuk; Dave Fairweather, A.l. Johnston, Art Hansen, Len Rachuk, Marv Lohnes, Roger Bertoia, Doug Fairbairn, Jack Burgess, Dave Bayliss, Ivan Angers, Jack McManus, Ross Kimmerly, Stan Cornock, Jack Koch, Blake Austin and Bob Hough.

Front row, from the left: Bill Rowe, V.P. Western Region, John Innes, Norm Batten, Lea Mclntyre, Bill Vaughan, Bill Dickinson, Joan Copeland, Gordon Woida, Howie Miles, Dan Holloway, John lverson, George McKillop, George Martin, Billie Houseman, Al MacDonald and Zachary Clark, G.M., B.C. & Pacific Northwest.

Not in the photo: Bob Black, George Grant, John Maclean, Jack Glover and Al Ward, and of course, the fanciful immortal employee with a C-1331 year pass priority.

Issue dated September 2005 (Used with permission)

New routes from Hamilton Airport started September 18, 2005 when Jazz introduced flights to Ottawa and Montreal utilizing Canadair Regional jet aircraft.

Issue dated October 2005 (Used with permission)

On Friday, September 2, 2005, more than 10 employees boarded an Air Canada Airbus A321 C-GITU destined for New Orleans, Louisiana. Their mission to support Operation Air Care.

Air Canada was the first foreign carrier to arrive in New Orleans and help evacuate its residents and airlift relief supplies. Operating 3 flights between New Orleans and Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, the airline airlifted more than 500 evacuees and brought soldiers, National Guardsmen and supplies of bottled water, blood and 1,200 lbs of morphine to aid in the relief efforts in New Orleans.

Issue dated November 2009. (with permission)

Star Booking Class Alignment

The work began in February 2009 with Phase 1, changing Air Canada Vacation’s booking classes, implemented at the end of August. Phase 2 changed the upgrade class in the business cabin, and was implemented on September 6. Phase 3, implemented on October 5, 2009.

As of October 29, 2009, Air Canada’s booking class structure has been re-aligned with that of Star Alliance, marking the successful conclusion of a major project that has been in the works for nine months. By implementing the Star Booking Class Alignment (SBCA), we are now meeting a Star partnership requirement while giving Revenue Management the tools to do their jobs more efficiently.

Here's the core team who worked on the Star Booking Class Alignment (SBCA) project. 

Front and centre: Shamra Hauck. Front row, left to right: Kelly-Anne Frénette, Jamie Gautreau, Guy Gauvreau, Lucie Guillemette, Annie Quillopa, Geneviève Lapierre and Lisa Le.

Second row: Ken Nathanson, Madeleine Pinault, Leslie-Anne Vezina, Linming Lam Cham Kee and Brigitte Hegyi.

Third row: Christine Séguin, Mary Porco and Hélène Rivard.

Back: Manuella Meilchen, Karen Bowman, Richard Pilon (behind Karen), Jacques Cherrier, Nancy Lavoie and Karim Rachi.

A celebration of flight, by Brian Losito

No other nation in the world owes more to flight than Canada. Aviation opened up the country and remains a life-line to many remote areas.

The pioneers of aviation in Canada began their journey into powered flight on February 23, 1909, in Baddeck, N.S. Using a frozen lake as a runway, John Alexander and Douglas McCurdy piloted the Silver Dart and travelled a distance of 800 metres at 65 km/h. The flight was hailed as Canada’s first successful controlled, powered flight.

Air Canada’s Lockheed Electra CF-TCC got to participate in the 100th Anniversary of Flight Celebration, which kicked off this summer. 

Air Canada partnered with Shell Aviation by flying the L10A from Winnipeg to Halifax with many stops along the way. On board each flight leg was a commemorative baton, which held memorabilia and logs of each flight leg. The baton was in the form of an RCAF navigator’s flight satchel. The baton was transferred to each of the many participating aircraft along the way.

Captains Harvey Reid and Gerry Norberg, both active Air Canada pilots, flew from Winnipeg to Montreal. Retired Captains Ken Patry and Alan MacLeod flew the Lockheed from Montreal through to Halifax. After the celebration this summer, our L10A participated in air shows and some PR events, then headed back to Winnipeg on October 16 where it will spend the winter in the Western Canadian Aviation Museum.

Canadians have a lot to be proud of when it comes to aviation and aerospace. By looking at our accomplishments over the past 100 years that began with the Silver Dart and continued with other significant developments in aviation technology and space research, imagine what great achievements the next 100 years will bring. Certainly this was a fitting event for our seventy-two year old Lockheed to have participated

YUL Stores - 775 years

On December 1991, Air Canada lost 775 years of experienced employees through retirement. Here we have this photo extracted from the "Parts and Pieces" magazine issued February 1992.

The retirement party, with over 200 in attendance, was held at the Dorval Community Centre.

From left to right: Tony Virgona, Mike Teesdale, Peter Thomson, Jerry St-Germain, Leo Beauchamp, Don Dryden, Robert Hibberd, Tony Leon, John Dratva, Sam Barclay, Ralph Stone, Mike Kukla, Bill Eaton, Hugo Guilbault, Ian Wilson, Frank Robertson, Joe Nagy, Robert Poth, Guy Turpin and Andy Roy.

Missing are Andre Lauzon, Ernie Smith, Ron Johnstone and Lawson Garayt.