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( For retirees of the new Air Canada family)
Number 641 Dec 9th, 2001, We first Published in October 1995
Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson - Co-pilot - Terry Baker
To get in touch with either editor/pilot our email address is
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. Need to know.
From Employee Copmmunications -
Changes To Transborder Meal Standards.
As of Dec 6th, our transborder meal standards are aligned
with our domestic product offerings. This means that service
is limited to a refreshment on most flights of less than
3 hours and 15 minutes.
The New Surcharge For Paper Tickets Takes Effect Today.
Effective immediately, we will add a $15 Cdn ($10 US)
surcharge to any paper ticket that has been issued directly
from Air Canada, where the itinerary allows for E-ticketing.
The surcharge does not apply to employee travel as e-ticketing
is not available to us.
Air Canada Offers Flights To Melbourne.
Nov 30th between Toronto and Melbourne via Honolulu. The new route will
complement our daily Vancouver-Sydney flights, providing
customers ten weekly flights between Canada and Australia and
the only non-stop service between Hawaii and Melbourne.
The aircraft of choice for the new route is the spacious
212-seat Boeing 767-300 featuring Executive First and
Hospitality service. Flight AC3127 departs Toronto at 5:25 p.m. Monday,
Wednesday and Friday, and arrives in Melbourne at
8:30 a.m. Flight AC3128 departs at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, Friday
and Sunday, and arrives in Toronto at 3:35 p.m. For our customers
in Western Canada, the new Melbourne service was scheduled to
allow for convenient connections in Honolulu to and from Vancouver.
We recently received the following query -
Regarding the use of AC passes on Code Share Flights. I would like to use
them on Air New Zealand between Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand.
Industry Travel advises -
I cannot find any AC flts for this route. However, in displaying availability
between these cities, there is a notation in RES3 that indicates that "FLTS
OPERATED BY NZ - NOT AIR CANADA".
This would lead me to believe flt is operated by NZ, Even if we do codeshare,
operating carrier rule applies and psgr would need to purchase ID90 for this
route.
QF also operates this route...with AC acircraft and crew (this is the
wetlease), however the flt is a pure QF flt and as such empl must purchase
ZED based on 81/QF.
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. News from the districts.
A group of Canadian retirees, spouses and a few Air Canada retirees
residing in and around Qualicum/Parksville on Vancouver Island gathered at the
Fish Tales restaurant
on Dec 6th for a 3 course lunch and some socializing. Fish Tales is owned and
operated by
John and Kam Schroder, retired flight attendants. The 41 gathered appreciated
Kam who was wearing her Air Canada uniform and served us all commenting "It is
a change to serve without fighting turbulence!" . Terry Baker gave an update on
the Partner Pass policy, blackout restrictions for pos travel and contacts in
the Pension offices at Winnipeg to those without access to such information.
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. Our Chief pilot - Vesta found this item -
*** D.B. Cooper lives in FBI file
SFGate -- Just over three decades ago, one of the
best-known criminal mysteries of the Northwest fell
from the sky to become a legend. Last Saturday marked
the 30th anniversary of the disappearance of D.B.
Cooper, who in 1971 hijacked a Seattle-bound jetliner
and parachuted into the night, $200,000 in ransom
money tied to his waist. It remains the nation's
only unsolved skyjacking. Though thousands of tips
have come to the FBI, investigators have been left
with nothing -- no suspect, no leads and nothing to
prove who D.B. Cooper really was, or where he went.
"It's with me,"said Ralph Himmelsbach, the FBI agent
who worked the case for eight years until his
retirement in 1980." Himmelsbach and other Cooper
mavens tend to believe their man died trying to make
his escape. But several folks, including some in the
tiny village of Ariel, like to believe otherwise.
ASTRONAUT CHRIS HADFIELD TO RECEIVE MILITARY AWARD
The first Canadian to walk in space will be honoured with the
Meritorious Service Cross.
Vesta Stevenson retired C&SS YYZ.
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. That Britannia story -
Capt Rob Wright sends us some more information -
Ed Tienrney's story of the Canadian Pacific Britannia in the hanger is
essentially correct as to the final result. There are however some
important facts, which are incorrect. Maintenance personnel who were
qualified to do this function were doing the runup. The aircraft was
being powered, for whatever reason, by a ground power unit for ac power
during the runup. Fate always being the hunter the aircraft jumped the
chocks during the procedure. The Britannia being of 50's British design,
with a British design electrical system {need I say more} and was
considered very advanced for the time. The problem was that the
throttles were also electrically activated, as were the brakes. I'm sure
that now the problem even to the uninitiated is becoming very apparent.
The aircraft has jumped the chocks, the external power plug has pulled
out, and the aircraft due to the genius of British engineering is now
without necessary electrical power. The proximity to the hanger being
such that the maintenance person occupying the systems seat (SO's) did
not have time to switch to aircraft power prior to hanger contact. The
final result was the nose of a Britannia through the hangar doors. This
of course resulted in a very expensive repair bill.
Capt. Rob Wright (ret)
Canadian Airlines ex CP
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. Star Alliance news -
LUFTHANSA Supervisory Board approved planned order for 15 A380s (engines
TBD) for delivery starting 3Q07
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. Where are they now.
Air Canada's L1011 c/n 1067 CF-TNJ owned by Orbital Sciences registered as
N140SC sent to Mojave MHV Oct 22/01
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" ' "
. Another Tierney Tale -
Sometimes on looking back on incidents in the past it is easy to realise just
how easy it is for accidents to occur.
For example. Working as a group of mechanics it is normal enough for a crew to
develop effective routines to suit in with a particular chore, if oft repeated.
The danger here being if someone is seconded onto the crew temporarily, as in
the case of overtime requirements for example.
While working on Connies it happened that with the absence of personal mobile
phones in those days some prearranged routines were worked out whereby obvious
actions by some members would convey a cue to yet another crew member to
perform some corresponding task....... Especially amid engine noise, with some
workers well out of sight from each other...Coordination is the word.
This routine for instance. A 6 man crew carrying out a Constellation engine run
up would at the same time be conducting various checks on the engines, coupled
to say pressurisation, hydraulic and say radio equipment checks as well, all in
one session.
With say 5 crew members only on board with another person stationed outside on
standby duty, positioned to alert the crew of any untoward hazard. (Usually the
junior or the weakest link....me.) Get the picture?
The routine. Prior to engine shutdown, with the airplane pressurised the
understanding was that as the engines were throttled back, held to idling, the
guy on standby was expected to run under the length and breadth of the aircraft
watching and listening for fuel or pressurised air leakage. Having done so
would run clear from the props and into the full view of the cockpit. Then and
only then were the engines revved up again once more prior to actual shut down
(to clear the cylinders, plugs, etc). No danger.
Unknownst to me, but there was a new guy on overtime operating the Engineer's
panel........the routine going to h... I mean - pot ! So traversing under
engine No 1. engine No 2, engi ..... heck, what is this ? The big engines
winding up and little ol me caught midstream, on slippery ice!! With a wooden
blast fence at the rear just waiting for it's breakfast. Crumpled bonehead
anyone?
Again, using my very superior reflexes found myself half skating towards the
starboard undercarriage, luckily failing to reach acceleration to cruising
speed and maybe be on to finals. Strangely no one on board noticed anything
amiss. Nor did I report it...until just now.
So when I hear of some poor soul exposed to 120 mph winds all I can say is
this. When thrust hard against the oleo leg at first held my distance. With the
engines still doing the business thought to relax my arms, only to find later
that I couldn't push away from the oleo. Then thinking to look around for
assistance it felt as if someone was poking me in the eye. Another trip to the
hangar definitely on the cards. Best regards Ted Tierney.
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. Terry's travel tips.
************ Discount Travel Accommodation for AC Employees ************
.............see the Classified Ads on the ACFamily Network Portal
If you have a business that offers AC Employees a discount, post an Ad!
www.acfamily.net
Interlining Plus have moved but phone and fax numbers will remain the same.
The address is:
Interlining Plus-273 East 1st Ave, Vancouver, BC
Canada, V5T 1A7
They still offer great interline rates -
Seabourn World Cruise
The Farewell World Cruise Aboard the Seabourn Sun
*************************************************
Cruise all or parts of this cruise for only $100us/night
24 nights-San Francisco to Sydney, Australia
ONLY $2436.87us-Sailing Jan 9-Feb 3
Itinerary: San Francisco, 5 days at sea, Honolulu, Lahaina,
2 days at sea, Christmas Island, 3 days at sea, Apia-Western
Samoa, Lautoka-Fiji, at sea, Port Vila-Vanuatu, Noumea-
New Caledonia, Ils Des Pins-New Caledonia, 2 days cruising
Coral Sea, and Sydney
19 nights-Sydney to Hong Kong
ONLY $1985.64us-Sailing Feb 3-Feb 22
Itinerary: Sydney, cruise Coral Sea, cruise Great Barrier
Reef(2 days), Cairns, 3 days at sea(Great Barrier Reef,
Torres Strait, Arafura Sea), Darwin, 2 days cruising Timor
Sea and Java Sea, Padang Bay-Bali, cruise Flores Sea, and
Makassar Strait, Kota Kinabalu-Malaysia, cruise South
China Sea, Manila-Philippines, cruise South China Sea and
Hong Kong.
26 nights-Hong Kong to Victoria, Seychelles
ONLY $2650.66-Sailing Feb 22-Mar 20
Itinerary: Hong Long, 2 days-cruise South China Sea, cruise
Gulf of Thailand, Laem Chabang-Thailand, at sea, Singapore,
cruise Strait of Malacca, Phuket Island-Thailand, cruise
Andaman Sea, Yangon-Myanmar, 2 days at sea, Colombo-Sri Lanka
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23 nights-Victoria, Seychelles to Las Palmas
ONLY $2318.66-Sailing Mar 20-April 12
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at sea, Port Elizabeth-South Africa, at sea, Cape Town-South
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Dakar-Senegal, at sea, Las Palmas-Canary Islands.
10 nights-Las Palmas to Ft Lauderdale
ONLY $1024.49us-Sailing April 12-22
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*rates include port charges, government fees and immigration fees
CALL NOW TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE!
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. Smilie.
The fats in the fare -
As a promotional stunt, and to get more people flying, an Isreali travel
agency has been offering tickets based on weight. The less you weigh, the less
you pay. Is the weight measured the day you book your trip, or when you pay
your money - and what about the return if you should gorge yourself whilst on
vacation?
For a flight from Tel Aviv to London that usually costs $405, someone who
weighs 70 kgs pays $330, and someone who weighs 45 kgs would pay $255. Someone
who weighs in at 150 kgs presumably finds another travel agency.
(Seems discriminatory to us - eds)
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. DID YOU KNOW?
That you can read or retrieve back issues of "theNetLetter" ?
Just visit our web site at:
http://www.acfamily.org/netletter
and click on the "Archives" button.
This area is only open to "the NetLetter" subscribers and you will
need the following password to enter -
User Name: netletter Password: vesta
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