Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

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A310's leased to Aussies.

PWA Corporation concluded an agreement covering the lease of A310-300 aircraft to Compass Airlines of Brisbane, Australia.

The aircraft left the fleet on June 18, 1991. Subject to confirmation expected later this month, a second A310 will be leased to Compass effective November 1991.

(Editor's note from Ken  Pickford: The lease of the second A310 never happened as Compass Airlines went bankrupt and was grounded by the Australian government in December 1991 when the first leased A310 was returned to Canadian Airlines. It's one of the 5 ex-Wardair/Canadian A310's that went to the Canadian Armed Forces in 1992/93 and remain in service.)

Canadian continued to market the remaining six A310 aircraft being operated in Canada.

PWA Corporation completed the following aircraft deliveries:

• May 28, one DC-10-30 to Potomac Capital Corporation.
• June 10, a DC-10-30 to Potomac Capital.
• May 31, International Lease Finance Corporation took delivery of a B747-400 it had acquired the rights to from Canadian Airlines last December 1990.

These deliveries were included in the fleet plan announced in late 1990. Cash proceeds from deliveries total $120 million.

During 1991, Canadian accepted delivery of one B747-400, two B767-300ER's, and five A320's bringing the total aircraft fleet to 85 aircraft with an average fleet age of nine years, one of the youngest in North America.

Prime Minister's North Pacific charter.

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's visit to Hong Kong and Japan on a chartered Canadian Airlines B-767 began with a historic achievement for this company. The flight was under the command of Captains Mac Jones and Terry Lambourne with first officer Don Garke.

It was the world's first commercial B767 non-stop flight across the North Pacific. The 6,592 statute mile Vancouver-Hong Kong trip on May 21, 1991 took 13 hours.

The 11-day trip was scheduled to fly Ottawa-Vancouver-Hong Kong-Tokyo-Osaka-Tokyo-Ottawa, carrying 50 passengers, including the Prime Minister and his wife Mila, his staff and media.

In recognition of exceptional operational and In-flight service, the Prime Minister extended to all the Canadian personnel accompanying the flight to attend the Official reception and opening of Place Canada Embassy in Tokyo.

Attending were business and government leaders of Japan and Canada, including Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Takamado, Prime Minister Kaifu of Japan and his wife and the Prime Minister and Mrs. Mulroney.

Also attending were our flight crew: 

Standing from the left: George Stonier, Doris Loo, Tony Wade-Cooper, Jo-Ann Chanin and William Lee.

Seated from left: Pat Clever, Magdl Erian, and Marie Larus.

Brandon Airport.

As aircraft fin #755 (Pacific Western's newest B-737 delivered only a few days earlier) touched down in Brandon on June 1, 1981, it marked the start of a new jet age for this community.

Many who had never been on board an aircraft, let alone a jet, were visibly impressed by the $15 million machine. Representatives from Airport Services, ln-Flight, Catering, Sales and Marketing were on hand throughout the day to answer the barrage of questions from an inquisitive public.

A special thanks to all those employees who contributed to the success of this day. It was estimated that 8 to 10 thousand people participated in the Brandon Air Service Day.

Air Canada employees take pride in their work and it is important that they have the opportunity to share this pride with those who are most important to them.

For this reason, in 2013 Air Canada inaugurated Family Day celebrations at its major hubs.

These special days were set aside to allow employees to bring their families to decorated hangars where they could play games, tour an aircraft and enjoy popcorn, cotton candy and other free food and drinks, all in a carnival atmosphere.

The Family Day events in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal lived up to the expectations.

In total, the three Family Day events were attended by approximately 5,100 people and raised just over $16,000 for the Air Canada Foundation.

(Source:Citizens of the World 2013 edition)

Glasgow welcomes international flights.

Back in March 1990, a British government review of its Scottish Lowlands Airports policy led to an open skies policy for Scotland, with transatlantic flights no longer restricted to Prestwick Airport.

As a result, Air Canada decided to move its passenger operations to Glasgow Airport, which is more conveniently located to Scotland's largest city of Glasgow.

We commenced operations from Glasgow on May 16, 1990 with scheduled services to both Halifax and Toronto and twice weekly charter flights between Glasgow and Toronto.

However, not all connections with Prestwick were being severed. Our weekly freighter service continued to use Prestwick, which had excellent cargo facilities. In fact, Prestwick, which was preferred by many in the air freight industry was aiming to establish itself as a major cargo hub. Bob Flanagan, Cargo Sales and Service Manager, five Cargo Agents and one Cargo Service Coordinator remained in Prestwick to handle the freighter and other cargo contracts. 

Remaining at Prestwick to handle our cargo operation are (left to right):

Jim McCall, Cargo Service Coordinator; Angus Mackay, Cargo Agent; Ian Dawson, Lead Cargo Agent; Bob Flanagan, Cargo Sales and Service Manager and Cargo Agents Colin Kennedy, Wilson Wight and Tom Hay.

Our employees at Glasgow Airport include (left to right):

Tom Callaghan, Certificated Aircraft Technician in charge; David Auld, Station Agent; Sheena Ramsey, Customer Sales and Service Agent; Roddy McPhee,  Airport Services Manager;
William Kerr, Commissary Agent and Jim Kennedy, Certificated Aircraft Technician. 

Toronto paint division gives us a flawless image.

Since opening in April 1989, the Toronto paint division has been contributing to Customer Care in a very visible way.

The idea of a centralized painting facility for Air Canada's fleet had been on the drawing board for a number of years.

All painting had been done at Winnipeg or Dorval, while an aircraft was undergoing its C or D check. But as demand increased, the decision was made to establish a specialized paint facility.

Toronto was chosen, as more than half of our red tails pass through the hub at some point in their schedule. Danny Lortie and Frank Christofaro, both from Dorval were instrumental in setting up the operation and for training newly-hired staff.

The Paint Division's crew 1 includes (left to right):

Neil Martin, Paul Brennan, Eddie Ruttan, Gilles Cournoyer, Ted Eres, Gord Rendez, Barry Parsons and Michel Filion.

Members of crews 2 and 3 are, back row (left to right):

Rick Farrell, Mike Hibbs, Al Partridge, Ray Perkin, Danny Shea and Bob Wilson.

In the middle row are (same order):

Danny Lacuna, John McGill, Bob Watkins, Pierre Grandmaison, Garry Page, Peter Lerino, Chris Barnfield, Dieter Simon and Frank Christofaro.

Kneeling in front are: Ayoub Motala, Dennis Chislett and Terry Antonishka.

Prepare for WARR

On October 5, 1990 an anticipated 2,500 runners representing more than 60 worldwide airlines will compete for individual and team awards in Fort Worth, Texas at the ninth annual World Airline Road Race.

There will be 10-K and 5-K events and every runner counts in the scoring, with each carrier's handicap based on distance travelled and its number of participants.

American Airlines, the host carrier for this year's event has organized a variety of get-togethers including the famous T-shirt swap party and an awards dinner and dance at Billy Bob's - the world's largest honky-tonk bar.

A record number of close to 900 Pionairs gathered in San Francisco for their 13th Annual General Meeting.

The Pionairs executive for 1990 were:

President Leo Mclntyre, Immediate past President Mike Lewicki, First Vice president George Daman, Second Vice President Bob Blanchette, Treasurer Fraser Muir, Secretary Helen Gunton, Pension Representative George Clifford and Air Canada Liaison, D'Arcy Little.

The "Comms Centre" in the Queens Building at London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) closed its doors. while the new switchboard facility in Services Building 681 became operative.

The "Comms Centre" was not the only retirement that day. The same evening, a farewell party was held for a number of London airport employees.

The group of retirees. all smiles for our photographer included (left to right):

Dorothy DeLacy, Passenger Agent; Barbara Edwards, Sub Operator; Joan Sceeney, Teletypist; Mike Berry, Manager; Industrial Relations; Pam Tilley, Teletypist; Terry Scott, Flight Dispatcher; Daphne Parson, Edlie Ethcridge and Anne Bendall, Teletypists; Jeanette Brennan, Sub Operator; Ros Person, Teletypist; Betty Scott and John Baker, Flight Dispatch Manager.

Smiles from Dusseldorf

Meet our two Passenger Service Agents in Dusseldorf during 1990:

Sabine Rosellen (left) and Brigitte Hansel, who work in our downtown office and out at the airport on days when there's an Air Canada flight.

Members of the Air Canada Australian Commercial Team celebrate with a Queensland-style menu of tropical fruits, cheeses, Pavlova and exotic juices.

From left to right: Neil Ford, Sales Executive; Cynthia Lee-Bray, Personal Assistant to GM Australia and NZ; Zohreh Sanayei, Inside Sales Coordinator; Florence George, Finance Assistant; Fei Revel, Revenue and Sales Optimization Coordinator and David McNabb, Marketing Communications and Online Sales Manager.