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Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter Since 1995

Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

Since 1995

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Subject: [The NetLetter] NetLetter nr 801 Dec 11/03 - The NetLetter
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 11:50:35 -0800
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T H E                    _| TCA |_
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N E T L E T T E R   >  CANADA   <
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( For retirees of the new Air Canada family)


Number 801  Dec 11th., 2003. We first published in October 1995.
Circulation: 2700+


Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson   -      Co-pilot  - Terry Baker


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. Must know.
Permanent residents of Canada who have been allowed to enter Canada as an
immigrant but who has not become a Canadian citizen MUST be in possession of
the new and mandatory permanent residents card to re-enter Canada on and after
January 1st., 2004.
Cost of this document is c$50.00 Existing permanent residents must be in Canada
to apply for the PR Card. Applications and information kits are available at
www.cic.gc.ca or by calling 1-800-255-4541. Permanent residents currently
located outside Canada and who will be returning after December 31st., 2003
should visit a Canadian visa office to obtain a limited-use travel document.

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. Nice to know.
Toronto ­ San Jose, Costa Rica: Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays starting
Dec.1.
Toronto ­ Cancun, Mexico: Introduction Dec. 13 of an early afternoon flight.
Toronto ­ Aruba: Second weekly flight starting Dec. 21.
Toronto ­ Grand Cayman: Increase to 4 flights weekly Dec. 15.
Toronto ­ Nassau, Bahamas: Increase to daily Dec. 15.
Toronto ­ Barbados: Increase to two daily flights starting Dec. 12.
Toronto ­ Antigua: Increase to twice weekly with a Sunday flight starting Dec.
14, in addition to Saturdays.
Toronto ­ Turks & Caicos: Increase to twice weekly with a Saturday afternoon
flight starting Dec. 13, in addition to Saturday mornings.
Toronto ­ Port of Spain: Increase to three times weekly with a new Friday
flight starting Dec. 5, in addition to Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Toronto ­ Fort Lauderdale, Florida: New afternoon daily departure starting Dec.
13 for a total of three daily flights.
Toronto ­ Miami, Florida: Starting Dec. 12, a new evening flight for a total of
four daily non-stop flights.
Toronto ­ Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina: Depart Wednesdays,
Fridays and Sundays starting Dec. 3. Flight continues on to Buenos Aires.
Toronto ­ Havana, Cuba: Tuesday, Thursdays and Sundays starting Dec. 2.
Montréal ­ Guadeloupe: New Sunday flight starting Dec. 14, in addition to
Saturdays.
Vancouver ­ Kona, Hawaii: Starting Dec. 14, new flights departing Sundays.
Vancouver ­ Honolulu: New afternoon departures starting at 2:40 p.m. daily and
at 5:00 p.m. three times weekly.
Vancouver ­ Maui: Increased to daily Dec. 5.

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. Vesta found these items -
CANADA (WHERE ELSE?) HOSTS ICING STUDY
Well, every place has to be famous for something and Montreal's propensity
for freezing drizzle has earned it the starring role in a new aircraft icing
study. Researchers from North America and Europe, including NASA and
Canada's National Research Council, will be loading five airplanes full of
high-tech gear to see if they can better predict icing conditions. The $2.4
million Alliance Icing Research Study will run from now until February. The
decked-out airplanes will fly from Ottawa, Cleveland, Ohio, and Bangor,
Maine, to Montreal at different altitudes when icing conditions are likely,
and the data will be compared.

ROUND-THE-WORLD PILOT LANDS IN ANTARCTICA
British pilot Polly Vacher landed her single-engine Piper Warrior in
Antarctica on Monday, about halfway through her solo flight circling the
globe via both poles. Vacher, 59, left Scotland in May, headed north across
the pole, then flew across Alaska, North America and South America en route
to the Antarctic peninsula. She plans to fly to McMurdo research station
sometime this week, then return home via New Zealand, Australia, Asia and
Europe, finishing up next March. The trip is raising money for World Wings,
an English aviation organization that provides flight training to the
disabled. In 2001, Vacher flew around the world, raising $317,600 for the
group.

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. Fraser O'Shaughnessy sends this information, reprinted from the Pionairs
newsletter
Subject: Letter to National Post
We thought you would be interested in seeing the following letter from Pierre
Jeanniot.
November 27, 2003
The Editor
The National Post
Dear Sir:
Since when is taking bread from the mouths of pensioners, widows and orphans
fair game for Canadian big business? The UCC’s stated opposition to giving Air
Canada pension plan members priority in the airline’s restructuring plan, as
demanded by the OSFI (National Post, Nov. 21, 2003) is neither morally nor
legally justified.
The UCC (unsecured creditors committee) represents such Goliaths as Shell
Canada, IBM Global Services, CARA Operations, and, until a separate agreement
was negotiated, GE Capital Aviation Services. Their assets and resources amount
to many billions of dollars.
The OSFI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) represents,
in this case, 18,000 Air Canada retirees whose modest pensions are very often
the sum total of their lifetime savings as wage earners and salaried employees.
Most have no other resources.
When Shell, IBM and the others extended credit to Air Canada, either to secure
profitable sales or as an investment, they did so it in the full knowledge that
such business decisions entail a certain degree of risk. Not one, I’m sure, of
Air Canada’s 18,000 pensioners ever thought for a moment that his or her
obligatory contributions to the company pension plan was ever at risk.
Air Canada was founded by the Government in 1937 as TCA to "act as an
instrument of national policy". It was directed to serve many unprofitable
routes, domestic and international. To allow room for private enterprise, it
was capacity restricted on the transcontinental market and not allowed to serve
lucrative Pacific routes. Despite such handicaps, Air Canada grew to become one
of the world’s ten largest airlines and contributed greatly to the advancement
of commercial air transportation through its many technological innovations.
Until recently and for most of its 50-year history as a Crown corporation, Air
Canada returned a profit to its Canadian taxpayer owners, contrary to popular
belief.
I, like all my colleagues, was immensely proud to work for the national
carrier. Like the railway pioneers that came before us, we considered ourselves
nation builders. We accepted wages and salaries – and pensions – that did not
compare well with private enterprise in the expectation that after a lifetime
of serving the national interest we would enjoy a modicum of financial security
in our old age.
Air Canada retirees are not to blame for the airline’s current difficulties.
And as the "pionairs" they most aptly describe themselves, their stake in the
national carrier deserves the highest priority.
The law clearly supports the OSFI demand. The National Post article points out
that money owed to the pension plans is "not subject to compromise" under the
Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. And a pending amendment to legislation
would see pension shortfalls repaid in full in the event of plan termination.
The UCC’s threat to bring the issue before the courts would once again delay
and even endanger Air Canada’s restructuring. The Goliaths should not be
allowed to jeopardize the well being of 18,000 pensioners and 40,000 current
employees for the sake of a smaller write-off.
Pierre J. Jeanniot, O.C.
Former President and Chief Executive Officer - Air Canada
800 Place Victoria, Suite 1148
B.P. 113
Montréal, Québec H4Z 1M1
Tel: (514) 874 0202
Copy: The Right Honorable Jean Chretien
The Honorable Paul Martin
The Honorable David Collenette
The Honorable Maurizio Bevilacqua
Mr. Nicholas Le Pan
*
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. Fraser Muir sends this information regarding the airlines memorabilia -

All the memorabilia, except the items and the Exhibit-showcases (which are
still setup in the lobby of the old Zellers Building in YUL), all the rest of
the items have been sent to the Aviation Museum in YOW.
What the conditions were agreed upon, I have no idea.
Regards Fraser M.

We wonder what control our airline will have over the memorabilia, especially
when one sees the following headline -

Concorde fans spent $1.3 million for artifacts at BA
auction.

When PanAm went into bankruptcy, the trust company of the company had the
obligation to maximise the value of the assets that were left, which included
the memorabilia. The interested ex-employees formed an historical foundation
established to preserve the history of PanAm and this foundation then went into
the public forum of an auction of what was really their birthright. Fortunately
they had the winning bid.
(Just food for thought - eds)

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. Air Canada news.
Air Canada has unveiled a Boeing 767
aircraft sporting a two-by-27-metre logo of Star Alliance, the
world's
largest air transportation network that extends Air Canada's
network to
a total of 680 airports in 127 countries and offers Aeroplan
members
reciprocal benefits with 14 of the world's leading airlines. To
create this
flying billboard, 29 Air Canada technicians used 200 litres of
paint during
the normal course of scheduled maintenance. Several more Air
Canada
aircraft, including an Airbus A340 operated on international
routes, will
be repainted in Star Alliance livery in the coming months.

Air Canada reports November traffic. According to preliminary traffic figures,
Air Canada flew 2.4 per cent fewer revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in November
2003 than in November 2002. Overall, capacity decreased by 5.3 per cent,
resulting in a load factor of 69.2 per cent, compared to 67.1 per cent in
November 2002; an increase of 2.1 percentage points.

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. Terry's travel tips.
This from Vesta -
FRUITCAKE NOW SECURITY THREAT
If you're travelling by air this holiday season, forget the fruitcake.
At least as carry-on luggage. That's the advice of the Canadian Air
Transport Security Authority.

The Radisson Calgary Airport Hotel offers more than just a comfortable room. If
you’re going to be in Calgary anytime during Dec. 19 - 26 and need a place to
stay, then the Radisson Calgary Airport Hotel has a great deal for you. They
are offering guests a “Friends in Need” promotion which is the low-rate of $49
Cdn per room, per night and a $10 Cdn Deerfoot Outlet Mall gift certificate.
Not only will you benefit from this special rate, but $12 Cdn will be donated
to Discovery House Violence Prevention Society for each night booked. This is a
great way to save money and help a Calgary charity during this holiday season.
For reservations or more information, call (403) 291-4666 or (800) 333-3353.
For more details about Discovery House, call (403) 670-0467.

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. Smilies.
In his book, "Sled Driver," SR-71/Blackbird pilot Brian Shul
writes: I'll always remember a certain radio exchange that occurred one
day as Walt (my back-seater) and I were screaming across Southern California
13 miles high. We were monitoring various radio transmissions from other
aircraft
as we entered Los Angeles airspace. Though they didn't really control us,
they did monitor our movement across their scope. I heard a Cessna ask for a
readout of its ground speed."90 knots" Center replied. Moments later,a Twin
Beech required the same. "120 knots" Center answered.
We weren't the only ones proud of our ground speed that day...as almost
instantly an F-18 smugly transmitted, "Ah, Center, Dusty 52 requests ground
speed readout." There was a slight pause, then the response, "525 knots on
the ground, Dusty." Another silent pause. As I was thinking to myself how
ripe a situation this was, I heard a familiar click of a radio transmission
coming from my back-seater. It was at that precise moment I realized Walt
and I had become a real crew, for we were both thinking in unison. "Center,
Aspen 20, you got a ground speed readout for us?" There was a longer than
normal pause ... "Aspen, I show 1,742 knots." No further inquiries were
heard on that frequency.

In another famous SR-71 story, Los Angeles Center reported receiving a
request for clearance to FL 60 (60,000 ft). The incredulous controller, with
some disdain in his voice, asked, "How do you plan to get up to 60,000 feet?
The pilot (obviously a sled driver), responded, "We don't plan to go up to
it, we plan to go down to it." He was cleared

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