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Vesta's Jump Seat
 Why not allow the NetLetter be your platform, and opportunity, to relive your history while working for either TCA, AC, CPAir, CAIL, PWA, AirBC etal. and share your experiences with us!Fred Coyle sent us this information regarding the article in NetLetter nr 1100 - I can tell you and your readers, in case it is out of print, that I got Shirley Render's book "No Place for a Woman" out of the Greater Victoria Public Library. So it may be available in public libraries across the country. It is a great read. They may have it at Aviation Museums as well, in their libraries. |
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Our first 70 years.
 1973 - April 29th - Regular DC-9 service replaced Viscount service at Sept-Iles. - June 1st - L1011 Tri-star service between Toronto-Halifax-St. John's started. |
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Air Canada News
 Air Canada will begin non-stop, daily flights between Toronto and Copenhagen on June 24, 2010, subject to government approval. The only non-stop service to Scandinavia from Canada will be operated with a 211-seat Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft featuring 24 lay flat bed suites in Executive First and a personal digital in-flight video system, a USB port and a power plug available at every seat throughout the aircraft. Service will operate daily in the summer, with reduced frequency in the winter. |
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TCA/AC People Gallery
 Over the past months we have been publishing various photographs from earlier "Horizons", should any photos prompt a memory in seeing one of them, feel free to send us your comments and thoughts. Sorry readers, but a gremlin stole the photos which went with this article in NetLetter nr 1100, so we repeat it here -  With the introduction of the cockpit DataLink system, passengers will be notified of a baggage mis-handling on board the aircraft before they land.  DataCare enhances the procedure when a station attendant locates a mis-handled baggage. (No identities were provided - eds) Here we have the balance of the report by the crew of the TCA North Star involved in the rescue of "Bermuda Sky Queen" which ditched in the Atlantic - The weather ship was lying sideways to the trough to break the waves as much as possible as KFG came running in on a practice approach. I could not help think that 8 or 9 years ago when I watched Eddie Allen testing the prototype in Seattle harbour, I little thought that I would watch one landing in waves like these in the middle of the Atlantic. KFG swung around for the final approach and we placed ourselves in position to keep track of survivors if the aircraft broke up on landing. The big flying boat drew closer and closer. We saw a white plume as her keel struck the first wave. Then a foaming crash as she disappeared wings and all below the sea. It seemed like minutes before the bow began to show like a giant whale through the foam and the big craft shook herself clear. The weather ship started full speed ahead when a calm voice said, "We are O.K. and will taxi up to you." The weather ship answered, "O.K we are dropping a 900 ft. line over, supported on life jackets." We watched the plunging Bermuda Sky Queen (for so the radio operator on the weather ship informed us she was) pull slowly up to the weather ship. Its radio officer called R/O Taman to cheer us on our way and remarked "What a wonderful landing those boys pulled off." Our thoughts were that we had witnessed the ultimate in handling a big flying boat in such difficult conditions. We had our hats off to the American International skipper and his crew for the calm and magnificent way they handled the situation. It speaks highly for Boeing workmanship and design that the ship lived in such seas. Musings from the "Between Ourselves" magazine - Issue dated March 1948 - THE OLD VERSUS THE NEW "LOOK" Some of Toronto's personnel display the old and the new in styles for the cameras of New Liberty Magazine.  Left to right: Lorraine Oke, Margaret Walker, Frances Lidstone, Evelyn White, Betty McVey, Margaret Desroches, Joan Vandett, Shirley Dixon, Wanda PrydeThe feminine side of Halifax Traffic at afternoon tea.  Standing, left to right: Virginia Ernst, Marg. Palmer, Ev Ju]ien, Charlotte Smith, Mrs. G. Churchill, Mrs. J. C. Campbell and Mrs. L. Parker. Seated, left to right: Betty Rolph, Mrs. Marg Morgan, Peggy Lawrence, Madeline Power, Lil Mailman, Doris Woods, Jean Bonnezen. Bert Shenton, Passenger Agent in Winnipeg shows off the new uniforms.  Margaret Taggart shows the feminine attire for Passenger AgentsIssue dated September 1948 - Mid-Atlantic reunion A unique reunion, the outcome of a chance remark, science and human feelings took place recently 21,000 feet above the North Atlantic on an eastbound North Star. Stewardess A. Germaine learned from passenger William Shorden that his son was a First Lieutenant in the Navy, serving aboard the Canadian weather ship, H.M.C.S. "St. Stephen," off the Labrador coast. Slipping into the cockpit, Miss Germaine told Captain S. R. Found, who later made radio-telephone contact with the weather ship and asked for Lieutenant Shorden. Captain Found then invited Mr. Shorden into the cockpit to speak to his son for the first time in two years. In the Windsor-Detroit report, we learn that Isobel Pearson and Lenora Hues, both radio operators received their five year pins during a TCA Windsor dinner party.  Presentations made by Cliff Anderson Station Manager and Howard Paillefer District Sales Manager.Gleanings from "Horizons" magazine - Issue dated July 1973 - Prior to it's scheduled service to Halifax, the L1011 spent two days at Halifax during which an estimated 10,000 people visited the aircraft which was on a static display.  Helping out with the display are, from left - Gary Hersey, Paul Emerson, Ralph Wilcox, Shirley Hill, Bud Fogerty, Gene Burden,Charles McLellan, Dave Murdock and Pete McCarthy. Here we have three employees from the company's word processing centre at P.V.M.  Louise Kerr.  Carol Neeson Dave Roy Marketing Communication SupervisorWhen the DC-9 replaced the Viscount service at Sept-Iles on April 29th, a number of employees showed up for the occasion and are seen in this photo -  From the left - Jean Claude Gaudreau, Eddie Dionne, Richard Bisson, Richard Lariviere, Edward King, Guy Casista and Paul Cormier.Air Canada and Eastern Provincial Airways staff gathered at Sydney N.S.to discuss their working relationships  Here they are - hard at it! - from the left Keith Miller Exec V.P.(EPA), Naish Batten (AC), Phil Symes (AC), Jack Morgan GM Atlantic Provinces, Audrey Collins and Davey Bates (AC), Howard MacInnes (EPA).(Looks like EPA are outnumbered here - eds) |
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Star Alliance news
 Transaero Airlines is discussing increasing its cooperation with Star Alliance (it currently codeshares with Austrian Airlines and BMI) and would consider full membership. |
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Alan's Space
 30 Days on an Airplane
Mark Malkoff, a 32-year-old comedian, writer and filmmaker from Hershey, Pa., stepped onto the tarmac after spending 30 days on board a commercial airliner. That's about 266 hours in the air, hitting 38 cities across the country, traveling 111,211 miles. "It was jumping in head on with something that had never been done before," Malkoff said. "I never set out for it to be a world record, it just was." He once spent an entire week inside an IKEA store in New Jersey. He also garnered some internet cred when he traveled to all 177 Starbucks in Manhattan in under 24 hours. "That took me two weeks of training on a bicycle in New York risking my life," says Malkoff. "I like to put things on paper that look impossible and try to execute them." A fear of flying is what drove Malkoff into the skies. Hitting almost every major airport in the United States, Malkoff landed, yet never disembarked, in cities including Houston, Moline, Branson, and Chareston. With a video camera rolling, and mid-air wireless Internet available on board the plane, he chronicled this journey for all to see at www.markonairtran.com. "I don't know how I would have gotten through the month without wifi," explains Malkoff. "I had so much emotional support from people all over the world. What did Mark Malkoff do to amuse himself? He played Twister in the back of the plane and ran a bingo game over the onboard loud speaker. He got his butt kicked in an RC car race by Danika Patrick and even had a catered anniversary dinner with his wife on the wing of the airplane. AirTran, the accommodating airline, even put his face on a plane. Once all was said and done, Malkoff had unwittingly secured himself a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. "It made me feel good that I kicked the habit when Guinness presented me with the world record," says Malkoff. "Wow, 135 flights. That's more than most people will fly in their entire life." On how he handled the ordeal and came out in such good spirits: "The whole thing was definitely challenging," revealed Malkoff. "It was this emotional journey of self exploration." Sp what did he do? Here's a video of what happens when you roll toilet paper down the aisle of an airliner and then flush...  Click on image above for video
(click on HD for full screen) You can find out more about Mark Malkoff by clicking here |
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Canadi>n/CPAir/PWA, Wardair, etc. Events & People
 Over the past months we have been publishing various photographs from earlier in-house magazines, should any photos prompt a memory in seeing one of them, feel free to send us your comments and thoughts.Perusing the "Info Canadian" magazine - Issue dated October 1991 50 Year Reunion in PEI Former employees of Maritime Central Airways, formed in 1941, got there for a 50 year reunion in Charlottetown, PEI, recently. The airline eventually purchased by Eastern Provincial which later merged with CP. The reunion participants pictured are all current employees at Canadian.  From left, Walter Munn, Bill Rhude, John Leger; back from left, Keith Campbell, Jim Bulmer, Cleveland Stewart, and Darrold Tanton.Issue dated October 1991 - All dressed up with nowhere to fly Have we hit a time warp? No, a group of flight attendants celebrating 15 years with Canadian recently threw a party in Calgary. As a party theme, flight attendants were asked to wear an old uniform. Only a few dared to dress up in "vintage" flight attendant clothing:  From left, Debbie Steel, Patty Dickle, Tanis Vallevand, Sue Bowerman, and Lesley Ostrosser, all based in Calgary.Issue dated November 1991 - Here we have Sandra Groves UK North of England Sales Manager greeting the Great Britain karate team.  From the left - flight attendants Elizabeth Martins, Barbara MacDonald From the right flight attendants Saskia Vizenm, Norma Kelly. |
 Fred Coyle makes this comment regarding the service planned to LHR with the A319 mentioned in NetLetter nr 1100 - I am surprised that the aircraft for the non-stop YYT-LHR service this summer will be an A-319. I thought that aircraft had domestic range only. That shows how much out-of-date I am after 19 years of retirement! Brian Dunn editor of YYZNews (www.yyznews.com) has dug up some vintage photos of Toronto Pearson Airport for us to view -  Here we have an aerial view Barry Crawford has been corresponding with Alan Rust, our NetLetter Flight Engineer, and, although he is not an airline person, Barry has some interesting photos and a story to share with us - " I was born and raised in the Quebec asbestos mining town of Thetford Mines. The Asbestos Hill mine site was owned and operated by Asbestos Corporation from Thetford Mines and that is the connection as to how I got to work up North. I worked at the Asbestos Hill mine site from 1974-1975 and returned as a student for the summers of 1976 and 1977. The Nordair L-188 Electra and the Nordair B-737 were the major workhorses bringing in men and supplies to the site on regular 2 days a week flights.  The photo is of our arrival to Asbestos Hill. I'm in the blue jacket. A young 22 years old at the time taken May 22, 1976. Our flight into Asbestos Hill was diverted to Frobisher because of bad weather. Later that day we were flown back (6 of us) with supplies.A very cold ride indeed! .........I believe the day before another DC-3 crash landed (not Nordair).  I don't remember any details about what happened. You can see where the propeller cut just behind where the pilot was. Here is a photo taken at Frobisher Bay. Loading cargo into a B-737 in 1973/4. The flights originated out of Dorval, Montreal, Quebec." The Nordair pilots were suburb in flying these aircraft. I remember once we were on final approach to Asbestos Hill in the B-737 when suddenly the pilot began to take us back up to altitude. He circled around and brought us in for a landing. There was another time when we took off from Fort Chimo on our way back to Dorval, Montreal from Asbestos Hill. We were just a few minutes into the flight when we hit some very severe turbulence. It was so bad that our meals were canceled for the entire flight. As I looked out the window at the black clouds I could feel the pilot maneuvering the B-737 away from the storm. We made it safely to Dorval without further incident. I spoke to my brother recently who also worked at Asbestos Hill and he said he remembered once that as the B-737 he was landing in blew a tire. He said the pilots were magnificent in their skills and professionalism in bringing the aircraft to a halt without incident. Needless to say I can not empathize enough just how good these Nordair pilots were." It would be a thrill to actually speak to one of these pilots someday and tell them how much I appreciated their flying abilities. Barry (We have some more next tine - eds) Alan Rust responded to Barry - Thanks for the memories, I remember the deflector plate on the nose wheel of the 737 to protect the belly of the aircraft from stone damage from landing on dirt and gravel runways. Hard to believe that they managed to operate on gravel runways with a jet aircraft. (Note from Alan) - I worked for Nordair between March 1973 and February, 1974 before I joined Air Canada. It was an exciting time for me as I had been working for a Piper Dealership previously and had never been to the Arctic. I was 23 years old at the time. I was sent to Frobisher Bay the first month with Nordair to help bring out a Curtis C-46 that had made a belly landing there. Maybe I'll elaborate on my Nordair experience in another NetLetter. |
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Terry's Trivia & Travel Tips
 Argentina to charge reciprocity fee. Effective December 28, 2009, Argentina will begin charging a reciprocity fee to citizens of Canada, the U.S. and Australia arriving at Ministro Pistarini de Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires. The fee does not apply to any other port of entry by air, land or sea. The fee will apply as follows: Canadian citizens: $70 USD (valid for one entry only) U.S. citizens: $131 USD (valid for ten years) Australian citizens: $100 USD (valid for one entry only) The fee does not apply to Canadian, Australian or US citizens with legal residence in Argentina, who hold a passport with an Argentine consular visa, who hold an official or diplomatic passport. The fee will be payable in cash or by credit card, traveller's cheque or ARS (Argentine Peso) upon arrival at booths positioned in the immigration arrivals hall. Travellers should consult their local Argentina consular representatives before departure for entry requirements as they are subject to change. Further details may be obtained from: Consulate General of Argentina in Toronto www.consargtoro.ca or Department of Immigration, Government of Argentina www.migraciones.gov.ar The Canada Line is Vancouver's new rapid transit rail link connecting YVR to downtown Vancouver in 26 minutes and to downtown Richmond in 18 minutes. It's a fast and easy way to get to the city centres. You can conveniently access trains from both the International and Domestic Terminals.Canada Line's YVR-Airport station is centrally located between our International and Domestic Terminals. As you exit the train, turn left for domestic flights or right for U.S. and international flights. Flying in to YVR from within Canada? If you're picking up checked bags, you are at Arrivals, level 2 of the Domestic Terminal. Go to Level 3, and walk toward the Link Building (located in between the International and Domestic Terminal). Follow the signs marked Canada Line Arriving from the U.S.A or an international destination? Once through the customs and immigration arrivals process, walk toward the exit to our International Arrivals Greeting Area. Exit the building following signs marked Canada Line. Before the parkade entrance, an escalator and elevator will take you up to the Canada Line platform. Have any questions? Look for our Green Coat volunteers who can help point you in the right direction Here is the second installment of the - Eastern Mediterranean Cruise October 22nd to Nov 3rd 2009 Our cruise was with Oceanic Cruise Lines on the MS Insignia. started in NetLetter nr 1099 Thursday October 22nd Breakfast consisted of mushroom omelet, hash browns, tomato, and a fruit cup. We arrived in Frankfurt at .13:40, where we are bussed to the terminal - which seems to be a retrograde step for such a huge and modern airport. This airport is not just big, not even huge but humongous. Why airport planners provide such a labyrinth under the terminal for the large buses to negotiate heaven knows. Our connecting flight for ATH leaves at 21:00, so we have a few hours to kill, but we are getting used to that now. We found a nest of about a dozen chairs which had extensions for our legs, and got quite comfy and were able to stretch out. Our lunch consisted of a bottled water and sandwich. The water was €2.45 and sandwich €2.10. The water had a €0.25 deposit, but many threw their empty bottles into the recycle bins, which were promptly inspected by people who seem to roam the airport collecting such items, and claiming the refunds. A non taxable income perhaps! At 20:00 we locate our departure gate A22 for our A321 flight of 2.5 hours to ATH. As the flight was only 50% full, we could stretch out. On board meal was pasta, chocolate bar, juice.Then we managed to sleep - pillows and blanket supplied free!!! Friday October 23rd We landed at 01:10 - there was an added time difference of one hour. We wandered around until we found some chairs. Not too many chairs vacant as there seem to be lots of people waiting for early morning flights. Tea cost €1.60, later we found another restaurant which had a deal of espresso coffee and tea for €1.00 each. In the airport on the upper level, we located a small museum which artifacts which had been unearthed during the excavations for the airport. The items go as far back as 3000 BC. so wandering through this museum passed some of the time. At the end of that level there was a McDonald's, but the set up was not the traditional McDonald's, there were couches and small round tables all overlooking the ramp and runways, so we spent time here in relative luxury over a cuppa €1.00 and muffin €2.00. We checked in for our flight at 10:20, well before the deadline fortunately because, when asked about our luggage, we told the agent that the luggage had been booked right through to Mykonos. No so, we were informed, as there is no customs facilities at Mykonos, the luggage would be held by customs at ATH. We had to get a permit which allowed us to re-enter the arrivals area. This permit we obtained from the Information desk at Exit 3. Armed with the permit we went to the door marked "Delayed Baggage" and hammered on the locked door and peered through the window until we could attract the attention of someone, who opened the door and inspected our permit and passports before directing us to the lock up. We located our luggage and went to the customs area but there was no one there, but an agent looked out of his office and waved us through to the exit - a smugglers delight!. Back to the check in agent, we rechecked our luggage, got our boarding passes and we were done. Relieved to know our luggage had gotten this far. At the gate B11, we had to go through security again, removing watches, belts, money, jackets but not shoes. Then found some seats and waited for the flight. We and several other passengers did not realize the flight had been called, and when we heard that the flight was closing - that got our attention. Anyway, the A320 was only filled with 25 passengers, but we were served a soft drink beverage, tea or coffee from the normal trolley. The flight was only 25 minutes duration, so we don't know how well the service would be if the flight were ever full. We landed at Mykonos, collected our luggage and tried to find the Oceania representative, without success, so we got a taxi to the port. There is an old and new port but the driver did not know which one to take us, but they were relatively close together, and he dropped us at the old port. There was no sign of a cruise ship, so we dragged out luggage over an uneven water front, which had lots of restaurants and cafe's with outside tables and chairs until we got next to the pier. I left my wife with the luggage in the shade of a building and went to locate the ship. I threaded my way through a labyrinth of tiny shop in various alleyways until I got to the headland and, there was the ship anchored in the harbor. I waited until a tender appeared and, thankfully, it headed my way. I managed to find my way back to where my wife was and there was the tender just at the pier. I approached a crew man and told him I had missed the cruise in ATH and he said "Oh yes, your Mr Baker and you live in Canada, came from England and born in Bristol, I have come to collect you.". I was astonished that he would know such information, and he said we were expected. He sent a crew member to help collect the luggage and we had a 160 passenger tender to convey us to the ship where there was a welcoming officer who conducted us to our stateroom. After three days traveling, we felt quite scruffy, so the first thing was for a shower. The airports we visited did not have the normal north American electric outlet, but had two round prongs, so it was nice to have a shave. Then unpack and fall into a decent bed for several hours. Later we prowled the ship to orientate ourselves. At last, our cruise had started. (More another time - eds) |
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Smilie
 Here we have another smilie sent in by Vern Swerdfeger |