We have welcomed 97 new subscribers so far in 2023.

We wish to thank everyone for the continuing support of our efforts.

Back issues of The NetLetter are available in both the original newsletter format and downloadable PDF format.

We invite you to visit our website at www.thenetletter.net/netletters to view our archives.

Restoration and posting of archive issues is an ongoing project. We hope to post every issue back to the beginning in 1995.

We always welcome feedback about Air Canada (including Jazz and Rouge) from our subscribers who wish to share current events, memories and photographs.

Particularly if you have stories to share from one of the legacy airlines: Trans-Canada Air Lines, Canadian Airlines, CP Air, Pacific Western, Maritime Central Airways, Eastern Provincial, Wardair, Nordair, Transair, Air BC, Time Air, Quebecair, Calm Air, NWT Air, Air Alliance, Air Nova, Air Ontario, Air Georgian and all other Canadian based airlines that once graced the Canadian skies.

Please feel free to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We will try to post your comments in the next issue but, if not, we will publish it as soon as we can.

Thanks!

World Airline Road Race 40th annual coming to Calgary.

The World Airline Road Race (WARR) is a not-for-profit society, run by volunteers, who put on an event each year for airline industry professionals from all corners of the world.

Our goal is to provide a worldwide athletic event, promote travel within the airline industry and foster friendships and co-ordination between airlines. The highlights of this four-day event in Calgary, Canada from September 22-25, 2023, are 5K and 10K run/walks for charity.

All airline associates, their family and friends are welcome.

Subscriber Ed Copeman shares this memory -

I worked the ramp at Edmonton (YEG) for TCA, and then Air Canada, from '62 till '65, and had several 'interesting' episodes. Here's one:

A DC-8 freighter had just landed and was now taxiing to the ramp. I was told to get the cargo manifests from the hold just in front of the wing-root as soon as the '8' stopped, so I drove my tractor past the "winding down" nos 4 and 3 engines, stopping with the front of the tractor under the fuselage.

I set the brakes, stood on the seat and unlocked the cargo-door, then swung it 'UP' and 'LOCKED' - looking straight into the eyes of a black panther not THREE FEET AWAY!

I just about 'crapped' myself, then realized that if it had been loose I'd have already been attacked, noticing that the whole crew I was on were laughing their heads off, watching my reaction, and pointing.

Oh yes - the GOOD OLD DAYS...!

Yours truly, Ed Copeman AC captain retired off A340's.

In a follow up e-mail, Ed sends this –

I worked on the ramp for about 4 or 5 years, then into RCAF and re-joined AC as a pilot on January 24, 1974 until I timed-out' on April 30, 2003 after 23,000 total hours.

The guys on YEG ramp told me I was making a 'BIG' mistake... - nobody who'd quit the ramp went on to anything worthwhile. As a pilot I loved to go into the freight-shed at YEG and make my three stripes very evident, until they became four stripes.

Great memories, cheers,

Ed

Photo below posted by Kevin Carey June 5, 2023 on

The 'Un-Official” Air Canada Staff & Alumni Group' Facebook page -

Comment from Joann Cummings - 

Do you all remember having to pass grooming standards before getting on the aircraft?

That was YYZ in 1972. Those were the days, LOL.

History Through Our Eyes:
March 22, 1971, Air Canada's new Boeing 747. 

Montrealers flocked to Air Canada's maintenance facility in March 1971 when the airline held an open house to introduce its new acquisition.

Montreal Gazette

The smaller plane next to it is a Viscount.

Photo by Garth Pritchard / Montreal Gazette

Airline Captain Irene Koki Mutungi, commonly known as Koki Mutungi, is a professional pilot in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community.

She was the first female on the African continent to become certified as a captain of the Boeing 787 "Dreamliner" aircraft. She flies for Kenya Airways, the national airline of Kenya.

More info:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Koki_Mutungi

www.facebook.com

Star Alliance has once again won the title of World’s Best Airline Alliance at the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards this year.

The Alliance’s famed Los Angeles lounge has also maintained its position of World’s Best Airline Alliance Lounge for the seventh year running.

Star Alliance CEO Theo Panagiotoulias received the awards at a ceremony held at the Paris Air Show.

Delighted at the win, Mr Panagiotoulias said: "Star Alliance offers a robust network and promises seamless journeys. We are very happy to learn that millions of flyers have recognized the exceptional value our alliance extends. With the skies getting busier, we welcome many more flyers to experience what Star Alliance and its 26 member airlines stand for."

Sources: 

www.newswire.ca/news-releases

www.staralliance.com

Found in 'Horizons' magazine

Issue dated August 1977

Recognition.

Sudbury Station Agent II George MacDonald is shown with a Special Achievement Award presented to him by Ontario premier William Davis at a special Sports Award Celebrity Dinner held in Toronto.

George has been active in organizations in the Sudbury area for more than 20 years and served as Northern Ontario Representative to the Ontario Soccer Association. He also a life member of that association.

Miami blitzes interliners.

Miami District made sure airlines in its area were aware of the Air Canada presence.

In a giant interline sales blitz covering all of southeast Florida's airline offices from West Palm Beach to Miami, local sales staff distributed some 1,700 kits.

Each kit contained brochures on Canada, a locally produced interline booklet and a telephone pen. Also included was a letter offering sales incentive passes to interliners.

Giving Miami a big assist in the promotion were two multilingual In-charge Flight Attendants who accompanied local staff on its rounds to the various airline offices.

Shown during a 'station stop' are, from the left:

Oscar Junco, City Ticket Office Agent; Jim Pitts, Sales Representative; Terry Kling and Helen Cadwell (in front), Eastern Air Lines; Tom Blair, Western; Barbara Morgan, Eastern; Hans Marchand, Flight Service Director, Toronto; Sales Representative Carlos Escobar and Toronto Purser Alex Bedirian.

Miami whoops it up.

Hidden talent came to the fore at a Miami Interline party celebrating the company's 40th anniversary when local Air Canada staff put on a show for the more than 300 interliners and local media attended.

The party, which had a cabaret atmosphere with music and dancing, was a howling success.

Highlight of the evening was the floor show featuring the singing 'Supremes' and the 'Can-Can' dancers, all company talent. What was lacking in talent was made up in enthusiasm and there was even an encore!

Shown in the photo are, from the left, back row: Bob Munro, Jim Pitts, Mary Bermudez, (Supreme); Miriam Alvarez, (Can-Can); Yvon Viau, (Supreme); Peter de Sisto, Lise Cooley, Gene Stockett and Julia Russell, (Supreme).

Front row: Carlos 'Chicken-Man' Escobar; Monique Gkikas, (Can-Can); Therese Van-Tassel, Bessie Thomas, (Can-Can); Luella Jackson and Helen Pellerin (Can-Can); June Mercum; John deGroot and Molly Whyte (Supreme).

Missing from photo is Jason Trocale (Supreme).

Posted on the The Air Canada Family Friends (ACFF) Facebook page by Karl-Heinz Krauss.

CP Air YVR OPS Centre circa 1970's.

Issue dated March 1998

We've all heard of our YVR Hub, which is fast becoming North America's finest gateway to Asia. Well, span the country to Canada's rugged east coast and you'll find another hub in our Canadian operation with a gateway all its own.

Halifax's hub-and-spoke operation connects our customers in the Atlantic provinces to and from destinations such as Stephenville, Gander, St. John's, Deer Lake, Saint John, Fredericton, Moncton, Sydney and Charlottetown.

Pictured below, left to right, are: Station Attendants Kevin Brett, Gary Smith and Richard Wolthers groom Flt CP943 bound for YYZ and YWG.

Customer service agents Nancy Clarke and Randy Goldsworthy as they finish whisking customers from Air Atlantic's aircraft to the main carrier during one of the peak periods of the day.

Atlantic Canada is known for the warmth of its people and these three Halifax-based Flight Attendants are a case in point. 

Left to right are: Molly English, Assunta Scattalon and Suzanne Bertin. 

The Great Canadian Face-Off

More than 300 employees from seven bases across Canada converged on Calgary from February 3 - 5, 1998 for the 10th Annual Canadian Airlines Transcon Hockey Tournament. Dubbed the 'Great Canadian Face-Off', 12 teams competed for top honours in three divisions, with representation from our bases in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary.

Participants came from Reservations, Maintenance & Engineering, Inflight, Flight Operations, Airports and Canadian Regional. Fifty-seven games were played in total over the three days.

The winners were: Division A, Vancouver Crunch; Division B, Edmonton Pluggers and Division C, Ottawa Capitals.

Vancouver Crunch

Edmonton Pluggers

Ottawa Capitals

ORD Stands for Orchard: A History of Airport Codes

Our video from 'The History Guy' YouTube channel explains the origins of familiar but often confusing airport codes. Although primarily focusing on US airports, he does refer to Canadian airports near the end of the video. 

Did you know that the 'Y' in Canadian airport designations just stands for 'Yes", indicating that that the site has weather/radio stations? 

Condor goes big on stripes for A330neo flights.

German leisure carrier Condor Airlines received a lot of attention in February 2023 when New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) became the first gateway to welcome one of the carrier’s new striped Airbus A330-900neo twinjets from Frankfurt.

Condor is replacing its Boeing 767's and older Airbus A330-200's with a fleet of 18 efficient A330-900neos and plans to serve all its North American destinations with this aircraft type by 2024.

Progress towards that goal is being made. Celebrations were held at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on May 8, 2023 and at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on May 11, 2023 to mark Condor’s regular, though not yet exclusive, use of its striped 310-passenger A330neos to link these cities with Frankfurt.

Our flight from Seattle to Frankfurt was on the 'Island' green-striped aircraft (below left) and we returned from Frankfurt on the 'Beach' beige/sand-striped plane (below right).

At both ends, we saw lots of people taking pictures and heard plenty of delighted giggles from kids and adults alike.

Source: runwaygirlnetwork.com

Pilotless cargo service.

Transport Canada has signed a one-year contract with an autonomous aircraft start up to provide pilotless cargo service to remote northern communities using a light aircraft.

Ribbit Airlines founder Jeremy Yang told CTV News the Ontario-based company has developed software and hardware that will enable the autonomous missions to operate on a schedule with minimal human intervention.

“From gate to gate, the airplane does everything itself,” said Wang, who began working on the project as a grad student at the University of Waterloo.

Source: AVWeb.com 

Pem-Air 

Once again with the suggestion of US subscriber, Richard Kruszka, I went digging through the internet regarding one of Canada's lesser known airlines; Pem-Air.

Although I don't have any conscious memory of ever seeing one of their aircraft; I must have during my early days driving around the Toronto ramp. 

Looking in Google maps for city of Pembroke, Ontario, what comes to mind is its location. It is practically in the middle of the Air Canada Rapidair 'triangle' between Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. 

Pem-Air began flying as a Class II scheduled airline in 1970. Its first employee was John Smithman, a former RCAF pilot from Montreal, who had been flying as a captain with RoyalAir Ltd. a short-service airline based at the Montreal's Dorval airport. RoyalAir had been providing passenger services for Pembroke until it ceased operations in 1969.

John was a captain with RoyalAir and when he heard that Del O'Brien, a Pembroke Lawyer and 9 other investors wanted to build an airline to replace RoyalAir's services, he drove to Pembroke to meet with O'Brien. 

Within three years, the airline's passenger loads climbed to 2000 a month. Its biggest clients were Petawawa Army Base, Atomic Energy of Canada and Eddy Match Company; flying service personnel  and corporate employees to the three major centres. It does seem that, for a time, they had quite a nice niche market.

Pem-Air would become a member of the Canadian Partner loyalty program during the 1990's. However, during the turbulent times of the early 2000's, after 31 years  of service the company ended all its routes between Pembroke, Ontario and Toronto Pearson International Airport due to dropping traffic levels with Atomic Energy of Canada (that was responsible for two-thirds of its business at Pembroke).

Commercial airline services were discontinued to refocus on its flight school, an aviation service operated jointly in partnership with Algonquin College and still in operation today.

Co-founder Del O'Brien wrote his first hand memories of Pem- Air tilted 'The Community Airline That Did It All', available at the photo link at above.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pem-Air

Pem-Air Piper PA-31 Navajo - C-GCJN

Photo courtesy of Alain Rioux

Terry Baker, co-founder of the NetLetter scours the internet for aviation related Trivia and Travel Tips for you, our readers, to peruse.

Some of the many deals offered by perx.com and brought to you by Interline Vacations.

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Cruises -

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Global Airlines, the world's newest UK long-haul airline, has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a further three A380's.

With the purchase of these aircraft, the airline’s fleet development reaches a new milestone with four A380's now lined up for the start of operations in Spring 2024. 

Source: Globalairlines.com

Electra.aero rolled out its hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) technology demonstrator for the first time recently.

Called the Model EL-2 'Goldfinch,' the two-seat test vehicle will be used to “track performance and inform the design” for the company’s nine-passenger production aircraft concept. Electra completed a fully integrated ground test of its hybrid-electric propulsion system in September 2022.

Electra is planning to fly a full-scale prototype of its nine-passenger design in 2025 with the goal of achieving FAA Part 23 certification in 2028.

The company is targeting a 400-NM range, 175-knot cruise speed and payload of 2,500 pounds for the model. According to Electra, the design uses distributed electric propulsion and the company’s proprietary blown lift technology with “eight motors to provide additional wing lift, and hybrid-electric power that provides internal recharging capabilities for aircraft batteries.”

Source: AVWeb.com

Our cartoon by Dave Mathias appeared in the 'Between Ourselves' magazine issue dated September 1955. 

The caption reads “Nothing thanks, I’m just browsing”.