Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter
Since 1995 Saturday, February 14, 2026
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Renegade Air - Bombardier CRJ 200 Formerly Air Canada C-FWRR (fin #120) Photo by Avmax Group |
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Dear Welcome to The NetLetter, established in 1995 as a dedicated newsletter for Air Canada retirees.
We have evolved into the longest running aviation-based newsletter for Air Canada, TCA, CP Air, Canadian Airlines and all other Canadian-based airlines that once graced the skies. The NetLetter is self-funded and is always free to subscribers. It is operated by a group of volunteers and is not affiliated with any airline or associated organizations. The NetLetter is published on the second and fourth weekend of each month. If you are interested in Canadian aviation history, and vintage aviation photos, especially as it relates to Trans-Canada Air Lines, Air Canada, Canadian Airlines International and their constituent airlines, then we're sure you'll enjoy this newsletter. Please note: We do our best to identify and credit the original source of all content presented. However, should you recognize your material and are not credited; please advise us so that we can correct our oversight. Our website is located at www.thenetletter.net Please click the links below to visit our archives and for more info about The NetLetter. |
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 We have welcomed 12 new subscribers so far in 2026.
We currently have 4556 subscribers.
We wish to thank everyone for the continuing support of our efforts.
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 Back issues of The NetLetter are available in both the original newsletter format and downloadable PDF format.
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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.
We will try to post your comments in the next issue but, if not, we will publish it as soon as we can.
Thanks!
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 Pionairs host monthly get-togethers for members across their districts.
We are featuring the Quebec district below.
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- West Island of Montreal (Pointe-Claire, Dorval, Beaconsfield, Dollard-des-Ormeaux etc.)
- First Tuesday morning of the month
- Location: Brasserie Le Manoir, 600 Boulevard St. Jean, Pointe-Claire (corner Hymus)
- Les Amis Retraités d'Air Canada (Laval)
- First Thursday of the month
- Location: Restaurant Grigio, 993 Boulevard. St-Martin Ouest, Laval
- Computer & System Services
- First Thursday of the month
- Location: Au Vieux Duluth, 3610 Boulevard St. Jean, Pointe Claire
- Purchasing & Stores Retirees
- First Thursday of the month
- Location: Brasserie Le Manoir, 625 32nd Avenue, Lachine
- RACE Retired AC Engineering
- First Thursday of the month
- Location: La Porte Grecque, 4600 Boulevard des Sources, Dollard-des-Ormeaux
- Former Members of C.A.I.L.
- Second Tuesday of the month
- Location: Au Vieux Duluth, 3610 Boulevard St. Jean, Pointe Claire
- Quebec City Pionairs
- Second Tuesday of the month
- Location: Restaurant Tuscanos, 1445 Avenue Jules-Verne, Quebec
- South Shore of Montreal
- Second Wednesday of the month
- Location: Casa Grecque, 8245-A Boulevard Taschereau, Brossard
- AC Technical Shops Association (Dorval Base)
- Second Wednesday of the month
- Location: Allo! Mon CoCo Restaurant 46D Boulevard Brunswick, Pointe Claire
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Central Ontario Pionairs hosted their traditional Christmas Luncheon at Lionhead Golf and Country Club on December 3, 2025.
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 This ever-popular event saw over 200 members in attendance enjoying the musical offerings of violinist, Miriam, the memorabilia display provided by Roger Slauenwhite, a sumptuous Christmas buffet and the informative updates from Cathy Olson (left), President of National Pionairs and Doug Olson, Member Support Director. An added highlight, as always, is the chance to rekindle with former colleagues and the opportunity for lucky winners whose tickets were drawn by District Director, Carla Marraffino (left) , to receive some outstanding prizes plus special prize donations thanks to the generosity of Sherri and Fred Longstreet. Coming up in the Spring will be the Member Appreciation Luncheon and date will be posted in the Ontario District Spring Newsletter. If you are a retiree and have not yet joined the Pionairs, click the Pionairs logo to view their official website with a link to join. |
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Roger Slauenwhite
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History Through Our Eyes: April 11, 1986,
remembering Trans-Canada Air Lines
A gleaming silver 1937 airplane took off in drizzling rain yesterday from the Pratt and Whitney airstrip in St-Hubert, kicking off Air Canada’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
The airplane in question was a Lockheed 10A Electra, registered as CF‐TCC, that had once flown for Air Canada’s forerunner, Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA). The plane had been repurchased by Air Canada after a former employee had spotted it at an airshow in Texas, and then lovingly restored, mostly by volunteers.
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Mechanic Dave Brooks gives all-clear sign to pilot Ray Lank in Air Canada's restored Lockheed 10A, CF-TCC on April 10, 1986.
The plane and the coveralls sport the logo of Trans-Canada Air Lines, Air Canada's forerunner; the airline was marking its 50th anniversary.
The photo was published in the Montreal Gazette the following day.
Photo by John Mahoney.
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A New Era in Long-Haul: Air Canada to Acquire Airbus A350-1000 Widebody Aircraft to Support International Network Growth
Air Canada today announced the next phase of its fleet modernization program with the addition of the Airbus A350-1000 widebody aircraft. The airline will welcome eight aircraft to its fleet, and has rights to purchase eight other A350-1000s, with deliveries scheduled to begin in the second half of 2030.
Additional details:
Airbus Newsroom
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Air Canada is the official airline for Team Canada and has posted several videos on its YouTube channel celebrating the team.
Click the image below for a link to the most recent videos.
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 for the latest posts at the Air Canada Media Centre. |
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 Click the logo to open the Air Canada YouTube channel. |
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- July 1, 1946 - Trans-Canada Air Lines became the first foreign flag carrier to begin service to the city of Chicago. The first flights, between Chicago and Toronto were operated four times daily with 21-passenger DC-3 equipment.
- July 1, 2013 - Inaugural flight Toronto (YYZ) - Kingston, Jamaica (KIN) by Air Canada Rouge.
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Here we have an advert from the C&SS (Computer & Systems Services)
department, Front Street, Toronto in 1985.
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Found in 'Horizons' magazine
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Issue dated July 1996
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Mirabel (YMX) - Customer Sales and Service Agent Murielle Saint-Germain celebrated her 35th anniversary with her friends and colleagues during 1996.
From left to right: Customer Sales and Service Agents Lise Legault-Dafoe, Claire Gagnon, Liette Parent, Anna Lemay and Gérard Chalifoux; Guy Comtois, Manager, Customer Service; Customer Sales and Service Agents Robert Bentley, Héléne Haanpaa and Micheline Tremblay.
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"Go Canada Go" CL65 Aircraft
Big Hit Of Edmonton International Air Show
Air Canada showed off one of its newest aircraft, Fin #120, on the weekend of May 18 & 19 at the Edmonton International Air Show.
From left to right: Don Carmichael, Layne McDougall, Graham Edwards, Ron Henke, Kirstin Brown, Bert Radford, Karen Gilfillan and Dan Mumme.
Editors' Note: See 'Wayne's Wings' below for more about this aircraft.
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Crowds of visitors viewed the CL65 aircraft sporting the 'Go Canada Go' design in honour of the upcoming Atlanta Olympic Games. The visit marked the first appearance of the CL65 in Western Canada. Rapidair service between Edmonton and Calgary began on June 1 and features CL65 service.
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Issue dated November 1996
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Celebrating Our First 50 Years at Heathrow (LHR)
by Jane Whigham, Public Relations - London, England.
In September, we celebrated fifty years of service at London's Heathrow Airport, the first North American carrier to reach this milestone at the airport; and we celebrated in style.
The festivities kicked off on September 15 when more than 1,000 employees and their families enjoyed the Family Fun Day and barbecue at Kempton Park race course. Air Canada's largest employee event ever held outside Canada, the Fun Day was held in brilliant autumn sunshine and employees and their families were able to try their hand at simulated golf, sumo wrestling, five-a-side soccer, simulated surf boarding, pole jousting and many other activities.
On September 16, the actual anniversary date, Air Canada presented a maple tree to Heathrow Airport, which was planted close to the Visitor Centre. In presenting the tree to Mike Roberts, Managing Director for Heathrow Airport Limited, Egon Koch, Vice President, Europe, said he hoped the next 50 years would be as successful as those just completed.
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At the tree planting were, from left to right: Tony Coleman, General Manager, Customer Service Europe; Mike Roberts, Managing Director, Heathrow Airport Ltd.; Robert Ebelthite, Manager T3 LHR; Derek Buckell, Manager, Customer Service, London and Egon Koch, Vice President, Europe.
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 At the airport, Customer Sales & Service Coordinator Chris Brokenshire inspired an enthusiastic team of volunteers to decorate the check-in area and two passenger agents, Tracey Haveland and Kellie Drew dressed up in 1946 flight attendant uniforms and greeted passengers arriving at the airport.
The uniforms won the universal approval of passengers with comments that we should return to the tailored look, but staff are not convinced. "Many people have said they prefer those uniforms to today’s business suits" said Kellie.
All departing passengers were given anniversary pins and souvenir baggage tags detailing the different types of Air Canada aircraft used on Heathrow routes since 1946. The fiftieth passenger to check-in for each flight on the anniversary was also presented with a bottle of champagne.
The anniversary day was brought to a close with a cocktail reception in the airport's Maple Leaf Lounge for airport executives, airline and local dignitaries and cargo and travel industry leaders.
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CP Air / Canadi>n People Gallery |
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James Richardson's Canadian Airways (1930-1942) was well placed to be the nucleus of a national airline, but the Canadian government instead established Trans-Canada Air Lines. Canadian Airways instead became the nucleus of TCA's competitor, Canadian Pacific, in 1942.
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From the Air Cargo Annual report 1991.
TSSC Network Complete.
The opening of the Vancouver Telephone Sales & Service Centre (TSSC) in April 1991, made our network of four TSSCs complete. Along with YUL, YYZ and YYC, Canadian Air Cargo customers across Canada are getting speedy and efficient telephone responses.
In our photo, from the left: Doug Thornson, Hope-Ann Weidman, Fred Whiting, Ian McLafferty, David Knight, Murray Armstrong, Ken Mok, Gillian Brough and Patrick Cheung.
Missing: Shirley Cherry, Heather Johannson, John Lynch and Geoff Packham.
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 An early Wardair brochure.
Base Assignments
Upon graduation, a flight attendant may be assigned to fill a vacancy at any of the Wardair bases (currently Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal).
A flight attendant who is posted to a base other than where hired, will be granted free transportation via Company aircraft for themselves, together with a reasonable amount of personal effects.
Other relocation expenses such as transferring an automobile or furniture will be the responsibility of the flight attendant. You will be notified of your base assignment as soon as possible during your training period.
Uniforms
Basic uniform items are provided to flight attendants at no charge (including any subsequent basic items needed due to normal wear and tear).
Uniform accessories for both male and female, such as shoes, boots, handbag, carry-on case, scarves, blouses, shirts, ties, gloves, are shared by both company and employee, with the employee paying 75% of the cost.
Dry cleaning and general upkeep of the wardrobe are the responsibility of the individual flight attendant. A monthly cleaning allowance is given to all operating crew.
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Continuing with our Olympic theme, our video was posted by videographer Mark Brandon who captured Airbus A330-300 fin #940 arriving and departing Montreal.
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Airbus A330-300 C-GEGC - Fin #940 an in Special Olympic Livery |
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Pierre Gillard recently spent several days in Saint Maarten (SXM) and posted these photos of Air Transat flying over the beach.
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More defunct airlines of Canada
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Air Alma was an airline based in Alma, Quebec
Founded in 1959 and ceased operations in 2002.
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C-FOYJ - Embraer EMB-110P2 Bandeirante
Montreal - June 2000
Photo by Konstantin von Wedelstaedt
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Air 500 -
1985 - 2007
The airline was founded in 1985 by Dennis Chadala, a former captain, director of marketing, and assistant to Carl Millard, owner of the defunct airline Millardair. The company commenced operations with one Super Beech 18 Model E purchased from Bradley First Air.
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C-FFSS - Mitsubishi MU-2 Marquise
Ottawa - March 2005
Photo by John Davies
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Bombardier CRJ-100ER - One currently active
In NetLetter #1573 I wrote about the introduction of the CRJ-100ER (Canadair CL-65) into the Air Canada fleet beginning in 1994.
During the time of the original fleet of 26 aircraft, they were frequently transferred and rebranded (Air Canada, Jazz Air & Air Canada Express) through frequent changes in the early 2000s.
Two of the aircraft, C-FRIL (fin #104) and C-FSKI (fin #109) were involved in incidents and damaged beyond repair. The majority of the remaining aircraft were acquired by Avmax Group and are stored but available for lease.
However, I did find one that is currently listed as active as of this writing. Coincidently it is the aircraft featured in the piece in our AC/TCA section of this issue.
C- FWRR (fin #120) was delivered in April 1996 and painted in 'Go Canada Go' livery for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Georgia. Besides the already mentioned branding, this aircraft also saw service for Air Georgian, Pivot Airlines and Air Liaison on leases from Avmax.
In April 2024 it was leased to Renegade Air of Kenya and is currently listed as active at www.planespotters.net.
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Renegade Air registration 5Y-RNJ
Avmax photo
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From Horizons September 1996
Original photo by Brian Losito
Enhancement by Bob Lynch
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| Terry's Trivia
& Travel Tips |
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Terry Baker, co-founder of the NetLetter scours the internet for aviation related Trivia and Travel Tips for you, our readers, to peruse.
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Canadians are not able to legally enter the United Kingdom beginning this month without a travel permit and may face being denied boarding.
The British government says Canadian travellers will need to apply and pay for an electronic travel authorization (eTA) as of February 25, 2026.
These ETA obligations for Canadians originally came into place earlier this year, but the U.K. government says the rules were not “strictly enforced, to give visitors ample time to adjust to the new requirement.”
An eTA is not a travel visa, but is for passport holders who do not need a U.K. travel visa. The eTAs will allow visitors to travel to the U.K. on a short-term basis for up to six months.
These digital permissions cost £16 (approximately $30 CAD), and Canadians can apply online or via the U.K. eTA app. Travel experts have told Global News that Canadians should apply for an eTA through an official government website to avoid online scams.
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January 12, 2026 - Air Inuit, which is wholly owned by the Inuit of Nunavik through Makivvik Corporation, today announced that its first newly re-engineered Boeing 737–800NG combi aircraft has been certified by Transport Canada, marking the arrival of the world’s first B-737–800NG configured for both passengers and freight.
KF Aerospace, of Kelowna, British Columbia, engineering team played a key role in the project, designing and implementing extensive aircraft-wide structural modifications.
The aircraft officially entered service on Air Inuit’s Montréal-Kuujjuaq route on January 13.
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Issue dated November 1978
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Winter weather is always an issue in Canada. Our cartoon is from D. Fallwell depicting seasonal weather in British Columbia.
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Wayne, Ken & Terry Richmond, British Columbia - December 2019
(Bob Sheppard was not available for the photograph) |
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Wayne, Bob & Ken Richmond, British Columbia - December 2023
(Terry Baker was not available for the photograph) |
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We wish to honour the memories of
Vesta Stevenson and Alan Rust. They remain a part of every edition published. |
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E&OE - (errors and omissions excepted):
The historical information as well as any other information provided in the "NetLetter" is subject to correction and may have changed over time.
We do publish corrections (and correct the original article) when this is brought to our attention.
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