It Seems Like Only Yesterday; Air Canada The First 50 Years

Toronto, Ontario, Canada: McClelland and Stewart, 1986. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Peter Mossman (Endpapers). 368 pages. Illustrated end papers. Illustrations. Footnotes. Index. Philip Smith was a respected historian who made business and corporate history his specialty. Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada by fleet size and passengers carried. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 182 destinations worldwide. It is the world's eighth-largest passenger airline by fleet size, and is a founding member of the Star Alliance. Air Canada's corporate headquarters are in Montreal, Quebec, while its largest hub is at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The airline's regional service is Air Canada Express. Canada's national airline originated from the Canadian federal government's 1936 creation of Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA), which began operating its first transcontinental flight routes in 1938. In 1965, TCA was renamed Air Canada following government approval. Air Canada's predecessor, Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA), was created by federal legislation as a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway (CNR) on 11 April 1937. The newly created Department of Transport under Minister C. D. Howe desired an airline under government control to link cities on the Atlantic coast to those on the Pacific coast. Using $5 million in Crown seed money, two Lockheed Model 10 Electras and one Boeing Stearman biplane were purchased from Canadian Airways and experienced airline executives from United Airlines and American Airlines were brought in. Passenger flights began on 1 September 1937, with an Electra carrying two passengers and mail from Vancouver to Seattle, a $14.20 round trip, and, on 1 July 1938, TCA hired its first flight attendants. Transcontinental routes from Montreal to Vancouver began on 1 April 1939, using 12 Lockheed Model 14 Super Electras and six Lockheed Model 18 Lodestars. Canadian Pacific Airlines (CP Air) suggested in 1942 a merger with TCA. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King rejected the proposal and introduced legislation regulating TCA as the only airline in Canada allowed to provide transcontinental flights.