Tuesday 9 October 2012

Traveloscopy Travelblog: Happy Birthday Air Canada

In the new skies of the 21st Century, experience speaks volumes.

The mighty radial engines splutter to life on the tarmac at Vancouver. Captain Zebulon Lewis "Lewie" Leigh peers out of the open cockpit window of the shiny new Lockheed Electra 10A. “Chocks away!” he calls to the ground crew and CF-AZY taxis out to the runway with two passengers and mail destined for Seattle.

The date is September 1, 1937, and it’s a day etched in Canadian aviation history. Seventy-five years ago, Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA) makes its first ever commercial flight, a 50-minute hop costing $7.20. By 1939 TCA is flying a multi-hop route across the great expanse of Canada between Vancouver and Montreal in around 15 hours delivering mail and passengers.

Traveloscopy Travelblog: Happy Birthday Air Canada