Air Canada's 75-year History - 1937-2012

In the early 1930s, Canada was one of the few industrialized countries without a national airline. There were a number of regional bush airlines scattered across the country, and Canadian Pacific had part ownership in Canadian Airways, a group of regional airlines that served mining communities and transported mail. However, there was no air service linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. R.B. Bennett's Conservative government was interested in launching an airline, but couldn't afford to do so during the Great Depression. It wasn't until 1935 when Mackenzie King came to power that the idea became a reality. King created a Department of Transport and appointed Clarence Decatur Howe, the man who would be Air Canada's architect and most passionate defender, as minister.

C.D. Howe intended for the airline to be under government control, but also initially wanted private enterprise to take a role in it. He proposed collaboration between CP Rail, CN Rail and Canadian Airways. Although Canadian Airways badly wanted to operate the airline, political manoeuvring got in the way and it was shut out. Trans-Canada Air was legislated into existence April 11, 1936, a subsidiary of CNR, which was in turn owned by the federal government. Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA) started up with $5 million in seed money. It bought three airplanes from Canadian Airways, and hired a number of executives from US airlines, such as United and American.

TCA set forth on its inaugural flight July 30, 1937 (data and photos of the historical fleet are available online). C.D. Howe boarded a Lockheed aircraft in Montreal at dawn, and more than 17 hours later landed in Vancouver at dusk, after touching down in five cities across the country. TCA’s first regular route was between Vancouver and Seattle, a flight that cost $14.20 round trip. Travel was quite a bit less comfortable back then. Pressurized cabins were a thing of the future, the planes were drafty and no oxygen was provided during flights.

The market for air travel increased after the Second World War. The romance of the RCAF and the booming post-war economy made Canadians less afraid and better able to afford to fly. TCA expanded quickly over the next 30 years adding routes to the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. The company changed its name to Air Canada in 1965 to reflect the fact that it no longer flew solely within Canada.

Air Canada marked its 75th anniversary in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) on Friday March 2, 2012. About 800 customers, employees, partners and dignitaries attended, along with Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner which was on display for attendees to tour (see a gallery of photos online). Canada’s largest air carrier has centred its future fleet renewal around the 787. Air Canada has 37 aircraft on order, but delivery of the first seven Dreamliners will not be until 2014. The remaining 30 will be delivered between 2015 and 2019.

For extensive information on Air Canada’s history, see Wikipedia, CBC News – May 14, 2004, Funding Universe and FlightGlobal’s Canadian Aviation Blog (Part 1 and Part 2).