A Look At Some Of Air Canada’s Historical Innovations

Not every airline in the world has a particular webpage dedicated to its history of innovation and shaping the aviation industry. Air Canada, however, does have such a site! Officially founded in 1936 as Trans-Canada Air Lines, the Canadian flag carrier has been in operation now for more than 86 years and has a surprising number of exciting and respectable claims to its name. Let’s take a look at the highlights.

Safety first

It looks like Air Canada was quite influential when it came to some core systems of aviation safety. According to the airline’s website, between 1939 and 1946, Air Canada was one of the first carriers to have its entire fleet of unpressurized aircraft equipped with fixed oxygen systems. These were installed and used by flight crew and passengers as needed, using the “rebreathing bag principle.’

Two decades later, Air Canada participated in the development of the multi-channel flight recorder. Collaborating with Royston Instruments, an English electronics company, in 1965, Air Canada engineers helped to produce the multi-channel flight recorder – colloquially referred to as the ‘black box.’ Air Canada notes that the device was first installed on its DC-8 and Vanguard aircraft.

Photo: Air Canada

Some 25 years after that, in 1990, Air Canada was the first scheduled airline to offer non-smoking flights between North America and Europe. Perhaps equally an issue of comfort as it is immediate safety, the airline was also the first Canadian carrier to ban smoking on all of its charter and scheduled flights within North America and the Caribbean two years prior, in September 1988.

Cleverness in cold weather

Given that its home country experiences its fair share of frigid temperatures and intense snowstorms, Air Canada found ways to adapt its aircraft to cold weather conditions. As such, it was the first airline to equip its fleet with alcohol de-icing nozzles ahead of the windscreen. Installation began with the Lockheed 1408 and 1808 aircraft and would allow for de-icing coverage of the complete windscreen.

Related

How Does Aircraft De-Icing Work?

The process is crucial to aircraft performance and often necessary for takeoff.

Photo: Air Canada

Air Canada would also be the first in the country to adopt electric de-icing of aerodynamic surfaces; this appeared with the introduction of Vickers Vanguard aircraft in 1961. The carrier claims to have several ‘first in Canada’ achievements on its front, but this shouldn’t be too surprising. After all, Air Canada has always been the nation’s largest airline, which remains the case today.

Transforming ticket technology

Electronic systems are now one of the more common ways to receive proof that you have a seat booked on a flight. While it wasn’t Air Canada specifically that introduced this innovation, it was a Canadian firm that introduced the world’s first computerized reservations system. As it happens, the system was designed and manufactured in its home country by Ferranti Canada.

According to Air Canada, this system “fostered tremendous growth in computerized and communications airlines processes.” Developed for Trans-Canada Air Lines, the ReserVec system’s implementation was completed on January 24, 1963, and predates the more famous and ubiquitous SABRE system by roughly two years.

Photo: Air Canada

Nowadays, in today’s increasingly connected airline industry, we also perhaps take the concept of a single itinerary with multiple airlines for granted. After all, such a thing was not always possible, but this process was made much easier through the use of electronic tickets. Indeed, it was in 2000 that Air Canada and United Airlines introduced the world’s first interline electronic ticket.

This made airline partnerships much smoother, offering travelers more options to get from one place to another. Many more carriers have followed suit, particularly those belonging to major alliances who actively encourage passengers to show brand loyalty by connecting from one member airline to another at major hubs.

Four years later, in 2004, Air Canada introduced another industry-first, which came in the form of self-managed online multi-trip flight passes. This would lead to the creation of fixed monthly payment subscription passes for unlimited travel, and the scheme remains in place today, with more than 40 types of passes available.

Photo: Air Canada

Then, in 2007, Air Canada became the first airline in North America to introduce electronic boarding passes for mobile check-in. Rolled out around the same time as Apple’s first iPhone, this allowed customers holding a cellular phone or smartphone to keep their boarding pass on their phone, as has become the norm today.

Still innovating today

Recent years have seen further innovations at the carrier, with 2018 having heralded the unveiling of an expanded range of North American economy fares and Signature Class. Without even discussing Air Canada’s founding-member status in the first-ever airline alliance, it appears that the carrier has contributed significantly to aviation and how passengers travel the world.

Did you know about any of these claims to fame? Have you ever flown with Air Canada before? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!