page_title: Trans-Canada Air Lines
section_title: Postwar
hierarchical_section_title: Trans-Canada Air Lines / History / Postwar
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the original description provided by BAnQ has been retained. Additional descriptive text may be added by Wikimedians with the wiki description = parameter, but please do not modify the other fields. English: The newlyweds, Ms. Yvette Villebon and her husband are on the steps of the staircase of a plane of Trans-Canada Air Lines. Français&#160;: Les nouveaux mariés, madame Yvette Villebon et son mari, sont sur les marches de l'escalier d'accès d'un avion de Trans-Canada Air Lines.
context_page_description: Trans-Canada Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier. Its corporate headquarters were in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGregor.
  In English-language contexts, the airline operated as TCA from 1937 to 1965, when it was renamed Air Canada.
context_section_description: Starting in 1945, TCA acquired 30 twin-engined ex-military Douglas DC-3s for use on Canadian internal services and some of these remained in service until 1963 on shorter routes. A fleet of Merlin-powered Canadair North Stars was delivered from 1947 and these commenced services to several European countries, including the United Kingdom and to cities in the USA. The last of the North Stars was sold in 1961.
  The Canadair North Stars were gradually replaced by longer range Lockheed Super Constellations from 1954 onwards, fourteen being operated on transatlantic routes extending as far as Vienna in Austria; also to Bermuda and several Caribbean destinations including Jamaica and Trinidad. The last Super Constellations were disposed of in 1963. A large fleet of Vickers Viscount turboprop airliners was built up from late 1954 and these were used on many intra-North American routes.  The Viscount was followed by the larger Vickers Vanguard turboprop.  TCA was the only airline in North America to operate the Vanguard in scheduled passenger service.
  In 1953 with the development of ReserVec (originally called Gemini), TCA became the first airline in the world to use a computer reservation system with remote terminals.
  The airline's Winnipeg maintenance shops and its first trial flight of the Viscount was documented in the 1955 film, Routine Flight.
  The airline acquired a fleet of Douglas DC-8 jet airliners powered by Rolls Royce Conways, the first being received on 25 May 1960. The DC-8 quickly replaced the slower Super Constellations on TCA's scheduled services to Europe.
caption: Newlyweds leaving for their honeymoon boarding a Trans-Canada Air Lines' plane, Montreal, 1946
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