Max Ward and Wardair

Dirk Septer kindly donated me the book 'The Max Ward Story', by Max Ward (McClelland & Stewart Inc, 1991) and I greatly enjoyed reading about 'A Bush Pilot in the Bureaucratic Jungle', as Mr Ward himself aptly put it.
The airline Wardair is no longer with us and has been featured by me in my gallery Airlines Remembered (link at bottom page), but I wanted to do something with the book. Therefor, as a further tribute to the aviation pioneer and -entrepeneur, I have copied most of the Chronology that is featured at the end of the book. Long may Wardair live on, be it in the virtual world of the Internet!

22Nov1921	Maxwell William Ward born in Edmonton
02Nov1941	MW gets his wings
28Jun1944	Max and Marjorie get married
June 1945	MW leaves the air force
April 1946	MW joins Jack Moar, flying out of Yellowknife
June 1946	Polaris Charter Company Ltd, MW's 1st company, formed in Alberta
July 1946	MW buys his 1st aircraft, a Fox Moth, and flies it back to Yellowknife, with a crash on the way
Sep. 1946	Polaris and MW commence flying in Yellowknife
Oct. 1946	MW finds himself stranded at Spud Arsenault Lake
May 1947	MW is being informed he needs a licence to charter
June 1947	Polaris Charter folds. MW joins George Pigeon in Yellowknife Airways
22Jan1949	Grant Ford crashes the Fox Moth
June 1949	MW joins Associated Airways
Oct.1949	MW and family (2 kids) move to Lethbridge, MW goes into house-building
May 1951	MW returns to Yellowknife for Associated Airways
May 1952	MW is fired by Associated Airways
July 1952	MW applies to Air Transport Board for a charter licence
May 1953	Permit by ATB is verbally approved as Class 4B Charter licence
01Jun1953	MW collects his first DHC-3 Otter at deHavilland
03Jun1953	Official approval of licence under Wardair brand
06Jun1953	Arrival with the DHC-3 Otter at Yellowknife
22Jul1953	Wardair Ltd officially incorporated
05Jun1954	MW buys his 1st DHC-2 Beaver
11Jun1955	MW buys 2nd DHC-3 Otter
Nov.1955	Crash with the DHC-2 Beaver
17Dec1955	MW buys a new DHC-2 Beaver
10Feb1956	MW buys another DHC-3 Otter
June 1956	Begin applications for Bristol Freighter
01Apr1957	ATB approves licence for Bristol Freighter
April 1957	Bristol Freighter is delivered. More on that photo (where & when) plus its history, see my visit to Yellowknife in 2006
June 1958	MW buys another DHC-3 Otter
16Feb1961	ATB turns down application for a charter licence out of Edmonton
May 1961	ATB grants licence to fly charters, but from Yellowknife (pop. 4.000)
22Jun1961	Company name officially changed to Wardair Canada Ltd
Jan.1962	Douglas DC-6A leased from CP Air
16Mar1962	First Arctic charter for DC-6
10May1962	First passenger charter flight in the South, takin Alberta School Patrol Band from Calgary to Ottawa v.v.
June 1962	ATB suspends licence because of misunderstanding about flying passengers free. Reversed 1 week later
22Jun1962	First overseas charter: Edmonton to Copenhagen
Dec.1962	DC-6 is returned to CP-Air, at a loss: $350.000
Mar1963	Wardair buys a Douglas DC-6B from KLM
23May1963	Applied for licence to serve Pine Point from Yellowknife. Denied
Jan.1964	Wardair flies the magnetic survey for Dominion Observatory, charting 2.5 million square miles of the Arctic
Feb.1964	Wardair starts charters to Hawaii
28Apr1966	First jet airliner, a Boeing 727, is delivered; christened 'Cy Becker'
09Feb1967	Legislation to establish Canadian Transport Commission is passed
21Apr1967	Wardair purchases 1st DHC-6 Twin Otter
1967	Wardair buys 4 more Bristol Freighters for the Northern operations
05May1967	Don Braun lands the Bristol Freighter at the geographic North Pole, 1st wheel-equipped aircraft to do such
18Sep1967	Wardair goes public. Jack Pickersgill takes over Canadian Transport Commission
Oct.1967	Split charters and inclusive-tour flights approved
Dec.1967	US Civil Aeronautics Board issues permit to Wardair to fly inclusive tours in the USA; winterpackage now includes Hawaii, the Bahamas and the Caribbean
04Mar1968	ATB suspends Wardair for 19 days, threatens to close the airline down permanently
25Mar1968	ATB issues new regulations about verifying that all charter passengerson Wardair have been bona fide members of clubs for 6 months (same regulations do not apply to scheduled airlines)
10May1968	Wardair buys another jetliner, a Boeing 707; christened 'C.H. Punch Dickens'
11May1968	ATB abruptly cancels flight scheduled for 15May to Netherlands
May 1968	Wardair expelled from Air Transport Association of Canada
14Mar1968	2nd Boeing 707 is delivered to Wardair; christened 'W.R. Wop May'
30May1969	Wardair acquires another DHC-6 Twin Otter for Northern operations
13Jun1969	Wardair acquires 3rd DHC-6 Twin Otter for Northern operations
20Oct1969	Affinity charter rules no longer apply to Air Canada, no such exemption for Wardair
07Nov1970	Wardair 727 establishes a record, flying 3.930 statute miles Windsor,ONT to London-Gatwick,UK
05Jan1971	Wardair is ordered to cease booking charters, excpt to the USA, as of 15Feb, Wardair is accused of violating Trust Account Rules
29Jan1971	Air Transport Commmittee accepts proof of Wardair's insurance against passengers being stranded overseas and calls of suspension
09Feb1971	Supreme Court denies Wardair to take CTC to court
31May1971	Bristol Freighter lost at Snowdrift
Sep.1971	Max Ward is presented the Billy Mitchell Award
19Jan1972	4th DHC-6 Twin Otter is acquired
07Oct1972	Wardair 707 makes 1st non-stop flight Honolulu - London, 7.776 statute miles (a range record for the 707)
21Nov1972	Intervac and Canada-UK Travel Centre incorporated
01Jan1973	Affinity charters finally abolished
Feb.1973	Wardair acquires 2 more DHC-6 Twin Otters
31Mar1973	Max Ward is made a Companion in the Order of Icarus
23Apr1973	Wardair sees its 1st Boeng 747 delivered; christened 'Phil Garratt'
15May1973	Max Ward is presented the McKee Trophy
13Jul1973	ATC orders Wardair to stop giving customers a bonus on package tours
28May1974	Max Ward is presented the Transportation Man of the Year Award for Alberta
16Jul1974	Max Ward is inducted into Aviation Hall of Fame
12Dec1974	2nd 747 is delivered; christened 'Romeo Vachon'
01Jul1975	Max Ward is appointed Officer of the Order of Canada
28Oct1975	Official opening of Yellowknife hangar
10Jun1976	Company name is changed from Wardair Canada Ltd to Wardair International Ltd
20Nov1977	David Dalling is killed in Bristol Freighter crash at Hay River
01Jan1978	Deregulation comes in effect in the USA
28Apr1978	Wardair flight from London-Gatwick to Honolulu, longest westbound flight of a 747 on record
23May1978	Wardair acquires 1st Dash 7 sold in Canada; christened 'Don Braun'
09Jun1978	3rd 747 is delivered to Wardair; christened 'Herbert Hollick-Kenyon'
05Sep1978	Transport Minister Otto Lang announces changes will be made to ease regulations, but nothing changes
05Nov1978	1st McDonnel-Douglas DC-10 is delivered to Wardair
15Dec1978	2nd DC-10 is delivered
26Apr1979	Another 747 is delivered
29May1979	Chicago crash of DC-10 leads to suspension of all DC-10 flights
05Jun1979	2nd Dash 7 delivered to Wardair
30Jun1979	DC-10 flights reinstated
14Sep1979	Max Ward is named 1979 recipient of the Gordon R.McGregor Memorial Trophy
18Oct1979	Wardair closes the Northern operations
Nov.1979	Refugee flights from the Far East begin
03Nov1979	ATC announces changes to Air Carrier Regulations, ignoring reform prposals
05Dec1979	CTC announces proposed changes in air regulations
21Dec1979	CTC publishes final regulatory changes
13Feb1980	New regulations made public
10Mar1980	Wardair named Airline of the Year
08May1980	1st domestic Advanced Booking Charter, Toronto to Vancouver
25Mar1981	Purchase of 6 A310 Airbus aircraft announced, option for 6 more
23Apr1981	2 Singapore Airlines DC-10s purchased by Wardair
01Mar1982	Workshop and support buildings completed
May1982	Office building completed
10May1984	New Canadian Air Policy announced by Lloyd Axworthy, with much greater liberalization of operating rights
29Jun1984	Wardair is issued with its 1st scheduled operating authority, between Montreal/Toronto and San Juan,PR
29Oct1984	Canadian Transport Commission eases Advanced Booking Charter (ABC) regulations
20Feb1985	Max Ward becomes Chairman of Wardair, George Curley becomes President of Wardair
March 1985	Wardair named world's top chartered airline by 'Holiday Which?' magazine
10May1985	Wardair obtains international routes between Canada and the UK
15Jul1985	'Freedom to Move' paper, proposing airline deregulation, released by Transport Minister Don Mazankowski
20Mar1086	Wardair is issued a licence to conduct a scheduled service within Canada
04May1986	1st Wardair scheduled service in Canada, begins with Toronto/Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton
20May1986	Max Ward is named Marketing Statesman of the Year
Aug.1986	3 Airbis A300s purchased from South African Airways
15Jan1987	Wardair announces purchase of 12 Airbusses, for US$ 650 million
07Aug1987	Deregulation legislation passes Canadian Senate
26Nov1987	National Transportation Agency replaces CTC
12Apr1988	Wardair signs a purchase agreement for 16 McDonnell-Douglas MD88s, for US$300 million
17May1988	Wardair obtains schedule rights to France
18Jan1989	PWA offer of $17,25 a share for Wardair accepted
19Jan1989	Wardair sale proposal announced
02Feb1989	Competition Bureau instructs Wardair to seek other buyers
01Mar1989	Official offer to purchase Wardair made by PWA
22Mar1989	National Transport Agency approves the sale
23Mar1989	Competition Bureau again insists Wardair should seek another buyer
02May1989	Deal closes, Wardair is sold

Wardair at Amsterdam Int'l Airport Schiphol during the 1980s, with A310-300 C-GIWD:

Comments welcomed.

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Wardair Remembered