London's Bicentennial (Snippet 44)

A Transatlantic Flight From London to London in 1927
  In my last snippet, to mark London's 200th birthday, I wrote about a London brewer who was kidnapped in 1934. In this one a London brewery (Carling) offered in 1927, $25,000 to any aviator who successfully crossed the Atlantic. There are many accounts in the news about these London stories and samples about this one are found below.
  Also provided are some sources for those who would like to read more about this aviation adventure, which was not a successful one. The Sir John Carling was able to make it to Newfoundland after a couple of delays, but the plane did not go much farther and was never found, nor were the pilot and aviator.
   

 "Flying From the Heart of the Empire to the Soul of the Empire" - 1927

From the Evening Star (Washington) Aug. 11, 1927.

Sources:
  The picture of the postcard is found at Miller & Miller Auctions where a good account is provided by Tess Malloy: "Brewing With Ambition: The Ill-fated Carling's Brewery London-to-London Challenge: A Daring Transatlantic Journey Ends in Tragedy and Mystery," Oct. 9, 2023.
  The "Empire quotation" is in this article by Larry Cornies: "A Plane Was Lost, and So Was a Story of London's Aviation History," London Free Press, May 21, 2022. Here is a portion:

  "Mere months after Charles Lindbergh's gruelling 33½-hour flight from New York to Paris in May 1927, London entrepreneurs decided the coming age of aeronautics was too exciting to pass up. And Lindbergh's achievement sparked what local historian Alice Gibb has called "the ultimate public relations campaign in London's history."

   That campaign was put together by Arthur Carty, a former London Free Press reporter who had built a news and publicity service with his uncle Edmund Carty, and Charles Burns, president of Carling Breweries.

   The ad they posted in The Free Press on June 29, 1927, only 38 days after Lindbergh's flight, was for a "Canadian aviator to fly from London, Ont., to London, Eng." The $25,000 prize - the same amount paid to Lindbergh - would be equivalent to about $400,000 today. The funds were held in trust by London businessperson Ray Lawson, with the support of mayor John M. Moore and London Chamber of Commerce president A.J. Grant.

  A flood of applications poured in from pilots willing to risk the 6,200-kilometre trip "from the heart of the Empire to the soul of the Empire" in a Stinson Detroiter monoplane, made by Stinson Aircraft Corp. in Detroit.

   The pilot ultimately chosen was Capt.Terence Bernard Tully, a 33-year-old decorated Royal Air Force aviator and former Aero plane test pilot for A.V. Roe and Co. Tully and his wife Anne had immigrated from Ireland four years earlier; he had logged more than 2,500 hours flying for Ontario's forestry service. Tully then selected Lt. James Medcalf, 28, another RAF veteran, as his co-pilot and navigator."
  The pilots took off from Harbour Grace, NL and the story is reported by some folks out east: "Disaster Strikes: The Sir John Carling," Community Stories. (n.d.)

See also, "Harbour Grace Airstrip," by Harbour Grace Tourism. 

March Breakup

 Orlando or Bust?
   There was an article in The Globe and Mail last month with this title: "Canada's Great American Breakup: Most Now See U.S. As a Risk, Not an Ally, Poll Finds," Steven Chase, Feb. 23, 2026. "The poll, by Nanos Research  took stock of deteriorating Canadian opinions of the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump’s first year back in office.The findings suggest a profound level of distrust and a significant recasting of how Canadians see the United States."

“The environment now in Canada is very emotionally charged,” Mr. Nanos said." While some Canadians are putting elbows up, many are not putting sandals on unless they are heading to Punta Canta or Cancun. 

  There have been many articles indicating that travel to the U.S. by Canadians is down to a significant degree. Next week is  "March Break" for many and it will be interesting to see if many chose not to seek the sun, just south of our border.

You Can't Get There From Here
   One used to be able to fly from London "International" Airport directly to some U.S. locations. That is now not the case. Also, some airlines are reducing routes.
   Air Transat has decided to cut its flights to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. 
   WestJet is also dropping many flights. Here are some examples:

WestJet's cancelled U.S. routes include:

Atlanta (ATL) – Edmonton (YEG)

Boston (BOS) – Vancouver (YVR)

Chicago (ORD) – Edmonton (YEG)

Las Vegas (LAS) – Toronto (YYZ)

Las Vegas (LAS) – Winnipeg (YWG)

Los Angeles (LAX) – Toronto (YYZ)

Nashville (BNA) – Vancouver (YVR)

Nashville (BNA) – Winnipeg (YWG)

Orlando (MCO) – Vancouver (YVR)

Raleigh-Durham (RDU) – Calgary (YYC)

San Diego (SAN) – Vancouver (YVR)

San Francisco (SFO) – Edmonton (YEG)

San Francisco (SFO) – Vancouver (YVR)

Seattle (SEA) – Edmonton (YEG)

Seattle (SEA) – Kelowna (YLW)

  I suppose this also means there won't be as many options from those locations for Americans who might want to visit Canada. 
  One notices the changes in Canadian magazines and travel sites. The Canadian Snowbird Association's winter issue is "The Captivating Canary Islands."
  They are even noticed in RV publications, where the marketing people must be having a hard time: "Winter Magic in Ontario Parks: Firelight Hikes, Family Fun, and Frozen Trails" and "Winter Road Trips in Canada: What You Should Know Before You Go."

Sources: The West Jet cancellations are found in: "WestJet Removes 15 Transborder Routes, Cuts Summer Capacity by 19.6%," Global Media, Feb. 20, 2026. "WestJet is cutting 15 several Canada–U.S. routes as transborder demand continues to soften, leading to a significant capacity reduction for Summer 2026....
As reported, softer demand from both Canadian and U.S. travellers has dampened transborder traffic flows."
   A sample of an article discussing this downward trend is found in The Toronto Star: "Canadian Snowbirds are Avoiding the U.S. in Greater Numbers; Anger at Trump, Poor Exchange Rate Spark Big Drop for Southwest Florida," Francine Kopun, Jan.25, 2026.

Post Script:
  There are other reasons not to fly -- to anywhere. If you are over 5 tall, on WestJet, is one of them.  Also the mid-air tussles have increased along with the turbulence. With regard to the fisticuffs, I have yet to see any example when the "Plane Police" happened to be on board when problems with passengers developed: see, Air Marshals. For the rough flights read: "Buckle Up: Why Is Turbulence Getting Worse?" Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker, March 9, 2026.

Falcons Flying

 On Planes 
   All sorts of birds have recently flown south and I just wrote about some that are flying in a wind tunnel up at Western. There are others, however, that arrive at their destinations by airplanes. 
   Recently I ran across an article in which passengers travelling from Miami to Doha complained about the squawking of a large flock of birds which were flying as cargo. In the Middle East where falconry is popular and oil money readily available, the birds can also be found flying as passengers in the cabin. A Saudi prince booked a flight and bought tickets for 80 of them. According to Qatar Airways, "You can carry one falcon in the Economy Class cabin of an aircraft, and a maximum of six falcons are permitted within the Economy Class cabin of any one aircraft." 

Sources: 

   "14 Hours Of Screaming Birds In Business Class—Unbelievable Qatar Airways Nightmare," Gary Leff, View From the Wing, Sept.8, 2024.
   You are skeptical, I'm sure and others are as well, so Snopes investigated the photo above and you can learn more here: 'Pic Shows Saudi Prince's 80 Falcons Riding a Plane?" Anna Rascouet-Paz, Snopes, Mar. 29, 2024.

The Bonus:

   There is a new book about the old art of falconry, published by the University of Chicago Press. For a review of, The Art of Medieval Falconry see: "Books: A Sovereign in the Sky," by Laura Jacobs, Wall Street Journal, Oct.12, 2024.
"Mr. Hadjinicolaou is an assistant professor of art history at the University of Bonn, and "The Art of Medieval Falconry" is his second book. Its title can be understood two ways. The first concerns falconry as it's been depicted in art of the Middle Ages -- in illustrated manuscripts, frescoes, paintings, sculptures, objects and tapestries, many of which have been handsomely reproduced here -- and what these representations, often iconographic, express. The second looks at the practice of falconry itself, an ingenious way to hunt food that eventually transcended, by way of passionate practitioners who tended to be kings, into an Arthurian art form -- one with the gravity of religion and the privilege of wings."

  

Weighing In

    If you happen to find yourself in a large crowd, you will likely notice that the people in it are rather large as well. My observation is that obesity is now the new normal and so obvious that I won't bother supplying you with sources. In support, I will simply say, I should also be dieting.

Flying the Crowded Skies
   Perhaps the portly people are more noticeable at airports since we naturally have a fear of flying next to one of them. It is also the case that even those with a very basic knowledge of aeronautics must wonder if the plane will be able to lift off, after seeing a Hummer-sized couple try to stuff several hundred more pounds in your overhead bin. 
  Airlines are paying some attention to the added pounds since it is clear that the average guy today probably weighs as much as both Wright brothers. This startling headline is offered as proof: "Airline Starts Weighing Passengers at Gate." The airline is Finnair, and Korean Air and Air New Zealand have also conducted weight surveys. You will be less startled when you learn that your weight on the scale is not displayed for all in the terminal to see, and the data anonymized so that no one will know that it is you carrying all that extra fat.
   The issue of stoutness has come up recently in relation to Southwest Airlines' announcement that their open-seating policy is being changed. Those of you who think that, generally corpulence is something that can be controlled will be astonished to learn that Southwest sometimes provided an extra seat for free to those who did not fit very well into the one they purchased. Members of NAAFA are looking into the matter. You can as well by looking at these sources.

Sources:
"Airline Starts Weighing Passengers at the Gate," Julia Buckley, CNN, Feb. 9, 2024.
"Why Korean Air Will Be Weighing Some Passengers Before Their Flights," Lilit Marcus, CNN, Aug. 24, 2023.
"Air New Zealand to Weigh Passengers Before They Board the Airplane," Lilit Marcus, CNN, May 31, 2023.
"Plus-size Travelers Ask Southwest Airlines to not Abandon Them: Advocates in the Plus-Size Community Are Urging Southwest to Keep Its Free-Second-Seat Policy," Andrea Sachs, Washington Post, Aug. 2, 2024.
NAAFA - National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. 

The Bonus:
  I wasn't familiar with the phrase "plus-sized", but it dates back to 1927 when people were already looking for a euphemism for "huge" and it now applies to a large segment of the clothing market.
  Readers of MM will know that I have done a series of posts about magazines, called "Periodical Ramblings".  I now realize that I could do one about "Plus-Sized Periodicals", but won't . Here is one of the titles: The Pretty Pear Bride, "the world's only magazine dedicated exclusively to plus-sized brides."