General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

9

AKA

Fuselage

Patents

N/A

General Description

Polyurethane; ink.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

130.0 cm

Width

30.0 cm

Height

15.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Aviation

Category

Models

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

PACIFIC

Country

United States of America

State/Province

California

City

Fullerton

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

Period

1990s and early 2000s.

Canada

Air Canada has been Canada’s national airline since the mid-twentieth century. Air Canada was originally called Trans Canada Airlines (TCA) and was formed by the Canadian National Railways. The company launched its first flight on September 1, 1937, between Vancouver and Seattle. On January 1, 1965, its name was changed to Air Canada. Air Canada is Canada’s largest and longest lasting airline. This model reflects Air Canada’s changes in livery and technology made in an era of deregulation and privatization. The company’s changing livery is in many ways the face of the nation as many people experience it around the world. As part of its ongoing process of selling air travel, Air Canada has made models of its aircraft since the 30s and 40s. The models in question are referred to as “sales” models, meaning that they were usually found in ticket and travel agent “sales” offices. The reason for this model’s “retirement” is that the aircrafts represented by this model is no longer in service with Air Canada, and therefore it was not thought to be worth the cost of re-painting the model in the latest livery. Air Canada acquired 16 Airbus A340, 14 of them being A340-300s and 2 being A340-500s. The first of these planes entered service with Air Canada in June of 1995 and the last one was retired from service in June of 2009.

Function

A small-scale model of an Air Canada Airbus A340-300 used for display.

Technical

These models reflect several aspects of air travel, like the later evolution of passenger planes and the rivalry between Boeing and Airbus. They also reflect the use of models to sell air travel via representations of the latest, most sophisticated aircrafts. These models also reflect a recurrent theme in aviation as well as design history, namely the changing of a corporate livery as part of an ongoing corporate redesign.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Lettering on both sides reads: “AIR CANADA”.

Missing

The artifact appears complete.

Finish

Predominantly white glossy exterior with black, red, and grey accents.

Decoration

Paint and decals meant to recreate the exterior design of an Air Canada Airbus A340-300, including the windows, doors, handles, lettering, and the Air Canada logo.