The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, B.C.), Tuesday, January 14, 1941
"Some day we'll be flying to the Orient through the north with sleeper planes, and Vancouver will be brought to within a few hours of the teeming markets across the Pacific."
These were the words some years ago of Grant McConachie, president of Yukon Southern Air Transport, around whose airline now centres a most important part of new developments which have taken place in western aviation of late. Today those words are more true than ever, a dream becoming a reality for a man to whom the word "no" is unknown. To Grant nothing is impossible.
The youngest airline president in the world, he is the personification of vitality, with an incurable spirit of optimism that fairly challenges the doubters.
Without the benefit of a wealthy parent company, Yukon Southern fought a hard battle to reach its levels of today. It started as a two-machine fish freighting partnership. Then in 1934 Grant made the first flight from Edmonton to Whitehorse.
This trip was made with Ted Field, now operations manager, and Art Rankin, now a captain with TCA, with four prospectors in two old Fokkers. They arrived at Carcross five days later in the 90-mile-an-hour machines. Today the trip is made from Edmonton and Vancouver to Whitehorse in a little over seven hours.
Following the Fokkers came a Ford Tri-motor, Norseman, twin engine Fleets, and finally the present fast Barkley-Grows. The service from Vancouver to White-
horse was started in August 1938, on a once-a-week basis, and two trips a week are made now.
An interesting highlight of the history of the company is the manner in which the originals have stuck together through thick and thin. Originals beside Ted Field and Grant are Sheldon Luck, who is chief pilot, and Barney Phillips, secretary,
Today they are seeing the fruits of their efforts of the past.
