Retired pilot, 50 years in air, nominated for heritage award
James McInnis spent more than 34,000 hours in the air during his career in aviation.
If you went to Disneyland in the 1980s, he may have flown you there; he was a pilot on the Vancouver-to-Los Angeles route for more than a decade.
But the highlight of his 50-year career was flying the Queen across B.C. during her 1971 royal tour.
McInnis, 86, has been nominated for a City of Richmond heritage award by his friend, Helen Healey, a former flight attendant. The annual awards recognize the accomplishments of individuals and organizations for conservation as well as education and awareness about the city's diverse heritage.
“He was a sharp pilot,” Healey said recently. “You had to be sharp on the B.C. district, with the rain and snow and ice.”
McInnis was born and raised in Vancouver. In 1951, at age 17, he became the youngest person in Canada to hold a private pilot's licence.
He joined the air force and flew fighter planes out of Vancouver after training in Manitoba. He also worked as a flight instructor.
In 1962, he began his career as a commercial pilot with CP Air in a propeller plane “just as jets were coming in,” he said.
McInnis flew local flights, then moved on to North American routes, flying a Boeing 737 for 22 years as CP Air became Canadian Airlines. His work took him to many airports in Canada and the United States, most often Montreal and L.A.
“I took my kids to Disneyland six times,” he said.
He later flew international routes, mostly to Europe, before ending his aviation career flying to Hong Kong, Bangkok and Tokyo.
Trips to Asia often lasted four days, he said, as he flew first to Hong Kong, spending a night there before flying to Bangkok, then back to Hong Kong, and finally returning to Vancouver.
“It was tiring,” he said. “I always did a lot of walking when I got to the ground. That really helped me.”
McInnis recalled the 1971 royal visit when he was tasked with flying the Queen, Prince Philip and Princess Anne to several cities over two weeks. Prince Philip spent time in the cockpit, and at the end of the tour, the pilot shook hands with the Queen.
“It was a great thrill,” he said. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he has missed spending time with his “airline cronies,” who would often have lunch at YVR on Sundays. He will also miss the Air Canada Pionairs Christmas party.
When he retired in 1994, he fulfilled a lifelong dream to fly a helicopter. He sold his private plane and took a few trips to Hawaii and Florida with his wife.
But he often thinks about flying. “I miss it every day,” he said.