Canadian Goose

. When the heavy boot of the 1934 air mail purge kicked fledgling subsidiaries out of many a big U. S. airlines nest, Canadian Colonial, a retarded bird from the brood of Aviation Corp., was able to go on flapping up the Hudson on its 342-mile route between Manhattan and Montreal. Under indifferent management, unfavorable airline conditions, it grew slowly to be a pipsqueak goose and for a long time brought its 15,000 stockholders nothing but deficits.

In ten short months all that has changed. By last week, Canadian Colonial was honking along in full-feathered flight. On the New York Curb Exchange, its stock (which early last year could have been bought at 50^) sold last week for $5.25. For the first time in its history the slow-growing goose began to grow feathers for stockholders' pillows: a profit of $3,000 in March, $2,600 in April.

When Canadian Colonial left the brood of Aviation Corp. (largest unit, American Airlines) stocky, purposeful Sigmund Janas was assistant to American's President C. R. Smith. Earlier he had learned the tricks of financing as Deputy Superintendent of Banks in California, the tricks of airline operation as president's assistant for Western Air Express. Close friend of Motorman Errett Lobban Cord (American's chief stockholder) he had also learned how to combine the tricks of operation and banking, take over ah airline (as Cord had American) and make it tick.

In August 1938 (after reputedly picking up $625,000 for himself and associates in a merger of Pennsylvania Airlines & Transport Co. and Central Airlines Inc.), Janas & Associates acquired control of Canadian Colonial, made Janas president. With U. S. Foreign Air Mail Contract No. i Sigmund Janas put the operating methods of successful American Airlines (TIME, May 22) to work. His DC-2's were flown by American's pilots, overhauled by American's mechanics, dispatched by American's radio operators.

Business began to pick up. Canadian Colonial set up its own shop, hired its own pilots. This spring Trans-Canada Airlines went into operation between Montreal and Vancouver, and Janas found himself operating the eastern U. S. link of an overnight run from Manhattan to British Columbia. Meanwhile, a modest advertising appropriation began to get Canadian Colonial its share of traffic between Manhattan and Montreal.

Early this year he ordered two 21-passenger DC-3's, financed by a $250,000 bank loan, to supplement two 14-passenger DC-2's bought from American. When the big ships were delivered business was there to fill them and Canadian Colonial began to operate three trips a day each way. This week Canadian Colonial finishes training six pretty bilingual Canadiennes (under 125 pounds) to be its first air hostesses. They are not registered nurses. Said unorthodox Sigmund Janas: "Why should they be?"

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