Ginger Coote Airways (GCA) is a defunct passenger and charter airline that was based in Vancouver, British Columbia and often used Wells Harbour at Lulu Island as a base, 1938-1942.
GCA was owned and operated by Canadian aviator Russell L. "Ginger" Coote (June 21, 1898 - January 10, 1970), who learned to fly as a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps Canada during World War I. Post-war, Coote became part-owner of Bridge River & Cariboo Airways and eventually became the airline's president. In 1938, the airline changed its name to Ginger Coote Airways.
Employees of the airline included Coote as a pilot and co-director; his father, Andrew Coote, as co-director; and Margaret Fane Rutledge as a radio operator. At times, Rutledge also dispatched and served as a co-pilot. Coote also hired Russ Baker, who later founded Pacific Western Airlines, as a pilot and to restore a de Havilland Moth. GCA often flew from Vancouver, British Columbia to Zeballos, British Columbia. Other destinations included Edmonton, Prince George, and Whitehorse.Ginger Coote Airways. (2025 April 29). Timetable from the Commercial Airlines Collection at The Museum of Flight (Seattle, Wash.).
In 1941, Coote sold the airline, and in 1942 it was absorbed into Canadian Pacific Air Lines, along with several other smaller airlines.
Historical fleet
Fairchild 51 D.H.83 Fox Moth Noorduyn Norseman Waco YKS-6
Accidents and incidents
May 27, 1938: A Fairchild 51 (CF-AUX) crashed near Port Alberni, British Columbia while en route from Vancouver to Zeballos, killing 4 persons (1 crew, pilot Len Waagens, and 3 passengers, Mary Nicholson (wife of George Nicholson, postmaster and airline agent at Zeballos), Charles Rumsey, and H. Boyd.). October 29, 1940: A Noorduyn Norseman (CF-AZE) engine caught fire in flight while en route from Vancouver to Zeballos. During the forced landing, the single-engine aircraft flipped upside down, bursting into flames, injuring all 4 persons (1 crew and 3 passengers) on board and resulting in the aircraft's destruction. A court case was brought against Ginger Coote Airways for injuries sustained in a forced landing when an aircraft caught on fire during a November 1940 flight operated by the airline.
See also
List of defunct airlines of Canada
References
External links
Ginger Coote Airways photographs at Arrow Lakes Historical Society Ginger Coote Airways history from Americas, Canada Commercial Airlines Collection (Part 2, G-M) at The Museum of Flight Ginger Coote Airways | Museum of Flight Digital Collections Ginger Coote Airways flag at the Chilliwack Museum and Archives Embroidered pair of First Nations mukluks presented to Ginger Coote. The boots were presented during a ceremony commemorating the start of an airline from Ashcroft - Williams Lake to Fort St. John in 1938. at Chilliwack Museum and Archives British Columbia / B.C. Postal History / Courtesy Air Mail via "GINGER" COOTE AIRWAYS LTD - 23 May 1938 - ZEBALLOS, B.C. to Victoria, B.C. via Vancouver, B.C.