Anand Acharya

Anand will always be remembered as the most incredibly polite Air Canada First Officer with whom I had the great pleasure of flying. Anand brought a little humour to work with him all the while being a professional at his career.

Shocked and sad to hear about this, but very glad I had the chance to fly with Anand many years ago when he was my F/O on the A-320. He even took me to his home for lunch on an Ottawa stopover once.
An excellent person, who generated excellent memories in everyone he met.
My sincerest sympathies to the family.

Our deepest sympathy goes out to Kusum, Nina, Jasmine and the Acharya family. We were so fortunate to teach Anand and Anjali at Glenwood elementary and Brookswood Secondary Schools in Langley, B.C. What a pleasure it was to have both brother and sister in our classrooms. Best yet was to have Mr. And Mrs. Acharya as such supporting community caring parents. Laura told me that these two aspiring students would one day be outstanding individuals and was she ever right. Both Anand and Anjali excelled in academics and in sports. How lucky our schools to have these two incredible students. I was so fortunate to to have the opportunity to have Anand meet me for coffee in the By- Market district in Ottawa approximately twelve years ago. What a special treat to see Anand who was an accomplished air force veteran, a Carleton scholar, and a very proud parent of two lovely daughters and a wonderful partner Kusum. Our visit revolved about the students in my history 12 grad class of 1986 my most memorable ever. What struck me most was the discussions we had about the love Anand had for his daughters and Kusum. Anand also spoke of his love for his mom and dad and how he hoped to one day to move back to Langley but with the reservation that he always wanted to be close to Nina and Jasmine. Anand, like always considered family to be extremely important. The fond memory of what you gave of yourself and your humble nature will forever be etched in my memory bank. Nina and Jasmine you will have to carry on the sprit your Dad displayed throughout his life. Our lives were enriched by your dad. Thank you Anand for the gift of your presence.
With loving memories
Cliff and Laura Shiskin
Kelowna, B.C.

My memories of Anandanna go back to spending time as kids when Janabappa, Padmapachi, Anandanna and Anjali would visit India during the summers. He was always smiling, very funny  and kind. My impressionable memory was when Anandanna visited Mumbai by himself in the 90’s I believe, I remember us laughing about how the mosquitoes were going to have a feast that night. We looked up to him for his achievements and accomplishments at such a young age and having a cousin that was a pilot in the air force was something I bragged about. Later, our visit to Anandanna and Kusumwhoni’s place in London Ontario was such a memorable visit. In spite  of their extremely busy work schedules and young kids, Nina and Jasmine then 4 and 2, there was so much warmth and hospitality.  I got to see the love he and Kusumwhoni shared and realized they were just one unit, he had planned a trip to the Circus in town  with the girls, rekindling our childhood memories. Right from making blueberry muffins from scratch for breakfast to taking us around town Anandanna spent undivided attention with Sunil and I. He very fondly saw the photo album a couple of times of my recent visit to India recognizing all the other cousins and places. I got to witness his love for his girls, taking every opportunity to explain and answer every question from his daughters with love and patience.  We were lucky to see eachother a few more times as our kids grew up, even if the visits were short, they were meaningful and always surrounded with love. You meet so many people in life but some just leave a lasting impression and Anandanna is one of them, of love, compassion,  kindness and a very positive attitude to life. Anandanna was excellent at reading a room.My last conversation with Ananadanna was last year, he said he looked forward to Snow fat biking, quickly realizing I had no clue what that was. He took the time and explained it to me,  such an inspirational person. I will hold on to the lovely memories and look forward to seeing and spending time with Kusumwhoni, Nina, Jasmin, Anjali, Bappa and Pachi. We love you all.

My condolences to all on the loss of Anand. When Anand joined the small community of commuting pilots living in the Ottawa area he was an immediate hit. His cheerful, courteous demeanour and his professionalism was readily apparent.
We flew together on the A-320 and his consummate skill, knowledge and exceptionally high standard, which he consistently and easily met, made him a delight to work with.
When approached for opinion, answers or contribution to flight safety issues his response and contribution to our fellow pilots work was significant.
While his fellow pilots, read the local news papers, Anand introduced us to The Economist; I’ve been a subscriber ever since our first flight!
Thank you Anand, for all you’ve done for others
Sincerely
Stephen Guetta
AC Retired

I met Anand when he first came to Air Canada. We flew together many times and I always enjoyed our flights together. He was a wonderful person and I am extremely sad to hear this news. To all his family and friends, I offer my sincere condolences. He will be missed by all his colleagues.

So glad we overlapped on Central Avenue, even if the time was shorter than we thought. We remember fondly Anand's smiling face, the way he chatted with the kids, always giving them a very attentive ear, no matter what the subject. And we learned so much from you both as parents, who were a little bit further down the road than us. You inspired us for what kind of family and relationship we want to have with our own kids, and we are so lucky to have lived in your orbit. Wishing Kusum, Nina and Jas lots of love and strength. Sending love from the other side of the world.

My sincere condolences to Kusum, Nina, Jasmine and the entire family. I was very sad to hear the news. I have so many great memories of the fun (…some might say even stupid) times we had together when we were in pilot training in Moose Jaw. I really enjoyed catching up with him recently after too many years although I must admit that I faked appearing to understand as he explained with enthusiasm his PhD work to me.
Anand was kind, incredibly intelligent, fun loving and I always admired him.

Great memories of working with Anand on the 320 when he joined AC. A true professional. Everlasting tailwinds my friend.

I had the privilege of meeting Anand during our doctoral studies and he was always very kind, positive, eager to learn, share and discover more about everything! When I was pregnant with my first, son he came to the office one day with a box of toys and books from his girls. My son loved the books and specially one toy in the form of a star that we later called “Harold the star”. We enjoyed great conversations and had the opportunity to meet his lovely family. We would like to offer our heartfelt sympathies to Kusum and the girls.