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{{Infobox_Airline |airline=Eastern Air Lines|logo=Ealogo.png|logo_size=250px|IATA=EA|ICAO=EAL|callsign=Eastern|parent=Eastern Air Lines, Inc.|founded=1926 (as Pitcairn Aviation)|ceased=1991|headquarters=Miami, Florida (First [CEO), Floyd Hall, Frank Borman, Frank Lorenzo (Final CEO)]
Miami International Airport
Kansas City International Airport
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport|focus_cities=|frequent_flyer=|lounge=|alliance=|fleet_size=304|destinations=140|website=|-->

Eastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from the late 1920s until 1991.

History , on display in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Eastern Airlines began as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in the mid-1920s, and is recognized as one of the first and longest-running U.S. "trunk" carriers. The airline grew into a passenger carrier soon after its inception and came to dominate much of the domestic travel industry along the lucrative east coast corridor by the 1950s. At the time it was widely known for its famous president, racer and World War I Ace, Eddie Rickenbacker.

The airline did well financially well into the 1970s and was respected in the industry for helping to pioneer the use of a worldwide computer reservation systems, an all-jet mainline fleet, and yield management techniques. It was the launch carrier for the Lockeed L-1011 widebody jetliner in 1973 and the Boeing 757 in 1983.

By the 1970s the airline had grown into one of the "big 4" major U.S. airlines, and was led by astronaut-turned CEO Frank Borman. Initially very popular in the company and throughout the industry (even appearing in numerous Eastern advertising campaigns in the 1970s and 1980s), Borman's popularity waned as the carrier struggled after the 1978 Air Transportation Deregulation Act. As the carrier began to lose millions of dollars quarterly, Borman's relations with the unions began to suffer, and he eventually gave his blessing to a buyout proposal to shareholders from corporate raider Frank Lorenzo in 1985.

Despite its financial woes, Eastern had by this time become the largest airline in the free world in terms of passengers enplaned (a title it held for 3 years in the mid-1980s), served 26 countries on 3 continents (North America, Europe, and South America), and was petitioning the U.S. government for rights for operate in Asia. It also had large hub operations at airports in Atlanta, Miami, New York, Newark, Boston, San Juan, and Kansas City.

Lorenzo and his Texas Air International oversaw a dramatic and rapid decline for Eastern Airlines, which was in a difficult but redeemable position when purchased. Although the exact causes of the decline are disputed to this day, most analysts agree that the carrier was systematically raided of valuable assets including new aircraft, its east-coast shuttle service, its lucrative fuel operations, and its worldwide travel agent computer system (SystemOne), almost all of which was sold at drastically reduced prices or given to Lorenzo's other carrier, Continental. This combined with poor management, a worstening economy, and deteriorating labor relations forced the carrier into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1989 following a mechanics strike. At the time it was the largest airline bankruptcy in U.S. history, a title it held until United filed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The carrier was placed under the direction of trustee Marty Shugrue.

Shugrue tried to rebuild a now-anemic route network that had fallen badly behind other domestic carriers American, United, and Delta (which competed most directly with Eastern). Although the carrier tried desperately to remake itself after the filing, it continued to bleed cash, finding itself billions in debt. With creditors clamoring for a shut-down, and the country entering recession and a war, Eastern ceased operations the day after the start of Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Around 35,000 employees lost their jobs and most analysts now agree that Eastern should have been allowed to continue operating by the bankruptcy court, considering its still-enormous assets and passenger loads. Eastern assets were sold in a comprehensive asset liquidation sale.

Many airlines rushed to fill the void that Eastern left. TWA established a short-lived hub in Atlanta. American drastically expanded its operations in Miami and South America, as did United. TWA also established a "focus city" out of San Juan.

Eastern's concourses at both J.F.K. airport in New York and Liberty airport in Newark were demolished, and the Newark operations were supplanted by Continental. Continental also inherited the OnePass frequent flier program as a result of their Texas Air affiliation.

Sadly, Eastern's demise was eclipsed by the smaller (but more visible) demise of Pan Am the same year, as well as by Operation Desert Storm.

Precursors Eastern Air Lines was a composite of assorted air travel corporations, including Pitcairn Aviation, established on April 19, 1926, and Florida Air Ways.

Transporting air mail Pitcairn won a government contract to fly the U.S. Mail between New York City and Atlanta, Georgia, operating Mailwing single-engine aircraft. In 1929 Clement Keys, the owner of North American Aviation, purchased Pitcairn. In 1930 he changed the name to Eastern Air Transport, and it would soon be known as Eastern Air Lines.

Rickenbacker leadership In 1938, the airline was purchased by World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. Rickenbacker pushed Eastern into a period of prodigious growth and innovation. For a time, Eastern was the most profitable airline in the post-war era. In the late 1950s, Eastern's fortunes changed, and Rickenbacker was forced out of his CEO position on October 1, 1959. His ouster was due largely to his reluctance to acquire jets. He felt they were a fad and that his fleet of turboprop Lockheed Electras good enough. He left his position as chairman of the board on December 31, 1963.

Supporting World War II During the beginnings of World War II, military aviation equipment had not been produced. The United States war effort required civilian resources. Due to the efforts of Eddie Rickenbacker, Eastern Air Lines provided the United States with aircraft and personnel.

Developing air transportation systems Throughout the 1940s, competitors were acquired, more advanced planes were purchased and international routes were opened.

Prominence in the industry By the 1950s, Eastern's propellers were very prominent up and down the East Coast of the United States. In 1956, they purchased Canada airline Colonial Airlines, which gave the airline their first service to Canada. Eastern Air Lines History

Improving technology: jet aircraft In 1960 Eastern's first jet aircraft, Douglas DC-8s arrived, allowing Eastern to open non-stop service from New York City's Idlewild International Airport to LAX. The DC-8s were joined in 1962 by the Boeing 720, then in 1964 by a regional airliner, the Boeing 727. Around this time, Eastern started changing their planes' livery colors to include the dark blue hockey stick design, iconic in the airline industry.

Eastern Shuttle In 1961 Eastern inaugurated the Eastern Air Shuttle, featuring hourly flights of Lockheed Constellations and Lockheed L-188 Electras between LaGuardia Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and Logan International Airport airports.

The groundbreaking service emphasized convenience and simplicity—revolutionary in an era when air travel was both considered and expected to be a luxury. Not only were seat reservations not required, seat assignments were not given, and initially no check-in was required and no boarding passes were issued. Eastern guaranteed availability, however, and planes flew hourly whether empty or full. In the event of a full flight, Eastern simply added another aircraft. Jets were added in 1967 and the shuttle became all-jet in 1978 with a fleet of dedicated Boeing 727s.

The shuttle proved one of Eastern's most successful ventures. Other airlines, including Pan American World Airways, eventually set up competing services.

New leadership, corporate changes

The 1970s brought dramatic changes in the management of Eastern. Former astronaut Frank Borman was brought on as president.

Expanded routes and service Internationalization began as Eastern opened routes to new markets such as Madrid, Spain, Mexico City, Santo Domingo, Nassau, Bahamas and London. Services from San Juan, Puerto Rico's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport were expanded.

Larger equipment Eastern bought the Lockheed L-1011 jet, which would become known in the Caribbean as El Grandote (the huge one). Boeing 747s, leased from Pan Am (although they were purchased by Eastern and sold on delivery to Pan Am), were also introduced for a short time while the carrier awaited the delivery of the L-1011.

Advertising campaign Walt Disney World opened in 1971. Eastern established service at Orlando, became the official airline of Walt Disney World. This proved to be extremely beneficial for Eastern as well as Disney. It remained the official airline of Walt Disney World, which even had an Eastern-themed ride at its park, until its contracting route network forced Disney to switch to Delta shortly before the 1989 bankruptcy filing (the ride was remodeled).

Frank Borman oversaw the famous "Wings of Man" campaign, which began in the late 1970s and continued until it was replace by the "We Have To Earn Our Wings Every Day" campaign of the mid-to-late 1980s.

Under bankruptcy Eastern launched a "100 Days" campaign, in which it promised to "become a little bit better every day".

Deregulation and troubles at Eastern The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 aggravated its position, forcing Eastern into a competitive low-fare environment in which its high cost of operation put the airline at a decided disadvantage.

Head to head with Delta Eastern's massive Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport placed it in direct competition with Delta Air Lines, where both carriers competed heavily with one another to neither's benefit. Delta's less-unionized work force and slowly expanding international route network helped lead it through the turbulent period following deregulation in 1978.

Frank Borman in charge When the 1980s started, Eastern operated under its new president, former astronaut Frank Borman. First beloved by the employees, and eventually seen as selling out the carrier to union-buster Frank Lorenzo, Borman saw himself as trying to save Eastern from itself.

Expansion and growth In 1980, a Caribbean hub was inaugurated at San Juan, Puerto Rico (then still named Isla Verde International Airport). In 1982, Eastern acquired Braniff International Airways' South American route network. In 1985 Eastern was the largest airline in the free world in terms of passengers enplaned and operated in 26 countries on three continents.

Divided branding and livery During this era, Eastern's fleet was split between their "silver-colored hockey stick" livery (the lack of paint reduced weight by 100 pounds) and their "white-colored hockey stick" livery (on its Airbus-manufactured planes, the metallurgy of which required paint to cover the aircraft's composite skin panels).

The efficient Boeing 757 In 1983, Eastern became the launch customer of Boeing's new aircraft, the Boeing 757, which was ordered in 1978. Borman felt that its low cost of operation would make it an invaluable asset to the airline in the years to come. However, higher oil prices failed to materialize and the debt created by this purchase coupled with the Airbus A300 purchases made in 1977 proved to be a millstone around Eastern's neck, contributing to the February 1986 sale to Frank Lorenzo's Texas Air. At that time, Eastern was paying over $700,000 in interest each day before they sold a ticket and fueled or boarded a single aircraft. Borman claimed these purchases constituted "fleet modernization" rather than expansion, but Eastern's system growth during his tenure belies this assertion.

Subsidiary operations In that same year, Eastern reintroduced service to Ponce, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, using Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner planes under the name Eastern Metro Express. The Eastern Metro Express operation wasn't limited to Ponce, however, as, under that name, Eastern began services from its San Juan hub to Mayagüez, Puerto Rico and several other smaller Caribbean communities, from John F. Kennedy International Airport to several northeastern cities, and from Miami to many cities around the south.

Competition: quality versus price Eastern began losing money as it faced competition from no-frills airlines, such as People Express, which offered drastically reduced air fares. In an attempt to differentiate itself from its bargain competitors, Eastern began a marketing campaign stressing its quality of service and its rank of highly experienced pilots.

Sale and decline

Unable to keep up, Borman agreed to the sale of the airline in 1986 to Texas Air, led by Frank Lorenzo. Lorenzo (who was named as one of Time Magazine's 10 "worst bosses of the century") was known as a ruthless corporate raider and union buster. He had already purchased Continental and lost a bidding war for TWA to Carl Ican.

Although Eastern's employees saw Lorenzo at the time as a savior from raider Carl Icahn, he would prove to be anything but a hero to the employees by the end of the decade. This event is widely seen as the beginning of the unwinding of the company, and the beginning of a steep decline into a period that saw strikes, empty planes, mass layoffs, bankruptcy, and eventually a ceasing of operations.

Labor relations: strikes and cancelled service Under Lorenzo's tenure, Eastern was crippled by severe labor unrest. Asked to accept deep cuts in pay and benefits, Eastern's mechanics and ramp service employees, represented by the IAM (International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers), were locked out on March 4, 1989. A sympathy strike called by the pilots represented by ALPA (Air Line Pilots Assn.) and flight attendants represented by TWU (Transport Workers Union) effectively shut down the airline's domestic operations. Non-contract employees, including airport gate and ticket counter agents and reservation sales agents, did not honor the strike. Due to the strike, flights were cancelled, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars in revenue.

Dismantling the airline Lorenzo sold Eastern's shuttle service to real estate magnate Donald Trump in 1989, under whom it became the Trump Shuttle, while selling other parts of Eastern to his Texas Air holding company and its major subsidiary, Continental Airlines, on disadvantageous terms to Eastern.

Bankrupt As a result of the strike, weakened airline structure, inability to compete after deregulation and other financial problems, Eastern filed for bankruptcy protection on March 9, 1989. This gave Lorenzo breathing room, and allowed him to continue operating the airline with strikebreakers. When control of the airline was taken away from Lorenzo by the courts and given to Marty Shugrue, it continued operations in a attempt to correct its cash flow, but to no avail. With the airline collapsing from debt, it ran out of money to operate on January 18th, 1991 following the run-up to the Gulf War. Over 18,000 employees lost their jobs in one day, not including the thousands laid off or furloughed prior to the collapse.

An asset liquidation sale was commenced later that year and provided Eastern's creditors with a remarkably good payout.

Attempts at revival An airline entrepreneur, Martin Shugrue, considered reviving Eastern in 1995, but the decision was made to revive Pan Am instead.

Fleet Eastern Airlines flew many different types of aircraft throughout its history:



Fleet Curiosities With the implementation of the "Hockey Stick" livery in the 1960s, the Eastern Air Lines different aircraft types were given an a/c number, which was tied to the registration after a particular aircraft type, with the aircraft number placed close to the aircraft nose bellow the cockpit windows:

Numbers Series / Aircraft Type / Registration example - e.g., N215EA was the a/c registration for ship 215.



Accidents Eastern weathered crashes over the years of varying damage to the company and passenger injuries and deaths. Some of the crashes contributed to the future safety of American air transportation, such as Eastern's first accident caused by the construction of temporary utility poles at the end of a runway.

Flight 21 (Rickenbacker's accident) In 1941, Eastern Air Lines Flight 21 crashed near Atlanta, almost killing Eddie Rickenbacker, who was traveling on airline business. His recovery in the hospital received broad press coverage; during his initial recovery several news reports claimed that he had died.

Flight 375 On October 4, 1960, Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 (a Lockheed L-188 Electra) departing Boston's Logan International Airport for Philadelphia crashed on takeoff after bird strike a flock of birds. Sixty-two of the 72 passengers and crew were killed.

Flight 512 On November 30, 1962, Eastern Air Lines Flight 512 (a Douglas DC-7) crashed during a go around after failing to land due to fog at Idlewild Airport (now JFK) in New York City. Out of the 51 passengers and crew on board, 25 were fatally injured.

Flight 304 On February 25, 1964, Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 (a Douglas DC-8) flying from New Orleans International Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport crashed into Lake Pontchartrain enroute due to "degradation of aircraft stability characteristics in Clear-air turbulence, because of abnormal longitudinal trim component positions." All 51 passengers and 7 crew were killed.

Flight 663 On February 8, 1965, Eastern Air Lines Flight 663, a Douglas DC-7 departing from New York City to Richmond, Virginia, crashed at Jones Beach State Park after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport when it was forced to evade inbound Pan Am Flight 212. All 84 onboard died. The evasive action was blamed for leaving the plane out of control.

Flight 401 Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (a brand new Lockheed L-1011) was preparing to land in Miami, Florida, on December 29, 1972, when the flight crew became distracted by a non-functioning gear light. While pre-occupied with fixing the light, the autopilot was inadvertently disengaged, allowing the plane to drift far below its planned flight path. The flight crashed in the Everglades, near the same site of the ValuJet Airlines ValuJet Flight 592 McDonnell Douglas DC-9 crash 23 years later. In Eastern's Flight 401 case, it was rumored that the ghost of the Aviator who flew that night was later seen on some Eastern planes that carried parts of the doomed plane. While this was an unproven legend, it was the subject of a book and the movie The Ghost of Flight 401.

Flight 212 On the morning of September 11, 1974, Eastern Air Lines Flight 212, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 carrying 78 passengers and 4 crew operating as a scheduled flight from Charleston, South Carolina, to Chicago, Illinois, with an intermediate stop in Charlotte, North Carolina, crashed while conducting an instrument approach in dense ground fog at Douglas Municipal Airport (now called Charlotte/Douglas International Airport). The aircraft crashed just short of the runway, killing 71 of the occupants. One of the 11 initial survivors died of injuries 29 days after the accident. The aircraft was destroyed by the impact and resulting post-crash fire. Also killed on this flight were James, Peter and Paul Colbert: the father and older brothers of comedian Stephen Colbert.

Flight 66 On June 24, 1975, Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 (a Boeing 727) crashed into the runway approach lights, as it penetrated a thunderstorm which was astride the ILS localizer course line to that runway, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, killing 113 people. The official cause of the accident was a sudden high rate of descent, caused by severe downdrafts from the thunderstorm, and the continued use of that runway by both flight crews and ATC, after they became aware of the location of that hazardous weather.

Flight 980 On January 1, 1985, Eastern Air Lines Flight 980 (a Boeing 727) struck Mount Illimani on a flight from Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Asunción, Paraguay, to El Alto International Airport in La Paz, Bolivia. All 25 passengers and 4 crew were killed on impact.

Other facts and quotes of interest

References

Notes

External links



{{Infobox_Airline |airline=Eastern Air Lines|logo=Ealogo.png|logo_size=250px|IATA=EA|ICAO=EAL|callsign=Eastern|parent=Eastern Air Lines, Inc.|founded=1926 (as Pitcairn Aviation)|ceased=1991|headquarters=Miami, Florida (First [CEO), Floyd Hall, Frank Borman, Frank Lorenzo (Final CEO)]
Miami International Airport
Kansas City International Airport
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport|focus_cities=|frequent_flyer=|lounge=|alliance=|fleet_size=304|destinations=140|website=|-->

Eastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from the late 1920s until 1991.

History , on display in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Eastern Airlines began as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in the mid-1920s, and is recognized as one of the first and longest-running U.S. "trunk" carriers. The airline grew into a passenger carrier soon after its inception and came to dominate much of the domestic travel industry along the lucrative east coast corridor by the 1950s. At the time it was widely known for its famous president, racer and World War I Ace, Eddie Rickenbacker.

The airline did well financially well into the 1970s and was respected in the industry for helping to pioneer the use of a worldwide computer reservation systems, an all-jet mainline fleet, and yield management techniques. It was the launch carrier for the Lockeed L-1011 widebody jetliner in 1973 and the Boeing 757 in 1983.

By the 1970s the airline had grown into one of the "big 4" major U.S. airlines, and was led by astronaut-turned CEO Frank Borman. Initially very popular in the company and throughout the industry (even appearing in numerous Eastern advertising campaigns in the 1970s and 1980s), Borman's popularity waned as the carrier struggled after the 1978 Air Transportation Deregulation Act. As the carrier began to lose millions of dollars quarterly, Borman's relations with the unions began to suffer, and he eventually gave his blessing to a buyout proposal to shareholders from corporate raider Frank Lorenzo in 1985.

Despite its financial woes, Eastern had by this time become the largest airline in the free world in terms of passengers enplaned (a title it held for 3 years in the mid-1980s), served 26 countries on 3 continents (North America, Europe, and South America), and was petitioning the U.S. government for rights for operate in Asia. It also had large hub operations at airports in Atlanta, Miami, New York, Newark, Boston, San Juan, and Kansas City.

Lorenzo and his Texas Air International oversaw a dramatic and rapid decline for Eastern Airlines, which was in a difficult but redeemable position when purchased. Although the exact causes of the decline are disputed to this day, most analysts agree that the carrier was systematically raided of valuable assets including new aircraft, its east-coast shuttle service, its lucrative fuel operations, and its worldwide travel agent computer system (SystemOne), almost all of which was sold at drastically reduced prices or given to Lorenzo's other carrier, Continental. This combined with poor management, a worstening economy, and deteriorating labor relations forced the carrier into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1989 following a mechanics strike. At the time it was the largest airline bankruptcy in U.S. history, a title it held until United filed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The carrier was placed under the direction of trustee Marty Shugrue.

Shugrue tried to rebuild a now-anemic route network that had fallen badly behind other domestic carriers American, United, and Delta (which competed most directly with Eastern). Although the carrier tried desperately to remake itself after the filing, it continued to bleed cash, finding itself billions in debt. With creditors clamoring for a shut-down, and the country entering recession and a war, Eastern ceased operations the day after the start of Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Around 35,000 employees lost their jobs and most analysts now agree that Eastern should have been allowed to continue operating by the bankruptcy court, considering its still-enormous assets and passenger loads. Eastern assets were sold in a comprehensive asset liquidation sale.

Many airlines rushed to fill the void that Eastern left. TWA established a short-lived hub in Atlanta. American drastically expanded its operations in Miami and South America, as did United. TWA also established a "focus city" out of San Juan.

Eastern's concourses at both J.F.K. airport in New York and Liberty airport in Newark were demolished, and the Newark operations were supplanted by Continental. Continental also inherited the OnePass frequent flier program as a result of their Texas Air affiliation.

Sadly, Eastern's demise was eclipsed by the smaller (but more visible) demise of Pan Am the same year, as well as by Operation Desert Storm.

Precursors Eastern Air Lines was a composite of assorted air travel corporations, including Pitcairn Aviation, established on April 19, 1926, and Florida Air Ways.

Transporting air mail Pitcairn won a government contract to fly the U.S. Mail between New York City and Atlanta, Georgia, operating Mailwing single-engine aircraft. In 1929 Clement Keys, the owner of North American Aviation, purchased Pitcairn. In 1930 he changed the name to Eastern Air Transport, and it would soon be known as Eastern Air Lines.

Rickenbacker leadership In 1938, the airline was purchased by World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. Rickenbacker pushed Eastern into a period of prodigious growth and innovation. For a time, Eastern was the most profitable airline in the post-war era. In the late 1950s, Eastern's fortunes changed, and Rickenbacker was forced out of his CEO position on October 1, 1959. His ouster was due largely to his reluctance to acquire jets. He felt they were a fad and that his fleet of turboprop Lockheed Electras good enough. He left his position as chairman of the board on December 31, 1963.

Supporting World War II During the beginnings of World War II, military aviation equipment had not been produced. The United States war effort required civilian resources. Due to the efforts of Eddie Rickenbacker, Eastern Air Lines provided the United States with aircraft and personnel.

Developing air transportation systems Throughout the 1940s, competitors were acquired, more advanced planes were purchased and international routes were opened.

Prominence in the industry By the 1950s, Eastern's propellers were very prominent up and down the East Coast of the United States. In 1956, they purchased Canada airline Colonial Airlines, which gave the airline their first service to Canada. Eastern Air Lines History

Improving technology: jet aircraft In 1960 Eastern's first jet aircraft, Douglas DC-8s arrived, allowing Eastern to open non-stop service from New York City's Idlewild International Airport to LAX. The DC-8s were joined in 1962 by the Boeing 720, then in 1964 by a regional airliner, the Boeing 727. Around this time, Eastern started changing their planes' livery colors to include the dark blue hockey stick design, iconic in the airline industry.

Eastern Shuttle In 1961 Eastern inaugurated the Eastern Air Shuttle, featuring hourly flights of Lockheed Constellations and Lockheed L-188 Electras between LaGuardia Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and Logan International Airport airports.

The groundbreaking service emphasized convenience and simplicity—revolutionary in an era when air travel was both considered and expected to be a luxury. Not only were seat reservations not required, seat assignments were not given, and initially no check-in was required and no boarding passes were issued. Eastern guaranteed availability, however, and planes flew hourly whether empty or full. In the event of a full flight, Eastern simply added another aircraft. Jets were added in 1967 and the shuttle became all-jet in 1978 with a fleet of dedicated Boeing 727s.

The shuttle proved one of Eastern's most successful ventures. Other airlines, including Pan American World Airways, eventually set up competing services.

New leadership, corporate changes

The 1970s brought dramatic changes in the management of Eastern. Former astronaut Frank Borman was brought on as president.

Expanded routes and service Internationalization began as Eastern opened routes to new markets such as Madrid, Spain, Mexico City, Santo Domingo, Nassau, Bahamas and London. Services from San Juan, Puerto Rico's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport were expanded.

Larger equipment Eastern bought the Lockheed L-1011 jet, which would become known in the Caribbean as El Grandote (the huge one). Boeing 747s, leased from Pan Am (although they were purchased by Eastern and sold on delivery to Pan Am), were also introduced for a short time while the carrier awaited the delivery of the L-1011.

Advertising campaign Walt Disney World opened in 1971. Eastern established service at Orlando, became the official airline of Walt Disney World. This proved to be extremely beneficial for Eastern as well as Disney. It remained the official airline of Walt Disney World, which even had an Eastern-themed ride at its park, until its contracting route network forced Disney to switch to Delta shortly before the 1989 bankruptcy filing (the ride was remodeled).

Frank Borman oversaw the famous "Wings of Man" campaign, which began in the late 1970s and continued until it was replace by the "We Have To Earn Our Wings Every Day" campaign of the mid-to-late 1980s.

Under bankruptcy Eastern launched a "100 Days" campaign, in which it promised to "become a little bit better every day".

Deregulation and troubles at Eastern The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 aggravated its position, forcing Eastern into a competitive low-fare environment in which its high cost of operation put the airline at a decided disadvantage.

Head to head with Delta Eastern's massive Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport placed it in direct competition with Delta Air Lines, where both carriers competed heavily with one another to neither's benefit. Delta's less-unionized work force and slowly expanding international route network helped lead it through the turbulent period following deregulation in 1978.

Frank Borman in charge When the 1980s started, Eastern operated under its new president, former astronaut Frank Borman. First beloved by the employees, and eventually seen as selling out the carrier to union-buster Frank Lorenzo, Borman saw himself as trying to save Eastern from itself.

Expansion and growth In 1980, a Caribbean hub was inaugurated at San Juan, Puerto Rico (then still named Isla Verde International Airport). In 1982, Eastern acquired Braniff International Airways' South American route network. In 1985 Eastern was the largest airline in the free world in terms of passengers enplaned and operated in 26 countries on three continents.

Divided branding and livery During this era, Eastern's fleet was split between their "silver-colored hockey stick" livery (the lack of paint reduced weight by 100 pounds) and their "white-colored hockey stick" livery (on its Airbus-manufactured planes, the metallurgy of which required paint to cover the aircraft's composite skin panels).

The efficient Boeing 757 In 1983, Eastern became the launch customer of Boeing's new aircraft, the Boeing 757, which was ordered in 1978. Borman felt that its low cost of operation would make it an invaluable asset to the airline in the years to come. However, higher oil prices failed to materialize and the debt created by this purchase coupled with the Airbus A300 purchases made in 1977 proved to be a millstone around Eastern's neck, contributing to the February 1986 sale to Frank Lorenzo's Texas Air. At that time, Eastern was paying over $700,000 in interest each day before they sold a ticket and fueled or boarded a single aircraft. Borman claimed these purchases constituted "fleet modernization" rather than expansion, but Eastern's system growth during his tenure belies this assertion.

Subsidiary operations In that same year, Eastern reintroduced service to Ponce, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, using Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner planes under the name Eastern Metro Express. The Eastern Metro Express operation wasn't limited to Ponce, however, as, under that name, Eastern began services from its San Juan hub to Mayagüez, Puerto Rico and several other smaller Caribbean communities, from John F. Kennedy International Airport to several northeastern cities, and from Miami to many cities around the south.

Competition: quality versus price Eastern began losing money as it faced competition from no-frills airlines, such as People Express, which offered drastically reduced air fares. In an attempt to differentiate itself from its bargain competitors, Eastern began a marketing campaign stressing its quality of service and its rank of highly experienced pilots.

Sale and decline

Unable to keep up, Borman agreed to the sale of the airline in 1986 to Texas Air, led by Frank Lorenzo. Lorenzo (who was named as one of Time Magazine's 10 "worst bosses of the century") was known as a ruthless corporate raider and union buster. He had already purchased Continental and lost a bidding war for TWA to Carl Ican.

Although Eastern's employees saw Lorenzo at the time as a savior from raider Carl Icahn, he would prove to be anything but a hero to the employees by the end of the decade. This event is widely seen as the beginning of the unwinding of the company, and the beginning of a steep decline into a period that saw strikes, empty planes, mass layoffs, bankruptcy, and eventually a ceasing of operations.

Labor relations: strikes and cancelled service Under Lorenzo's tenure, Eastern was crippled by severe labor unrest. Asked to accept deep cuts in pay and benefits, Eastern's mechanics and ramp service employees, represented by the IAM (International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers), were locked out on March 4, 1989. A sympathy strike called by the pilots represented by ALPA (Air Line Pilots Assn.) and flight attendants represented by TWU (Transport Workers Union) effectively shut down the airline's domestic operations. Non-contract employees, including airport gate and ticket counter agents and reservation sales agents, did not honor the strike. Due to the strike, flights were cancelled, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars in revenue.

Dismantling the airline Lorenzo sold Eastern's shuttle service to real estate magnate Donald Trump in 1989, under whom it became the Trump Shuttle, while selling other parts of Eastern to his Texas Air holding company and its major subsidiary, Continental Airlines, on disadvantageous terms to Eastern.

Bankrupt As a result of the strike, weakened airline structure, inability to compete after deregulation and other financial problems, Eastern filed for bankruptcy protection on March 9, 1989. This gave Lorenzo breathing room, and allowed him to continue operating the airline with strikebreakers. When control of the airline was taken away from Lorenzo by the courts and given to Marty Shugrue, it continued operations in a attempt to correct its cash flow, but to no avail. With the airline collapsing from debt, it ran out of money to operate on January 18th, 1991 following the run-up to the Gulf War. Over 18,000 employees lost their jobs in one day, not including the thousands laid off or furloughed prior to the collapse.

An asset liquidation sale was commenced later that year and provided Eastern's creditors with a remarkably good payout.

Attempts at revival An airline entrepreneur, Martin Shugrue, considered reviving Eastern in 1995, but the decision was made to revive Pan Am instead.

Fleet Eastern Airlines flew many different types of aircraft throughout its history:



Fleet Curiosities With the implementation of the "Hockey Stick" livery in the 1960s, the Eastern Air Lines different aircraft types were given an a/c number, which was tied to the registration after a particular aircraft type, with the aircraft number placed close to the aircraft nose bellow the cockpit windows:

Numbers Series / Aircraft Type / Registration example - e.g., N215EA was the a/c registration for ship 215.



Accidents Eastern weathered crashes over the years of varying damage to the company and passenger injuries and deaths. Some of the crashes contributed to the future safety of American air transportation, such as Eastern's first accident caused by the construction of temporary utility poles at the end of a runway.

Flight 21 (Rickenbacker's accident) In 1941, Eastern Air Lines Flight 21 crashed near Atlanta, almost killing Eddie Rickenbacker, who was traveling on airline business. His recovery in the hospital received broad press coverage; during his initial recovery several news reports claimed that he had died.

Flight 375 On October 4, 1960, Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 (a Lockheed L-188 Electra) departing Boston's Logan International Airport for Philadelphia crashed on takeoff after bird strike a flock of birds. Sixty-two of the 72 passengers and crew were killed.

Flight 512 On November 30, 1962, Eastern Air Lines Flight 512 (a Douglas DC-7) crashed during a go around after failing to land due to fog at Idlewild Airport (now JFK) in New York City. Out of the 51 passengers and crew on board, 25 were fatally injured.

Flight 304 On February 25, 1964, Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 (a Douglas DC-8) flying from New Orleans International Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport crashed into Lake Pontchartrain enroute due to "degradation of aircraft stability characteristics in Clear-air turbulence, because of abnormal longitudinal trim component positions." All 51 passengers and 7 crew were killed.

Flight 663 On February 8, 1965, Eastern Air Lines Flight 663, a Douglas DC-7 departing from New York City to Richmond, Virginia, crashed at Jones Beach State Park after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport when it was forced to evade inbound Pan Am Flight 212. All 84 onboard died. The evasive action was blamed for leaving the plane out of control.

Flight 401 Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (a brand new Lockheed L-1011) was preparing to land in Miami, Florida, on December 29, 1972, when the flight crew became distracted by a non-functioning gear light. While pre-occupied with fixing the light, the autopilot was inadvertently disengaged, allowing the plane to drift far below its planned flight path. The flight crashed in the Everglades, near the same site of the ValuJet Airlines ValuJet Flight 592 McDonnell Douglas DC-9 crash 23 years later. In Eastern's Flight 401 case, it was rumored that the ghost of the Aviator who flew that night was later seen on some Eastern planes that carried parts of the doomed plane. While this was an unproven legend, it was the subject of a book and the movie The Ghost of Flight 401.

Flight 212 On the morning of September 11, 1974, Eastern Air Lines Flight 212, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 carrying 78 passengers and 4 crew operating as a scheduled flight from Charleston, South Carolina, to Chicago, Illinois, with an intermediate stop in Charlotte, North Carolina, crashed while conducting an instrument approach in dense ground fog at Douglas Municipal Airport (now called Charlotte/Douglas International Airport). The aircraft crashed just short of the runway, killing 71 of the occupants. One of the 11 initial survivors died of injuries 29 days after the accident. The aircraft was destroyed by the impact and resulting post-crash fire. Also killed on this flight were James, Peter and Paul Colbert: the father and older brothers of comedian Stephen Colbert.

Flight 66 On June 24, 1975, Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 (a Boeing 727) crashed into the runway approach lights, as it penetrated a thunderstorm which was astride the ILS localizer course line to that runway, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, killing 113 people. The official cause of the accident was a sudden high rate of descent, caused by severe downdrafts from the thunderstorm, and the continued use of that runway by both flight crews and ATC, after they became aware of the location of that hazardous weather.

Flight 980 On January 1, 1985, Eastern Air Lines Flight 980 (a Boeing 727) struck Mount Illimani on a flight from Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Asunción, Paraguay, to El Alto International Airport in La Paz, Bolivia. All 25 passengers and 4 crew were killed on impact.

Other facts and quotes of interest

References

Notes

External links



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