Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a trunk carrier, a scheduled airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Eastern was one of the "Big Four" domestic airlines created by the Spoils Conferences of 1930, and was headed in its early years by World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. It had a near monopoly in air travel between New York and Florida from the 1930s until the 1950s and dominated this market for decades afterward.
During airline deregulation in the late 1970s and early 1980s, labor disputes and high debt loads strained the company under the leadership of former astronaut Frank Borman. Frank Lorenzo acquired Eastern in 1985 and moved many of its assets to his other airlines, including Continental Airlines and Texas Air Corporation. After continued labor disputes and a crippling strike in 1989, Eastern ran out of money and was liquidated in 1991.
American Airlines obtained many of Eastern's routes from Miami International Airport to Latin America and the Caribbean. Delta Air Lines, Eastern's main competitor at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, acquired many of Eastern's Lockheed L-1011 TriStar aircraft. USAir acquired 11 of Eastern's 25 Boeing 757-225 aircraft.
Eastern pioneered hourly air shuttle services between New York City, Washington, D.C., and Boston in 1961 as the Eastern Air Lines Shuttle. It took over Braniff International's South American routes following Braniff's closure in 1982 and served London Gatwick in 1985 via its McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 "Golden Wings" service. Although Eastern announced on its March 2, 1986, timetable that it intended to initiate service to Madrid, effective May 1, 1986, it never commenced. The only scheduled transatlantic service Eastern provided was Miami to London Gatwick, commencing on July 15, 1985, and discontinuing the following year, in 1986, replaced with codeshare flights from Atlanta on British Caledonian Airways.
Contents
History
Origins
Eastern Air Lines was a composite of assorted air travel corporations, including Florida Airways and Pitcairn Aviation. In the late 1920s, Pitcairn Aviation won a contract to fly mail between New York City and Atlanta, Georgia on Mailwing single-engine aircraft. In 1929, Clement Keys, the owner of North American Aviation, purchased Pitcairn. In 1930, Keys changed the company's name to Eastern Air Transport. After being purchased by General Motors and experiencing a change in leadership after the Airmail Act of 1934, the airline became known as Eastern Air Lines.
Growth under Rickenbacker
By 1937, Eastern's route system stretched from New York to Washington, Atlanta, and New Orleans, and from Chicago to Miami. In the same year, it operated 20 daily flights and returns, every hour on the hour, between New York and Washington; the flight time was one hour, twenty minutes, one-way.
In 1938, World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker bought Eastern from General Motors. The complex deal was concluded when Rickenbacker together with Sidney Shannon presented Alfred P. Sloan with a certified check for US$3,500,000 (equivalent to $80,050,000 in 2025).
Rickenbacker pushed Eastern into a period of growth and innovation; for a time Eastern was the most profitable airline in the post-war era, never needing state subsidy. In the late 1950s Eastern's position was eroded by subsidies to rival airlines and the arrival of the jet age. On October 1, 1959, Rickenbacker's position as CEO was taken over by Malcolm A. MacIntyre, a brilliant lawyer but a man inexperienced in airline operations.' Rickenbacker's ouster was largely due to his reluctance to acquire expensive jets as he underestimated their appeal to the public. A new management team headed by Floyd D. Hall took over on December 16, 1963, and Rickenbacker left his position as director and chairman of the board on December 31, 1963, aged 73.
In 1956, Eastern bought Colonial Airlines, giving the airline its first routes to Canada.
The Jet Age
In November 1959, Eastern Air Lines opened its Chester L. Churchill-designed Terminal 1 at New York City's Idlewild International Airport, later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport. In 1960, Eastern's first jets, Douglas DC-8-21s, started to take over the longer flights, like the non-stops from Chicago and New York City to Miami. The DC-8s were joined in 1962 by the Boeing 720 and in 1964 by the Boeing 727-100, which Eastern (along with American Airlines and United Airlines) had helped Boeing to develop. On February 1, 1964, Eastern was the first airline to fly the 727. Shortly after that, a new image was adopted, the famous hockey stick design, officially Caribbean Blue over Ionosphere Blue. Eastern was also the first US carrier to fly the Airbus A300 and the launch customer for the Boeing 757.
On April 30, 1961, Eastern inaugurated Eastern Air Lines Shuttle. Initially 95-seat Lockheed Constellation 1049s and 1049Cs left New York-LaGuardia every two hours, 8 am to 10 pm, to Washington National and to Boston. Flights soon became hourly, 7 am to 10 pm out of each city. No reservations or tickets were required; passengers could pay their fare in cash on board the flight. If a plane filled up at departure time, another plane was rolled out to carry any extra passengers.
Internationalization began as Eastern opened routes to markets such as Santo Domingo and Nassau, Bahamas. Services from San Juan, Puerto Rico's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport were expanded. In 1967, Eastern purchased Mackey Airlines, a small air carrier primarily operating in Florida and the Bahamas as part of this expansion. In 1973, Eastern purchased Caribair (Puerto Rico), a small airline based in Puerto Rico which operated McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jets in the Caribbean.
Eastern bought the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar and Airbus A300 widebody jets; the former would become known in the Caribbean as El Grandote (the huge one). Although Eastern had purchased four Boeing 747s, the delivery slots were sold to Trans World Airlines (TWA) when Eastern decided to purchase the L-1011.
Because of massive delays in the L-1011 program, mainly due to problems with the Rolls-Royce RB211 engines, Eastern leased two Boeing 747-100s from Pan Am between 1970 and 1972 and operated the aircraft between Chicago and San Juan as well as from New York to Miami and San Juan.
Turmoil
In 1975, Eastern was headquartered at 10 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan. After Frank Borman became president of Eastern Air Lines in late 1975, he moved Eastern's headquarters from Rockefeller Center to Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Eastern's massive Atlanta hub was in direct competition with Delta Air Lines, where the two carriers competed heavily 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.
In 1980, a Caribbean hub was started at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (known at the time as "Isla Verde International Airport") near San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1982, Eastern acquired Braniff's South American route network. By 1985, Eastern was the largest ATA airline in terms of passengers and operated in 26 countries on three continents.
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, which required paint to cover the aircraft's composite skin panels).
In 1983, Eastern became the launch customer of Boeing's 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. Lower oil prices failed to materialize and the debt created by this purchase coupled with the Airbus A300 purchases in 1977 contributed 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, fueled, or boarded a single aircraft.
Starting about 1985, Eastern offered "Moonlight Specials", with passenger seats on overnight flights scheduled for cargo from thirty freight companies. The flights, which operated between midnight and 7 am, served 18 cities in the United States connecting mainly to Houston (IAH). Eric Schmitt of The New York Times said that the services were "a hybrid of late-night, red-eye flights and the barebones People Express approach to service". The holds of the aircraft were reserved for cargo such as express mail, machine tool parts, and textiles. Because of this, the airline allowed each passenger to take up to two carry-on bags. The airline charged $10 for each checked bag, which was shipped standby. The airline charged between 50 cents and $3 for beverages and snacks. An Eastern flight attendant quoted in The New York Times said that the passengers on the special flights were "a cross section of families, college kids, illegal aliens and weirdos from L.A."
Company slogans
First in on-time dependability (1963)
See How Much Better An Airline Can Be (1963-late 1960s)
We want everyone to fly (1967-late 1960s)
Number one to the sun (late 1960s)
Smiling faces going places (1969)
We earn our wings every day (early 1970s-mid-1980s)
The wings of man (1970s-mid-1980s)
Official Airline of Walt Disney World (1971–1987)
We Have To Earn Our Wings Every Day (1980-mid-1980s)
We've got your sunshine (mid-1980s)
America's Favorite way to Fly (Spanish variant: "Su forma favorita de volar") (late 1980s)
Official Airline of the Tampa Bay Bucs (late 1980s)
100 Days (Early 1990–1991)
The second largest airline in the free world
Las Alas de America (Spanish 1980–1991)
Fleet
Eastern Air Lines flew many different types of aircraft throughout its history.
Eastern Express, Eastern Metro Express, Eastern Partner and Caribair
Several regional and commuter airlines provided passenger feed for Eastern via code sharing agreements with their aircraft liveries reflecting the Eastern mainline paint scheme. There were a number of brandings including: Eastern Express, Eastern Atlantis Express, and Eastern Metro Express. LIAT, a Caribbean-based airline, also operated Eastern Partner service.
Eastern Express air carriers and their aircraft included:
Air Midwest operating Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (Metro II model) turboprops
Atlantis Airlines operating British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31, de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprops
Bar Harbor Airlines operating ATR-42, Beechcraft 1900C, Beechcraft 99, and Saab 340A turboprops
Metro Airlines operating de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops
Precision Airlines operating Dornier 228 turboprops
Provincetown-Boston Airlines (PBA) operating Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft
Sunaire (Aviation Associates), a division of Metro Airlines operating de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops
Eastern Atlantis Express was operated by Atlantis Airlines with BAe Jetstream 31 aircraft.
Eastern Metro Express was operated by Metro Airlines and was based at Eastern's Atlanta (ATL) hub operating British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31 and de Havilland Canada DHC-8-100 Dash 8 turboprops.
Accidents and incidents
Fatal accidents
August 10, 1937, Trip 7, a Douglas DC-2 (NC13739), crashed on takeoff at Daytona Beach Municipal Airport after it struck a utility pylon during a nighttime take off, killing four of nine on board.
February 26, 1941, Flight 21, a Douglas DST, crashed near Atlanta in fog due to a misread altimeter, almost killing Eddie Rickenbacker, who was traveling on airline business. His recovery in the hospital received broad press coverage; during his initial recovery, several incorrect news reports claimed that he had died. Of 16 on board, 8 died, including Congressman William D. Byron. Clara Savage Littledale, editor of Parents magazine, survived. Littledale recounted her experience of the crash for Parents. Her husband, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Harold A. Littledale, was paralyzed as a result of the crash.
July 12, 1945: Flight 45, a Douglas DC-3-201C (NC25647) flying from Washington, DC to Columbia, SC, collided in mid-air with USAAF A-26C Invader near Florence, South Carolina. The A-26 lost control and crashed; two crew parachuted but only one survived. The DC-3 executed a forced landing in a cornfield, killing one passenger, a two-year-old boy.
September 7, 1945: Flight 42, a Douglas DC-3-201G (NC33631), crashed near Florence, South Carolina following an unexplained fire in the rear of the aircraft. Control was lost after the right elevator also caught fire and the aircraft crashed in a swampy, wooded area, killing all 22 on board.
December 30, 1945: Flight 14, a Douglas DC-3-201 (NC18123), overran the runway while landing at LaGuardia Airport after approaching too high and too fast, killing one of 14 of board.
January 18, 1946: Flight 105, a Douglas DC-3-201E (NC19970), crashed at Cheshire, Connecticut after a loss of control caused by wing separation, killing all 17 on board. A fire, caused by a fuel leak, started in the left engine and spread to the wing, causing it to collapse and fail.
January 12, 1947: Flight 665, a Douglas C-49 (NC88872), crashed at Galax, Virginia after the pilot deviated from the flight route, killing 18 of 19 on board.
Non-fatal accidents and incidents
December 19, 1936: A Douglas DC-2-112 (NC13732) struck trees and crashed near Milford, Connecticut due to pilot error and radio problems; all 11 on board survived. The aircraft was leased from North American Aviation.
October 18, 1938: A Douglas DC-2-112 (NC13735) had engine failure while taking off from Montgomery, Alabama. The engine caught fire and fell from the plane. The plane struck a tree upon landing in a field just a few miles from the airport. All 13 on board, including the crew of 3, survived with only the Captain, John David Hissong, sustaining minor burns.
April 3, 1941: A Douglas DC-3-201B (NC21727) crashed into water off Vero Beach, Florida during a storm; although all 16 on board were injured, none were killed. The aircraft was written off.
November 19, 1943: Trip 12, a Douglas DC-3-201E (NC19968), made an emergency landing at New Orleans en route from Houston after the pilot allowed the aircraft to descend too low during the second attempt to land. The number one propeller hit the water, causing portions of the engine and cowling to break off. All 15 on board survived. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.
October 11, 1946: Flight 546, a Douglas C-54B (NC88729), struck a ridge near Alexandria, Virginia while on approach to Washington National Airport; all 26 on board survived. During the approach, the aircraft had descended too low.
December 19, 1946: Flight 605, a Douglas C-54B (NC88813) collided in mid-air with Universal Air Lines Flight 7, a Douglas C-47 (NC54374), near Aberdeen, Maryland. The C-47 departed Newark for Raleigh, while the C-54 departed Newark 15 minutes later for a non-stop flight to Miami. Near Aberdeen the C-54 flew past the C-47. The C-54 co-pilot saw the lights of an aircraft close and to the left of the C-54, which turned out to be the C-47. The C-54 pilot rolled into a right bank and forcefully pulled up the nose, causing the rear of the C-54 to strike the forward top portion of the C-47. The C-47 landed safely at Philips Army Air Field while the C-54 diverted to Washington. There were no casualties on either aircraft and both aircraft were repaired and returned to service.
Hijackings
July 24, 1961: Flight 202, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, was hijacked to Cuba. A fighter plane from Homestead AFB followed the airliner until it reached Cuban airspace.
September 20, 1968: Flight 950, a Boeing 720, was hijacked to Cuba.
February 3, 1969: Flight 7 was hijacked to Cuba. The presence of Candid Camera host Allen Funt on the flight led many of the passengers to conclude that the hijacking was actually a prank. Funt and others were later released after 11 hours of captivity.
March 17, 1970: Both pilots of Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320, a DC-9-31 carrying 68 passengers and 5 crew, were shot by a deranged hijacker. The first officer was able to take the hijacker's gun and shoot him three times before succumbing to his own wounds. Despite gunshot wounds in both arms, the captain was able to fight off the wounded hijacker and land the aircraft safely.
Leadership
Presidents and chairman of Eastern were:
President
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker, April 18, 1938 – August 10, 1953
Thomas F. Armstrong, August 10, 1953 – October 1, 1959
Malcolm Ames MacIntyre, October 1, 1959 – December 16, 1963
Floyd D. Hall, December 16, 1963 – December 13, 1967
Arthur Dee Lewis, December 12, 1967 – March 1, 1969
Floyd D. Hall, March 1, 1969 – December 15, 1970
Samuel Logan Higginbottom, December 15, 1970 – October 1, 1973
Floyd D. Hall, October 1, 1973 – May 27, 1975
Frank Frederick Borman II, May 27, 1975 – September 24, 1985
Joseph B. Leonard, September 24, 1985 – October 17, 1986
Philip John Bakes Jr., October 17, 1986 – April 20, 1990
Robert L. Gould, December 11, 1990 – January 18, 1991
Chairman of the Board
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker, August 10, 1953 – December 29, 1963
Floyd D. Hall, December 13, 1967 – December 15, 1976
Frank Frederick Borman II, December 15, 1976 – July 1, 1986
Francisco Anthony Lorenzo, October 17, 1986 – April 19, 1990
New Eastern Air Lines
In 2011, a group purchased the intellectual property, including trademarks, of Eastern Air Lines and formed the Eastern Air Lines Group. The group announced in early 2014 that it had filed an application with the United States Department of Transportation for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, which will be followed by certification with the Federal Aviation Administration. The new airline began service through charter and wet-lease flights out of Miami International in late 2014 with Boeing 737-800 jetliners painted in the classic Eastern "hockey stick" livery. The IATA and ICAO codes of the original airline, as well as its callsign, were used by the new iteration of Eastern Air Lines. After a sale to Swift Air, the trademarks were passed on to Eastern Airlines, LLC in 2018. On January 12, 2020, after nearly two decades of being officially defunct, the first flight of the renewed Eastern Airlines landed at JFK airport, heralding a new era for the brand name.