Eastern Air Lines

For the 2015 start-up airline that has since ceased operations, see Eastern Air Lines (2015). For the airline that assumed that start-up's intellectual property, see Eastern Airlines, LLC. For other airlines with similar names, see Eastern (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with China Eastern Airlines or Eastern Airways.
Eastern Air Lines
IATA ICAO Call sign
EA EAL EASTERN
FoundedApril 19, 1926;
98 years ago (1926-04-19)
(as Pitcairn Aviation)
Ceased operationsJanuary 18, 1991;
33 years ago (1991-01-18)
HubsMiami
Secondary hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programOnePass
SubsidiariesEastern Air Lines Shuttle (1961–1989)
Parent companyTexas Air Corporation (1986–1990)
HeadquartersMiami-Dade County, Florida, U.S.
Key people
FounderEddie Rickenbacker (First CEO)

Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major 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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4] 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[5] 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.

  1. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 30, 1985. 72. Retrieved on June 17, 2009.
  2. ^ "'Moonman' Borman gets Eastern off the ground". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Washington Post. May 7, 1978. p. B16.
  3. ^ "Eastern Airlines". US Centennial of Flight Commission. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  4. ^ "1991 - January 1 - Eastern Airlines Timetables, Route Maps, and History". Airchive. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  5. ^ "1982 - August 1 - Eastern Airlines Timetables, Route Maps, and History". Airchive. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.