Eastern Air Lines
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| Eastern Air Lines | ||
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| IATA EA |
ICAO EAL |
Callsign EASTERN |
| Founded | 1926 (as Pitcairn Aviation) | |
| Ceased operations | 1991 | |
| Hubs | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Miami International Airport Kansas City International Airport San Juan Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport Charlotte/Douglas International Airport |
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| Frequent flyer program | OnePass | |
| Member lounge | Ionosphere Lounge | |
| Fleet size | 304 | |
| Destinations | 140 | |
| Parent company | Eastern Air Lines, Inc. | |
| Headquarters | Miami, Florida | |
| Key people | Eddie Rickenbacker (First CEO), Floyd Hall, Frank Borman, Frank Lorenzo (Final CEO) | |
Eastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from the late 1920s until 1991.
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[edit] History
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. In the late 1960s, Eastern placed an order with the Boeing Company for its brand new aircraft, the 747. To be delivered in the early 1970s, the airline ordered 4 Boeing 747-125 aircraft. However, as the aircraft were nearly finished, Eastern cancelled the order. The jumbojets were converted to Boeing 747-131 designations and acquired by TWA. They were also launch customer for the Lockheed L1011 Tristar widebody jetliner in 1968. Although the airline cancelled their 747 order, they did lease a small number of 747s from Pan Am while awaiting delayed Tristar aircraft. Eastern was also a launch customer for the Boeing 757-200 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's Texas Air Corporation in 1985. By the end of 1986, Texas Air would control New York Air, People Express, Eastern Airlines, Continental Airlines, and Frontier Airlines (1950-1986).
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 worsening 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 Martin 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 Newark International Airport in New Jersey 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.
As per an article in the Miami Herald - April 11, 2008, an Ex-Airline Executive is set on purchasing the airline back under the original Eastern name, with the main hub being in MIA. It hopes to begin operations in the summer of 2009.
[edit] Precursors
Eastern Air Lines was a composite of assorted air travel corporations, including Pitcairn Aviation, established on April 19, 1926, and Florida Air Ways.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 [was] good enough. He left his position as chairman of the board on December 31, 1963.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Developing air transportation systems
Throughout the 1940s, competitors were acquired, more advanced planes were purchased and international routes were opened.
[edit] 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 Canadian airline Colonial Airlines, which gave the airline their first service to Canada.[1]
[edit] Improving technology: jet aircraft
In 1960 Eastern's first jets, Douglas DC-8s arrived, allowing Eastern to open non-stop service from New York City's Idlewild International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport 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 was also the first US carrier to fly the A-300 and the first airline to fly the 757.
[edit] Eastern Shuttle
In 1961 Eastern inaugurated the Eastern Air Shuttle, featuring hourly flights of Lockheed Constellations and Electras between New York-LaGuardia, Washington, D.C.-National, and Boston-Logan 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.
Eastern Air Shuttle's landing rights and some aircraft were bought by Trump Airlines to run the Trump Shuttle. US Airways later bought the service from Trump Airlines, and respectively named it US Airways Shuttle. Pan Am's shuttle service was bought by Delta Air Lines to become the Delta Shuttle, which directly competes with the US Airways Shuttle.
[edit] New leadership, corporate changes
The 1970s brought dramatic changes in the management of Eastern. Former astronaut Frank Borman was brought on as president.
[edit] Expanded routes and service
Internationalization began as Eastern opened routes to new markets such as Madrid, Mexico City, Santo Domingo, Nassau, Bahamas and London. Services from San Juan, Puerto Rico's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport were expanded.
[edit] 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, would fly between Chicago and San Juan as well as New York to San Juan. Although they purchased 4 they were sold to TWA, before delivery. They were also introduced for a short time while the carrier awaited the delivery of the L-1011.
[edit] 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).
The famous "Wings of Man" campaign, which began in the late 1960s, was created by advertising agency, Young & Rublicam, and restored Eastern's tarnished image until the late 1970s, when former astronaut Frank Borman became president and it was replaced by a new campaign, "We Have To Earn Our Wings Every Day". The new campaign, which featured Borman as a spokesperson, was used until 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".
[edit] 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.
[edit] Head to head with Delta
Eastern's massive Atlanta hub 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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).
[edit] 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.
[edit] Back to the 747
In the 1980s, Eastern needed an aircraft for the Miami-London Route. They were to purchase two Boeing 747-238 aircraft from the Australian airline Qantas. However,the airline was not allowed permission to fly the route and the deal fell through. The two aircraft, N371EA and N372EA, were already painted and were subsequently reinstated in the Qantas fleet.
[edit] Subsidiary operations
In that same year, Eastern reintroduced service to Ponce, 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 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 Icahn.
Although Eastern's employees saw Lorenzo at the time as a savior, 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.
[edit] Labor relations: strikes and canceled 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), walked 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 canceled, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars in revenue.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 an 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 and pensions 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.
[edit] Attempts at revival
An airline entrepreneur who was once the bankruptcy trustee of Eastern, Martin Shugrue, considered reviving it in 1995, but the decision was made to revive Pan Am instead.
Recently, rumors have surfaced stating that a Miami-based group has acquired the Eastern name and trademarks, with the intention of initiating service sometime during 2009. This reincarnation would fly Airbus A319 aircraft on short to medium-range flights from a hub in Miami.[2]
[edit] Fleet
Eastern Airlines flew many different types of aircraft throughout its history:
- Pitcairn Mailwing with which began operations as Eastern Air Transport Inc.
- Ford Tri-Motor from 1930-1932
- Fokker F-X
- Curtiss Condor from 1930-1934
- Lockheed Electra from 1935-1936
- Douglas DC-2
- Douglas DC-3 from 1936-1953
- Curtiss Commando
- Martin 4-0-4 of which Eastern had the largest fleet with 60 of the type in operation.
- Douglas DC-4
- Convair 440 Metropolitan
- L-1049 Super Constellation from 1951-1968
- Douglas DC-7B from 1953-1966
- Lockheed L-188 Electra beginning 1959
- DC-8-21 beginning in 1960
- DC-8-61/63
- Boeing 720-025
- Boeing 727-25 beginning in 1 February 1964 with Eastern as the launch customer.
- Boeing 727-225 beginning in 1968
- DC-9-14 beginning in February 1965
- DC-9-31
- DC-9-50
- Boeing 747-100 leased from Pan Am before the L-1011s arrived
- Boeing 747-200 NTU
- L-1011-385-1 TriStar beginning in 1972
- Airbus A300B4
- Boeing 757-225 beginning in 1983
- Douglas DC-10
- and also the Lockheed JetStar for corporate use.
[edit] 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 below the cockpit windows:
Numbers Series / Aircraft Type / Registration example - e.g., N215EA was the a/c registration for ship 215.
- 100 series: the 727-100: N8172G /172
- 200 series: the Constellations, which passed to the A300 after the Connies were withdrawn from service: N6224C / 224 (cn 4532)
- 200 series: the A300: N215EA / 215 (cn 108)
- 300 series: the Convair 440, which passed on to the L-1011s after they were withdrawn from service: N9315 / 315 (cn 433)
- 300 series: the L-1011: N324EA / 324 (cn 193A-1050), [N336EA was notorious for hydraulic problems].
- 400 series: the DC-9-50: N404EA / 404 (cn 47665/796)
- 500 series: the Lockheed L-188 Electra registration which was later given to the 757: N5541 / 541 (cn 1098)
- 500 series: the 757-225: N506EA / 506 (cn 22196/7)
- 600 series: the DC-8-21: N8615 / 615 (cn 45436/150)
- 700 series: the DC-8-61/63: N8776 / 776 (cn 45888/290)
- 700 series: also, the B720-025 carried the 700s: N8714E / 714 (cn 18243/254)
- 800 series: the DC-7 carried the registration in the 800s until they were removed from service, then it went to the 727-200: N827D / 827 (cn 45336/901)
- 800 series: the B727-225: N805EA /805 (cn 22436/1677). Curiously, there were four B727-225s in an all coach configuration with 189 coach seats each, they were mostly used in the Air Shuttle and carried registrations in the high 800s, namely: 886, 887, 888, and 889.
- 900 series: the DC-9-14 and DC-9-30: N8916E / 916 (cn 45733/48).
- Since EA only operated a trio of DC-10-30s they carried a registration number in the 300s like the L-1011s but they were assigned high numbers: N390EA / 390 (cn 47862/88), N391EA / 391 (cn 47866/149) and N392EA /392 (cn 47867/178)
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 striking a flock of birds. Sixty-two of the 72 passengers and crew were killed.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Flight 304
On February 25, 1964, Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 (a Douglas DC-8) flying from New Orleans International Airport to Washington-National Airport crashed into Lake Pontchartrain enroute due to "degradation of aircraft stability characteristics in turbulence, because of abnormal longitudinal trim component positions." All 51 passengers and 7 crew aboard were killed.
[edit] 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 JFK 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.
[edit] 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. After attempting to recycle the landing gear to no avail, the massive L1011 went around. However, while so focussed on the malfinctioning landing gear light, the crew leaned on the yoke and applied the necessary pressure to disengage the autopilot. The flightcrew did not realize the subsequent roll to the left at which the left wing impacted. The aircraft was consumed by fire. The flight crashed in the Everglades, near the same site of the ValuJet Flight 592 DC-9 crash 23 years later. In Eastern's Flight 401 case, it was rumored that the ghost of the pilot who flew that night was later seen on some Eastern planes that carried parts of the doomed plane. The legend became the subject of a book and the movie The Ghost of Flight 401.
[edit] Flight 212
On the morning of September 11, 1974, Eastern Air Lines Flight 212, a DC-9-31 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. 13 people survived the initial impact, but three subsequently died from their injuries. One of the 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.
[edit] 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 JFK 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. The aircraft hit a motorcyclist on impact, and ABA basketball star Wendell Ladner was one of the passengers killed in the crash. Most of the deceased were killed by fire after impact rather than the crash itself. The two flight attendants in the rear of the plane survived the fire because they were doused with the liquid contents of the rear lavatories, which kept them alive. The aircraft that landed on the same runway just prior to EAL Flight 66 was another Eastern aircraft, an L-1011, that managed to fight through the wind shear by having both pilots put their feet on the instrument panel and pulling back on the wheel with all of their strength. After landing, they radioed the tower to close that runway, but it was too late for EAL Flight 66.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Other facts and quotes of interest
- Astrud Gilberto was the most famous long lasting voice of Eastern by recording a single and voice-tracks for the company
- Boeing assigned Eastern Air Lines the customer number 25 for all aircraft produced by the company.
- Eastern used to be the main sponsor of Puerto Rican basketball team Cariduros de Fajardo, a team that carried Eastern's logo on its jerseys.
- Boxer Wilfredo Gómez was pictured by El Vocero photographers inside an Eastern Air Lines L-1011 TriStar jet before taking off for his bout with Lupe Pintor in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- "Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell." -Frank Borman, former CEO of Eastern Air Lines in 1986, five years before Eastern shut down.
- After Eastern Air Lines ceased operations, some of their pilots and managers, as well as former Pan Am pilots and managers (who suffered the same fate), went on to purchase part of the fleet of airplanes, and on September 21, 1992, they formed Kiwi International Air Lines (also now defunct).
- Eastern was the first company to crash a wide-body jet.
- The Disney/Eastern relationship is parodied in The Simpsons episode "Special Edna," when the family goes on an amusement park ride in Epcot Center which depicts machines bearing the airline's logo ruling over all humanity.
[edit] References
- ^ Eastern Air Lines History
- ^ New airline could have famous name - Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology:
- Rickenbacker: An Autobiography. Edward V. Rickenbacker, Prentice Hall, 1967.
[edit] External links
- Eastern Alley
- Aviation Safety Network list of Eastern Air Lines accidents from 1943 to 1990
- Virtual Eastern Airlines A virtual airline community of Flight Simulator on the Web
- Eastern Virtual Airlines A virtual airline community of Flight Simulator on the Web
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