Eastern Air Lines also colloquially known as Eastern was a major airline in the United States that operated from to Eastern was one of the " Big Four " domestic airlines created by the Spoils Conferences of , 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 s until the s and dominated this market for decades afterward. During airline deregulation in the late s and early s, labor disputes and high debt loads strained the company under the leadership of former astronaut Frank Borman. After continued labor disputes and a crippling strike in , Eastern ran out of money and was liquidated in Although Eastern announced on its March 2, timetable that it intended to initiate service to Madrid , effective May 1, , it never commenced.
The only scheduled transatlantic service Eastern provided was Miami to London Gatwick, commencing on July 15, , and discontinuing the following year, in , replaced with codeshare flights from Atlanta on British Caledonian Airways.
Eastern Air Lines was a composite of assorted air travel corporations, including Florida Airways and Pitcairn Aviation. In , 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 , the airline became known as Eastern Air Lines.
The complex deal was concluded when Rickenbacker together with Sidney Shannon [ 9 ] presented Alfred P. 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 s Eastern's position was eroded by subsidies to rival airlines and the arrival of the jet age.
