Eastern Air Lines History

Eastern Air Lines was the airline of Eddie Rickenbacker, the Great Silver Fleet, the Air-Shuttle and "The Wings of Man." Here's a short history, plus the Eastern Airlines collection that keeps the falcon flying.

Pitcairn Aviation to Eastern (1920s–1934)

Eastern began in the late 1920s as Pitcairn Aviation, Harold Pitcairn's airmail carrier linking New York, Atlanta and Florida. It was renamed Eastern Air Transport in 1930 and Eastern Air Lines in 1934.

The Rickenbacker years

In April 1938, World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker led a group that bought Eastern from General Motors, and he shaped the airline for the next quarter century. The "Great Silver Fleet" name covered its polished aircraft, with Martin 404s and Convair 440s flown as "Silver Falcons" and premium DC-7Bs, Super Constellations and Electras as "Golden Falcons." Eastern flew the world's first autogiro airmail service in Philadelphia in 1939, and an Eastern DC-2 was the first airliner to land at Washington National Airport in 1941.

Shuttle, 727s and The Wings of Man (1960s)

On April 30, 1961, Eastern launched the Air-Shuttle, with hourly departures, no reservations needed and a guaranteed seat. On February 1, 1964, it became the first airline to put the Boeing 727 into passenger service. Under Floyd Hall, Eastern introduced the blue "hockey stick" livery with the stylized falcon and the "Wings of Man" advertising campaign.

Borman, Miami and the A300

Former Apollo astronaut Frank Borman became CEO in 1975 and moved headquarters from New York to Miami. His slogan was "We Have To Earn Our Wings Every Day." Eastern's 1978 order for Airbus A300s was a breakthrough for Airbus in the U.S. Atlanta became its busiest hub, with Miami as its home base.

The end

Frank Lorenzo's Texas Air Corporation acquired Eastern in the mid-1980s. Years of labor disputes followed, and Eastern filed for bankruptcy in 1989. The Shuttle was sold to Donald Trump, and American Airlines bought Eastern's Latin American routes in 1990. Eastern stopped flying at midnight on January 19, 1991, and its remaining assets were liquidated rather than absorbed by another airline.

A few things collectors love

• Under Floyd Hall, employees earned trading stamps for helping the company hit its goals.
• Frustrated passengers once formed a club called "WHEAL," short for We Hate Eastern Air Lines. Eastern was so central to life in Atlanta and Miami that people still miss it anyway.

Shop Eastern

Browse Eastern falcon and hockey-stick designs, Great Silver Fleet artwork, destination coffee mugs, coasters and tote bags in the Eastern Airlines collection. Pair them with an airline bag tag or key tag.

AirlineEmployeeShop.com is an independent retailer of airline memorabilia. This page is for historical interest and is not affiliated with any airline currently using the Eastern name.