Eastern Air Lines
Operator Identification
1934 to 18 January 1991
United States of America
TYPE: Airline
IATA/ICAO CODES: EA / EAL
HEADQUARTERS: Miami, FL
FORMER NAME: Eastern Air Transport
SUBSEQUENT NAME: Nil
Operator History
Eastern Air Lines was formed in 1928 as Pitcairn Aviation by Harold J. Pitcairn. It was a mail carrier operating between New York and Albany. North American Aviation acquired it in 1930 and its name was changed to Eastern Air Transport. It changed its name again in 1934 to Eastern Air Lines, and incorporated in 1938 with Ed Rickenbacker as President.
In the pre-war period, Eastern went through the acquisition of several other airlines operating along the East Coast. It thus gained a near monopoly in air travel between New York and Florida from the 1930's until the 1950's, and dominated this market for decades afterward.
Eastern Air Lines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on 9 March 1989 and ceased operations on 18 January 1991.
Commando Operations
1942 to 1945
Eastern Air Lines used several USAAF Commandos between 1942 and 1943 in order to conduct operational prooving flights for the USAAF. Later in the war, Eastern also operated several Commandos on behalf of Air Transport Command's Caribbean Wing.
Last edited: 04/01/2019