[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.

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.

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.

In the late 1920s, Pitcairn Aviation won a contract to fly mail between New York City and Atlanta, Georgia on Mailwing single-engine aircraft.

After being purchased by General Motors and experiencing a change in leadership after the Airmail Act of 1934, the airline became known as Eastern Air Lines.

On October 1, 1959, Rickenbacker's position as CEO was taken over by Malcolm A. MacIntyre, a brilliant lawyer but a man inexperienced in airline operations.

In 1967, Eastern purchased Mackey Airlines, a small air carrier primarily operating in Florida and the Bahamas as part of this expansion.

The RB211 programme might easily have foundered in 1971 if it had not been for the steadfast support of Eastern Airlines, one of the major launch customers for the Lockheed TriStars.

It remained the official airline of Walt Disney World and sponsored a ride at the Magic Kingdom park (If You Had Wings in Tomorrowland where Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is currently located) until its contracting route network forced Disney to switch to Delta shortly before Eastern's 1989 bankruptcy filing.

[2][20] Eastern's massive Atlanta hub was in direct competition with Delta Air Lines, where the two carriers competed heavily 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.

Starting about 1985, Eastern offered "Moonlight Specials", with passenger seats on overnight flights scheduled for cargo from thirty freight companies.

[22] Eastern began losing money as it faced competition from no-frills airlines, such as People Express, which offered lower 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.

In 1988, Phil Bakes, the president of Eastern Air Lines, announced plans to lay off 4,000 employees and eliminate and reduce service to airports in the Western United States; he said that the airline was going "back to our roots" in the East.

John Nordheimer wrote in The New York Times that Eastern's prominence in the Miami area decreased as the city became a finance and trade center with a diversified local economy, instead of one based largely on tourism.

Asked to accept deep cuts in pay and benefits, on March 4, 1989, Lorenzo locked out Eastern's mechanics and ramp service employees, represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).

Lorenzo initially sought a sale of the entire airline, and on April 6, Eastern agreed to be acquired by former Major League Baseball commissioner Peter Uberroth for $464 million.

[28] In May 1989, Eastern sold its East Coast shuttle service to real estate mogul Donald Trump for $365 million.

In August, Eastern signed a deal to sell sixteen DC-9 aircraft and gates in Philadelphia, Washington, and New York to Midway Airlines for $210 million.

The ads were conceived by advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather in New York, and started being broadcast on June 17, 1990 during the prime-time hours in 33 markets around the United States.

The previous evening, company agents, unaware of the decision, continued to take reservations and told callers that the airline was not closing.

[46] By 1970, San Juan-based Caribair had become an all-jet airline operating McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 aircraft serving fourteen Caribbean islands as well as Miami with the air carrier subsequently being acquired by Eastern in 1973.

The new airline began service through charter and wet-lease flights out of Miami International in late 2014 with Boeing 737-800 jetliners painted in the classic Eastern "hockey stick" livery.

On January 12, 2020, after nearly two decades of being officially defunct, the first flight of the renewed Eastern Airlines landed at JFK airport, heralding a new era for the brand name.