Eastern Airlines: The World’s Strangest Airline?

It has been a while since I wrote about Eastern Airlines, which I think is the most unusual airline in the world. The airline is based in the US and has a lot of jets, but does very little with them. The airline is alive and well.

What is Eastern Airlines?

A little background would be helpful. It is worth mentioning the history of the name. Eastern ceased operations in 1991 after being a major airline back in the day.

The EasternAirline went out of business within a couple of years after the rights to the name were purchased. The rights to the Eastern name were purchased by Dynamic International Airways.

The current iteration of Eastern has a fleet of over a dozen Boeing 767s and 777s, all of which were bought secondhand. The airline says it has a mission.

“Our mission is to bring back the sense of awe and wonder to air travel by providing underserved markets across the globe with direct, nonstop flights with the best value.”

The route map on Eastern's website shows the routes between the US and Latin America.

The airline hasn't done a lot of operating routes in underserved markets. Over the past few years, we've seen Eastern cancel routes before they're even announced.

• The airline was supposed to launch once weekly Chicago to Sarajevo flights, but that never happened
• The airline was supposed to launch 3x weekly New York to San Diego flights, but that never happened
• The airline was supposed to launch 2x weekly New York to Jinan via Anchorage flights, but that never happened
• The airline was supposed to launch 2x weekly New York to Los Cabos flights, but that never happened

Eastern didn't follow through on the flights that they were going to operate.

Am I the only one confused by Eastern?

What is the current state of the airline? I thought of the airline this morning and found the website.

The only route for sale right now is the once monthly New York to Guayaquil route. It happens once a month. It's all done. There is no other route. There are 15 wide body jets and one route every month. Hmm...

How much flying have those jets done? In the last few months, only three of those planes have flown.

• Eastern acquired five Boeing 777s in late 2020, but hasn’t operated a single flight with a single one of those jets
• Only three Boeing 767s have operated flights in recent months, with the registration codes N700KW, N703KW, and N705KW
• It seems to me like almost all of these flights have been military charters, as routes have included Guam to Anchorage, El Paso to Camp Springs, Kuwait City to Portsmouth (via Shannon), etc.

Is anyone interested in what is happening here? This is a real airline with real planes. This isn't a global airline. It has been several years since the airline has been able to operate regular flights.

The airline seems to have a lot of unused space in its fleet. I don't think the point-to-point business model is worth it.

The market for charter operators and wet lease agreements is huge and the airline would be better off pursuing that. The airline doesn't seem to have a lot of business.

I am aware that these planes were purchased for a fraction of what you would pay for a new plane, but this is still a lot of money. How is the airline still going strong?

Eastern is a real airline. In the last few months, only three of the wide body jets flown by the US airline have been used for military purposes. The airline sells tickets for a once a month flight between New York and Guayaquil.

Is it possible that the other shoe will fall here?