National Air and Space Museum Archives

Eastern Air Lines Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.1991.0070
Creators:
Eastern Airlines, Inc.
Dates:
bulk 1930-1976
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
19.76 Cubic feet
20 boxes
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of newspaper articles, brochures, newsletters, magazines, photographs, negatives, and transparencies documenting Eastern Air Lines. The thrusts of the collection are the photographic images (concentrating on aircraft and personnel) and the publications of Eastern, including the newsletter "The Falcon" and "The Great Silver Fleet News" magazine.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Eastern Air Lines was originally formed as Pitcairn Aviation, Inc. in 1927. In July 1929 it was acquired by the North American Aviation Corp. as the Eastern Air Lines Division and, in January 1930, was renamed Eastern Air Transport. By February 1933, Eastern had acquired Ludington Airlines, giving Eastern routes to most major eastern cities, including New York, Atlanta, Miami, Atlantic City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. In 1934 the airline was renamed Eastern Air Lines and introduced Douglas DC-2s on its longer routes. In 1937 Eastern began Douglas DC-3 service and acquired Wedell-Williams Air Service Corp., thereby extending its routes westward to Houston. North American sold its holdings in Eastern to a group headed by Captain Eddie Rickenbacker. By 1960 Eastern had extended its coverage to Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico, as well as westward to Detroit and St. Louis. In January 1960 Eastern introduced jet service with Douglas DC-8s and, in April 1961, inaugurated "Air Shuttle" service between Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. with its propeller-driven aircraft. By 1975 Eastern's network covered 100 cities in 30 states, as well as Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean. In 1986 Eastern was bought by Texas Air Corp., making Texas Air the largest airline in the United States. Following labor problems, including a strike by Eastern's machinists which was supported by the pilots and flight attendants, Eastern declared Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 1989.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Eastern Airlines, Inc., transfer, 1987, NASM.1987.0038.

Digital Content


Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Preferred Citation
Eastern Air Lines Collection, Acc. NASM.1991.0070, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics, Commercial -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Airlines Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Publications Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reports Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pitcairn Aviation Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Civil Aeronautics Board Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Eastern Airlines, Inc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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