Eastern also used to have a thing called the Weekender Club which used to offer low-price short-notice fares, which I often used to head down to Florida, combined with a National rental car for about $9.99/day.
What helped do Eastern in, was it made a big investment in newer fuel efficient a/c towards the end of the energy crisis. Eastern was the launch customer of the 757. Continental's 757's and A-300's were ex-Eastern hardware.
Does anyone else remember the Kansas City hub?