Remembering Eastern Airlines
 

I imagine many of you ended up with CO as your FF airline from your association with Eastern like I did. While not all my remembrances of EA are fond, many are and I mention a couple here in honor of some of the threads from the 90s that are receiving new posts.

Did anyone take advantage of the unlimited flying specials Eastern offered in the late 70s and early 80s where you could fly anywhere Eastern flew (which included just about everywhere except the moon, Borman notwithstanding) for three weeks for one price. I took full advantage of this program for several years, visiting family in NY and Okla, going to the Caribbean, visiting friends allover the U.S. The first time they offered this in 1977 or 1978, the price for three weeks of unlimited flying was $249!!! The only bad part was that flying out of Seattle the connection for almost everything was through Atlanta. I ended one whirlwind three week trip visiting a friend in San Francisco for New Years. I flew back to Seattle via . . . why Atlanta, of course. My wife and I took the 4.5 hour flight SFO to ATL (first class upgrade - see below) and hopped off the plane, expecting a two hour layover before our flight to Seattle. Turned out an earlier flight to Seattle (which had been scheduled to leave an hour before we arrived) was late and hadn't left yet. There was room available (in first class no less) so ten minutes after we got off the first flight we were on the second one. I recall waking up to the pilot's voice telling us we were starting our descent into Seattle and telling us that until a half hour earlier Seattle and all near by airports were fogged in and the nearest open airport was . . . San Francisco. Lucky we missed a return to SFO on that trip.

The other fond memory was something called "Executive Flyer" status or something similar. Basically as an executive flyer you were entitled to a space available first class upgrade for yourself and a companion. Since this was well before the time when first class was used to reward frequent fliers there was almost always space available - I think I failed to get an upgrade on maybe 2 flights out of probably 100 or more I flew during this time. Coupled together, first class and unlimited flights? How many million flight miles would one have to have under their belt these days to obtain such a bennie? Fifty million?

I remember flying them between San Juan and New York all the time. If it wasn't on Eastern we were flying on Pan Am. All the jokes about Eastern always seemed to be right on the money.

My last flight on Eastern was in the late 80's going from New York to Montreal to catch my flight to Moscow via Aeroflot.

My favorite memory of Eastern was a trip to EZE that I booked using miles... this was before the mileage programs were quite as automated as they are now. At the time, there was a promotion underway for triple RDM, and I received the RDM even though I had used miles to pay for the ticket. On top of that, I got op-upped on the flight home.

To keep the thread on topic, I should comment that I probably still have some of those miles in my OnePass account... :p

I flew Eastern quite frequently during the late 70s and early 80s from BOS to TPA. I do remember enjoying the dedicated Eastern terminal at BOS (Now the DL terminal...) and sitting in the back of the plane in the smoking section with my grandmother.

To this day, the only emergency landing I've ever experienced was on a 727 (?) where the lav basically exploded, and we had to land in PHL to wait for another plane.

My mother, being a consummate business traveller and early adopter miles junkie, made sure that I had an account and accrued miles whenever possible.

An unlimited flight ticket in the hands of a FTer today would be a waste of electrons by the airline. The FTer would be so milage positive in te long run.

"Executive Traveler". I had this status at 17 (in 1983). It was amazing. I was too young to take advantage of the unlimited flight deals you mentioned. I would have certainly made them regret it, like you did.

Yes I and another FTer took advantage of the Unlimited Mileage fare twice (1978 and 1980). We took 36 flights on the second one. I was so dead tired after the first one that I actually slept for 24 hours straight when I got home… and I was 18 at the time!

I too got the triple miles on an award flight (special intro ½ off miles offer) to Rio.

They used to have pretty good service in First. I recall a nice carve on the cart Chateaubriand service from ATL to SEA in the early 80’s.

Oh yes... also got to fly some of the L1011's in the original 2-4-2 configuration in coach (before they 2-5-2ed them)

What was the name of Eastern's FF program?

One of my earliest flying memories was of myself and my brothers running around the PIT Ionosphere Club like banshees. (J/K -- we were actually very well behaved.)

My father made a poor investment in a lifetime membership to the Ionosphere Club. I know that CO offered some sort of "deal" to Lifetime members to enroll CO's Presidents Club lifetime membership for a reduced fee, but he claims not to ever have been notified. By the time he inquired, the offer had long expired.

I also remember that on at least one of their aircraft (don't know which one) they had the party seats in Row 1 which faced Row 2, with a table in between.

I sadly lament the demise of EA. I loved their paint scheme. :)

I remember the fantastic program for 249 $ unlimted travel. I used it in 1976 to explore the US with my wife. The program brought us to states we as students otherwise would not have been able to afford to travel to.

We finished the trip in Guadeloupe after having bought new Hanson ski boots during a summer sale in Phila. We had some stange looks when we deplaned in PTP with the yellow boots.

Oh BTW on night flights we sometimes received a complimentary upgrade and a service level from EA staff which I never find since Braniff is gone on the dreadful legacy carrriers.

Today sad enough we plan our US vacation trips on European airlines to an airport close to our final destination and drive. I have no confidence in the regionals like Colgan Air who pay their FO's 1800 $ a month. How much less do they spend on aircraft maintenance guys ??

OnePass

It has already happened at least once recently...
http://gcmr2005.blogspot.com/

I remember the Eastern kid's meals that were short but wide boxes, and IIRC some of them had Disney branding.

Actually, EA was instrumental in making DisneyWorld successful in what at the time was a pretty undeveloped place. It was also one of the first "Official Airline of" partnerships in the airline business I believe, and I remember for a period when the deal started they had Disney characters on the flights to MCO.

I remember the Disney characters on the boxes, but I don't think that I ever had a Disney character on my flights...but I wouldn't trust my memory. Eastern hit Ch11 not long after I turned 8. I do know from my mother telling me that my first flight was on Eastern - EWR-FLL, in 1981. Mom and her new infant even got upgraded. :)

I was on a JFK-MCO L1011 in the early 70s. I really remember because they had a couple characters on the flight, but I don't know which flights they had them on. I remember they weren't on the flight back and I was pretty upset about it :D Unfortunately no FT back then to complain!

I used to fly BOS-MCO on Eastern frequently on visits to Disney World. The flight and equipment I always tried to get was their L1011. Flights 601/604 come to mind, but I don't have records. I think there were other flights utilizing smaller planes, but I used to try and get the L1011.

I was wrong: December of 1980. My mother flew us down so my grandparents could meet me.

How interesting that CO didn't change the name. I remember we came up with all kinds of new names for the FF when CO purchased EA but for the live of me I can't remember what names we invented.

I was trying to look this up - I actually think it was something else. I had thought OnePass came when CO/EA combined their FFPs.

CO used EA's name.

Note: Wasn't this one of the Trivia Quiz questions at DO IV?

YouTube - Eastern "If You Had Wings" Ride at WDW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxmWj...om=PL&index=36

OMG, I LOVED that ride!!!

My parents always ordered us the Kosher meals.

I remember Eastern
 

My very first flight was an Eastern flight from GSO-CLT for my 13th birthday for a visit to the circus. I flew EA back and forth numerous times to boarding school from NC to PA always stopping over at DCA. The only bad thing I remember was always getting airsick---almost certainly, I realize in retrospect, a migraine related phenomenon from all the smoking that was allowed in those days.

Did we take advantage of the unlimited flying specials Eastern offered? Did we ever! My husband and I, fresh out of residency training and with a 4 month old, took full advantage of the 3 week special as we traveled to every major city in the U.S. with at least one medical school (connecting in Atlanta on almost every flight, even West Coast destinations!) in order to sell our board game, INTERN, based on our experiences at Duke and Johns Hopkins, to the medical bookstores. I just recently came across my diary of that amazing odyssey. Remarkably, only had one misconnect in about 30 flights, and got several rounds of free drinks from the captain when there were significant delays (those were the days!). Trip was a success, too, when a major national game company bought the game from us.

So I had very fond memories of EA.

Not so its successor USAir. I took my last flight on USAir about 5 years ago. The gate agent at SEA forced me (upgraded as a Gold DM member) to repack my bags on the ramp while everyone watched, so as to smash a purse into a carryon for the "2 piece" rule. Having had my doubts about him from a previous flight experience I announced that he was the direct cause of my disaffiliation from that ghastly airline after 40 years of loyal flying with them.

Never again.

My memories go back quite far on EA. My grandparents would fly JFK to MIA on EAL and they took...Super Connies. I loved to watch those things start up since the piston engines spewed smoke and fire each time they turned over. After the pilot got all four pistons going, he ran them up and they off they went. I could watch all of this from the excellent viewing area on top of the terminal wing from where they left. I was a regular when it came to dropping off or picking up my parents/grandparents at the airport.

Can anyone remember when EAL sold student IDs for $1 which got you 50% off any fare (standby)? I remember buying one. They expanded the program later to include confirmed reservations for 66% of the standard fare.

I flew EAL twice in my life. The first time was in the late 60's, when I took an EAL Lockheed Electra from RDU to JFK. My father's TA had booked it as an economy fare but since it was a "prop" plane, the ticket was booked in first class (at that time, prop and jet were two different fare classes). So, I puddle jumped up to JFK in the back of an Electra.

The second time I flew EAL was on a DC-8 charter which took a me and the rest of my team down to IAH for a college varsity game. I got to sit in the jump seat on that flight as it was landing at IAH, and it was very very cool.
The only other thing I remember about that flight was that we had a near miss with another jetliner just after take-off. We didn't realize what had happened until 5 minutes after the event.

Smiling Faces
Going places on Eastern Airlines!

This was an Eastern advertising jingle from my childhood circa 1968-69. Anyone remember THAT ONE? :D As my family flew primarily transcontinental / international, we never flew Eastern. We flew its competitor, National Airlines, when we visited an aunt & uncle in Palm Beach biannually. Otherwise, we were United / Pan Am / TWA people.

Onepass
 

I believe was formed when the holding company of CO bought EA. The reason it was called onepass is because you could get flights on either CO or EA with it . I used to have a onepass card with both the CO and EA logo's on it . (I still have a luggage claim check from EA) .

IIRC it was related to Eastern's assimilation by CO being the last of those airlines listed as other choices, or maybe it was "which airline was not assimilated by CO in the 1980s?" or some such thing.

I remembered it as one of the qualifying questions. I'll look at the qualifying quiz when I'm back in MSY.

I still have my National T-shirts "I'm SUPERG1955 - Fly me". Now that was a semi-risque ad campaigh for it's time.

(Wish I could still fit into them)

Eastern Frequent Traveler Bonus
 

It was the Eastern Frequent Traveler Bonus Program, and according to this 1983 ad, included TWA, British Caledonian (!) and SAS as partners.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?ni...g=3033,1175102

I remember my family having that seating arrangement, it would have been in 1970, from somewhere on the west coast to somewhere in the southeast. We had flown back from Asia, our flight was late, and they held the plane and those seats for us. Not sure if it was Eastern or not, I think it was a 707, but nor positive about that either, although it was a jet. Does anyone remember if any other airlines had facing seats with a table at at the front of a jet in that time frame? Pics would be great too, if they still exist.

WN used to have the facing seats, as late as around 1999 or 2000......but without the table.

WN's "lounge" seating existed well into the current decade. The last WN flight I had on an aircraft with those seats was around late 2003 or early 2004. On many of the 733s and 735s it only went away as the aircraft were converted to the current leather seat covers, and the other interior fittings were upgraded/replaced.

Originally Posted by SS255
I also remember that on at least one of their aircraft (don't know which one) they had the party seats in Row 1 which faced Row 2, with a table in between.

It must have been Eastern in the late 70's. Family affair - Parents flew PHL-PHX through ATL, Aunt/Uncle flew FLL-PHX through ATL. Played bridge on that table from ATL-PHX. Fond memories.

I was too young, never got to fly Eastern. :(

I swear I sat in seats like that on United, SFO-OGG, in '91. Does that count as my one and only flight in F?

I miss Eastern as well. I used to fly them a lot as a kid.

Plus I just priced a ticket to Disney World.

I was not aware that Eastern offered the unlimited rate. I was originally from Pittsburgh and moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1981. If I knew of the unlimited rate, I certainly would have used it. Allegheny had the Liberty Fare, and MohawK had "Weekends Unlimited" for $36.67 including tax, which I frequently used. When EAL came out with the Weekender Club I used that until the time they went out of business. In the last few years I almost always had a One Pass Elite upgrade, even on the weekend fare.

I taped the Farewell To Eastern program that Ann Bishop did on Miami Channel 10. I probably should traqnsfer it to a DVD.

I still have a few EAL timetables, and a bump voucher that I received the month before they were liquidates.