Eastern’s old livery on a Boeing 767. The airline’s livery has since been revised in line with the carrier’s new brand. (Photo: BriYYZ – https://www.flickr.com/photos/bribri/48170922371/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80358737)
By Daniel Morley
Eastern Airlines Announces New Routes
The new Eastern Airlines has announced four new routes to its quickly growing route map. The third incarnation of the Eastern brand has been operating charter flights as well as limited scheduled passenger flights since relaunching operations in 2018. In an Instagram post on November 6., the airline announced three international and one domestic route. No information has been released when the flights will begin or the planned schedule.
Eastern will operate three new flights from Port-au-Prince to New York’s JFK Airport, Philadelphia, and Boston Logan. In addition to international flights, the airline will launch a domestic route between Philadelphia and the airline’s spiritual home in Miami. No further information on when these flights will begin or which aircraft will be used on the new routes.
According to the airline’s website, the airline operates scheduled flights from New York’s JFK to Guayaquil, Ecuador, and Georgetown, Guyana, as well as from Miami to Georgetown and Guayaquil. Also, the airline operates charter flights for various operators. Earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic, the airline played a part in returning Americans from South America and the Caribbean as borders shut down.
Although not announced, the airline filed for twice-weekly flights between Boston and Miami. In the same filing, the airline also dropped announced twice-weekly flights between New York and Los Cabos, Mexico. The flights were due to start in mid-November, however, since being announced the route has become highly competitive with both American and Delta Air Lines operating the route over the winter with higher frequencies than Eastern. Neither of these route adjustments has been announced by the airline.
This Eastern Airlines is the third incarnation of the famed Eastern name. The first was a major airline in the United States from 1926 to 1991 which collapsed due to mismanagement. The second Eastern was launched in 2015 and based in Miami, and planned to operate charter flights as well as scheduled flights to South America. However, the airline failed to make much impact on the market and was purchased by Swift Air.
The owners of Swift Air decided to use the Eastern brand to rebrand Dynamic International Airways, which is also owned by Swift Air. Currently, the airline has ten Boeing 767 and three Boeing 777 aircraft. In an exclusive interview with AirlineGeeks, CEO Steve Harfst believes that the 777 will allow the airline to expand into new long-haul charter and scheduled markets. Currently, no formal plans have been announced for their 777’s; for the airlines newly announced routes, Eastern will likely utilize their current fleet of 767 aircraft.
Daniel has always had aviation in his life; from moving to the United States when he was two, to family vacations across the U.S., and back to his native England. He currently resides in South Florida and attends Nova Southeastern University, studying Human Factors in Aviation. Daniel has his Commercial Certificate for both land and sea, and hopes to one day join the major airlines.