+HDCam Vids I most likely flew with your grand father if he was on the 757. EAL was a great airline and I was proud to be there and loved going to work. No airline before or since has equaled EAL,s service and quality and on time dependability . Say hello to your grand father from one EAL pilot to another. If you ever get the bug to fly your grand father is one of the highest qualified people to teach you. It was and still is a great career. Have a great day.
Dad worked at Eastern Air Lines from May 1945 till he retired in 1966 a foreman in Aircraft Electronics Maintenance.....grew up on those planes....when I was young Dad would tell me how safe his planes were; said they triple checked all systems after each landing before they let that bird get back in the air....those were the good years for Eastern.....glad he didn't live to see its' demise.....would've broken his heart. He was so proud of Eastern.
I remember having to get dressed up to pick grandmother up at the airport , it seemed so luxurious. The pilots were like astronauts and the cabin crew were incredible in every way. Not so much anymore
In the '70s you wore your Sunday best on the plane. I work in San Diego and I see people get on wearing shorts and flip flops. Airlines have cut costs and services to attract a larger volume with frequent flights on 737 and A320s. This generation is used to it. Who would have thought that an airline would charge $100 for a carry-on?
TheConcorden TC Not in my experience, at least not on U.S. based airlines. Maybe you fly Middle Eastern or Far East based airlines. They have a MUCH better reputation than their U.S. counterparts.
Eastern was a great airline. I remember my first flight on Eastern was from San Juan to JFK on their new L-1011 in 1974. I still have the wings the stewardess gave me. I loved flying before deregulation & nothing beat the jumbo jets of the 1970s. Thanks for posting this & thank you Eastern Airlines for some great flying memories.
I had a blast working for EAL, The Wings of Man, for a couple of years. We took over Braniff South & Central America routes while I was there (SFO). I left Eastern for AirCal, bought by American, and we took over Eastern's South and Central America routes, (I was at HDQ and part of the Airport team) - my old SFO Supervisor (Red) was top dog at MIA, stopped into see him on my way to Bogota. Some great people across the board - and the history of commercial aviation, pretty amazing!
Oh I remember that. The excitement of expanding our flight routes to South America & those layovers in SFO at the Canterberry Hotel on Sutter Street… just a few blocks from the Wharf!!! Those were the days❤❤❤
Yeah. Back then all they had were noisy, inefficient turbo jets. Then when noise regulations started, they developed the high bypass turbo fan that shrouds the combustion in a column of lower velocity air while still being more efficient for the same thrust.
+cmtmj2006 The only airline that gives out snacks anymore is Southwest; the other airlines have cut out food service altogether, because some airlines have faced major budget cuts over the last 25+ years. Some airlines you're lucky to even get a beverage.
Food service on flights may suck today compared to what it used to be. But when you compare the overall experience of flying to the cost, you'll find we have it better now. Adjusting for inflation, we're paying half to fly as we did 40 years ago. With the money you save, you can eat a really nice meat before and after your flight. And we now have our own personal TV screens on major airlines. We can watch movies, TV shows, or monitor the flight status, (something passengers could only dream of back in the day).
I also have fond memories of Eastern as it was the official airline of Walt Disney World in the 70's. They even had a ride at Disney I believe it was in Tomorrow Land. I flew on one of their L-1011's as a teenager in '77 from MIA to JFK through heavy thunderstorms. Other planes of theirs that I flew on quite a few times were the DC-8, DC-9 and the popular 727.....
I was in An Eastern Commercial in the year (approx) 1969 - on the runway in TPA - they brought lots of us from MIA to be in it - would love to find that one! It was when I was young and beautiful! LOL
South Florida will never be the same without Eastern,National and Pan Am. I remember before deregulation American Airlines had no presence in the southeast USA.
Having worked in the airline business for 7 years in the 90s, I get very melancholy watching these old ads. Frank Lorenzo was the worst thing to happen to that industry. Every airline he ever managed either went out of business or filed Chapter 11. I have no doubt that he has a reserve seat in hell. May he rot there forever!
My dad worked for Eastern for 27 years until Frank Lorenzo bankrupted the once proud airline. You are right about Frank Lorenzo - over 20 years later and our family still can't utter that name. Eastern was the first "Official Airline" and they were that of Walt Disney World when it first opened. Our family was so proud to be a part of that airline...what a shame that greed tore it apart.
Margie B I'm very sorry to hear about what happened to your father. Yes, Lorenzo was squarely to blame but he didn't act alone. As early as the mid 70s, when Frankie purchased Texas Air Int'l (and before deregulation), the CAB which was responsible for determining routes and fares for all airlines, allowed Lorenzo to set low fares on all routes Texas Air flew in order to break TA's unions. The fact is, the CAB got too chummy with Lorenzo when in fact it should have barred him from the industry. And Wall St bankers also helped him take over Eastern. Eastern's assets at the time were worth over $2.5 billion and yet Lorenzo was able to buy it for a paltry $615 million. About the only good thing that one can say about that whole mess is that after Lorenzo was removed as CEO from Eastern after the latter finally declared bankruptcy is that he was banned from the industry for life but by then the damage had already been done. Happy New Year!
Please don't defend him...I realize Lorenzo didn't act alone, but he was the CEO and should have been ethical in his dealings. The biggest sham was how he bought all the computers/equipment for Continental from the Eastern entity and charged Eastern back huge amounts to use their own stuff. Ridiculous - and a huge catalyst for the downfall of a great airline and their bankruptcy, as they didn't have any assets left. My dad got next to nothing of the pension he had worked hard to earn.
Margie B My dear lady, I can assure you I am not defending Lorenzo. I despise the man with every fiber of my being. He was one of the biggest proponents of deregulation and he did more to destroy the industry than any other person and his legacy can still be felt today. He began the concept of fare wars which have now become so common today. I mention the CAB because they were supposed to protect the industry from his ilk but instead got too chummy with him and basically allowed him to do what he wanted. The CAB should never have allowed him to buy Texas Air and should never have approved his low fares. Lorenzo could never have gotten away with what he did without the help of the CAB, Lorenzo was a bastard who deserves to rot in hell for all the lives he destroyed,
Anyone remember when Eastern sponsored "If You had Wings..." at EPCOT on the Disney World complex? It soon became "If You Could Fly", and then it just vanished into something obscure...but to me that was the best motion ride at EPCOT. Never should have gotten rid of it...but then again, Eastern went belly-up too. I miss that so much.
Albert Owen, If you had wings wasnt at Epcot, it was one of the original rides in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom of WDW when it opened in 1971 (epcot did not open until 1985). The If you had wings ride was always one of my favorites, sadly it was closed in the late 80s. The Buzz Lightyear ride now sits in its place. Fun Fact: the Buzz Lightyear ride track is the same track used on If you had wings (so in that aspect, IYHW is sort of still alive).
It was an awesome exhibit...a bit tame for people these days - I believe it was in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom. My dad flew for Eastern at the time and I was lucky to miss a day of school and go on one of his trips to Orlando and spend a day there during his layover. Most likely shortly after it opened in early 1972...What an adventure!
My first flight ever was on Eastern back in the early 80s. Round trip from Nashville to Boston. Even got a decent lunch served in economy. I remember looking down the aisle and seeing the cockpit door wide open throughout the entire flight. Nowadays, no food and the cockpit door is like a bank vault door.
Hey Eric it is a DC-8!! Eastern Airlines had many DC-8s back in the day. You can tell by the 2 air scoops at the lower sides of the nose, which form a "V" shape. 707s did not have this. You can salute my greatness another time. Lol!
They took the shot of those boys on the observation deck over concourse C at Miami International Airport. Back in the 60s, the airport charged a dime to go up there. I never paid. I just slipped under the turnstile. You could stay up there as long as you wished. I've spent many hours of my childhood watching planes at that exact location. Grew up and worked for Eastern as an A&P mechanic from '72 until they closed the doors in '89. I loved it and still miss it.
I had to watch this video . I worked at the Pittsburgh International Airport cleaning Eastern's seating , baggage claim and Ionosphere Club . Frank Lorenzo did a job on this Air Line ! . I do miss all the excitement there , the Airport itself is now gone . Ray in Pa.
I had flown with 727 so many times . I was kid but i can say it was never quiet:) specialy when you were boarding below the tail. B727 was the best in its time. Legend
Eastern Airlines, the only airline that had "Whisperjets!" By the way, as far as EAL TV spots go, in the film "Three Days of The Condor" in a scene with Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway in her apartment, there was an Eastern Airlines television commercial playing at one point when Redford turned on the TV looking for a local news program.
I remember flying on eastern as a KID!! Round trips in 1971, 1977 and 1980 between Pittsburgh and Fort Lauderdale. We were visiting my grandparents in FL. Among the planes I was on were the 727 and the dc-9. I may have been on a dc-8 in '71, but I was too young to remember for sure. Great Airline!!
Back in the "good old days" the only thing I hated was the smoking, as I did not smoke, man, that was really bad, but all else was MARVELOUS, sorry that none of today's young people will never experience what we old folks did.
I don't know why but I always get this weird Nostalgia by seeing old images and videos of 70s,80s,90s even though I never lived through any of those years.
It's almost not even "nostalgia" as such. In times as conservative and traditionalistic as our own, it's like a reminder that things once weren't that way, and might be different now, and could still be different in the future if we just freed our minds again. It's looking back at a time when people looked forward.
My father who worked for eastern airlines, won a contest to name eastern airlines newest , quietest, jet the "whisperjet" was his idea! My mother won a mink stole and he won a gold watch.
Travel back in the days before airplanes became the Greyhounds of the air. People didn't show up to the airport in tank tops, flip flops and pajama bottoms. Airlines served actual food. We've come a long way in some respects as a society, but I long for the manners and elegance of the past.
You should have heard all the jokes about "airline food" especially starting in the 1970s. The "manners and elegance of the past" disappeared as a result of deregulation of the airline industry in the U.S. in 1978. During regulation, there were pretty much only two types of seats on an airliner, the expensive seats (coach) and the REALLY expensive seats (1st class).
I believe Pan Am - brought up in South Florida and worked for EAL but remembering going to my first "fly up" when my cousin became a Pan Am flight attendant - the home office for boht was NYC at the time - :)
Guy Williams That's great...my dad is 77 too - he flew all those plus a few others. Finished up at United after Eastern's demise. Made captain there too before he retired. I have two brothers that followed in his footsteps; one at United, one at American. They all got to fly together once...my brother was actually the Captain and my dad was 1st Officer and my other brother flew the jumpseat. United wrote an article about it because it was the first time the son was in the left seat bossing his father around - LOL...
Additionally, I also had an abnormal fear of oven mitts and riding through automated car washes...would just freak out and cry in terror...was probably disturbed by oven mitts because of the weird shape with a thumb but no fingers and car washes because I was trapped inside of a dark,enclosed space with all kinds of giant mops and brushes coming at me...at the ages of 3,4 or 5, disturbing things like that can be pretty damn' scary...
Today, flying is like riding in a cattle car with those wonderful new "flight attendants". I'm old enough to remember the past and it was a joy to go flying back then
The late '60s and early '70s Eastern Airlines tv ads picturing the silhouetted figure of the standing man with pointy ears, used to scare the hell out of me and make me cry when I was little...used to call him The Eastern Man and he became one of my nighttime bogeymen at a tender, impressionable age because it was such a disturbing image I was too young to understand...The Santa Fe Lady with the fur hat and spooky eyes holding a microphone and reporting from a railroad crossing, freaked me out back then too...it was her eyes more than anything else because she always seemed to be looking sideways rather than straight ahead and that kinda creeped me out...
I flew Eastern from Houston to NYC in 1989 at the very end before it went bankrupt in 1991. I was very impressed with the service and even the food. I always wondered why such a great airline was going bankrupt, so today I found out that Eastern might fly again and I think it's great, I cant wait to fly again on Eastern Airlines
Those little "brats" were fortunate enough to grow up in a time when the USA was proud of its achievements, and those kids could look forward to a fulfilling life, achieving their dreams.
The faithful EAL "workhorse", 727! Amazing times shared with amazing people.Do I remember the first Acapulco and San Juan flights! Also the times were EAL had 446 flights daily out of Atlanta!
The "straight-pipe" non-fan '8s shown here would have been DC-8-21s. The original batch even had an oil transfer system just like the DC-7s, which they deactivated before too long once they figured out that jet engines didn't use (lose) oil like a recip did.
My Dad worked at Eastern at Miami from early 1950's on and off till they closed. He last was an instructor. Richard Bertolina...lots of great memories flying with eastern.
oh, fantastic ! nothing like this today at all.......those two kids remind me of myself and my old paisan in the 60s watching those new jets ! Then I ended a flying career as a pilot on the old B727 and feel privileged
As an Eastern regular since middle school, I too was disappointed that a GREAT airline was mismanaged into the ground. Today, even first class domestic travel is unexciting. The crew aooard my AA trip was great but exclusivity of the cabin with the curtain pulled open the entire trip could have been any LLC out there.I miss The Wings of Man days!
flying back then was a glamorous event. Everybody dressed up in there best. Now these days most people flying look like there dressed to do chores around the house.
+Gilbert Menendez No jeans, shorts, sandals, beatnik look. They would refuse service to anyone dressed like a hippie, instead of Sunday church style suitcoats and dresses.
Love the spots! I think many of them were done by Y&R before 'Wings of Man'--which I assume you couldn't access. You also have the very early 'We earn our wings' with Borman done by Campbell-Ewald, where I worked on the EA account the year before the strike and Chapter 11.
i love and really miss eastern great planes service,,what happened................my first airline i flew on back when i was 14-15 years old from florida to boston and back miss those days
I felt like a King when my dad pick me and brothers up from Dominican Republic, 1974, and we flew Easter Airlines. I was 8 years old. Then he took us to a fancy restaurant. (Burger King)
I worked at the general office at the airport in Miami, in the computer department in the 70's. I remember when we had to show how fast we could disembark a full 747. We had 50 seconds, if I remember correctly. We weren't able to do it and I got a burn mark from putting down my arm on the slide!
In the good old days, flying was an upper middle class and above thing. Easy credit cards for the masses and Walmart pricing have ruined air travel. There were no daily SJW meltdowns on airplanes because upper middle class flyers were too busy being classy and upper middle class and well behaved for meltdowns.
Easy access to credit cards did not "ruin" air travel, government deregulation in the 1970s did. And you know what? In spite of all the hassles modern air travelers have to face, at least the application of free-market principles has worked to the public's benefit by making flying more accessible to the common man. Anyone who wants to be sugared and given high-quality service merely has to shell out more money for first-class.
Not remembering much about the '60s, I'd point out that the whole "postmodern" thing is a matter of poking fun at the way people were on TV in the '60s. OTOH, things are both a lot more austere and a little more relaxed now. People might've worn suits and dresses to fly, but I wouldn't remember, not having ridden a plane until the '80s. My dad would fly on business trips in a suit and tie, but then I think he was dressed for whatever business function he was going to, or maybe just wearing the suit and tie he wore to work that day. That generation of men wore suits and ties with no real problem because they felt a sense of ownership. Generations from the Boomers onward haven't felt that, but also haven't been allowed to develop new things that fulfill that function. Either they dive in completely in neotraditional/postmodern mode (which has gone on about 30 years too long) or they just chuck it and wear a T-shirt and cargo pants or something.
remeber when flying was a fun experience? the stewardess were nice, pretty woman, classy passengers used to dress nice , we were treated almost like royalty or celebrities no matter what class we traveled in.. drinks and meals included as a kid in the 70s my little brother traveled once a month pretty nice stewardess sat with us most of the flight. now we are treated like cattle or criminals charged for every little thing felted up frisked x rayed id never allow any kid travel alone these days.. and prefer an 8 hour drive vs 45 min flight unless it was an emergency lol i know times have changed so security is important now more than ever.. but we should still get the good service , pretty stewardesses. they should get paid well so they like their jobs i just dont see as many happy employees in the airlines like i used to. they were always dressed well, now they wear pants instead of skirts, hats, and remember the go- go boots lol
My sister was a flight attendant with Eastern from 1977 - 1987 when they closed down. It was a great company to work for. She had excellent benefits and wages.
It is utterly shocking when you think of it…..Lobster Newburg available in coach! I remember taking the Eastern 707 to Acapulco every year as a kid, had seats facing each other.
My Mother was an Eastern stewardess in the 60's and 70;s and we flew everywhere on Eastern via buddy passes. Eastern in its heyday was the best airline out there to bad unions came along and destroyed it!
I remember that commercial -- it was from their "You Gotta Believe! Fly Eastern." TV campaign. Unfortunately, the camera starts panning Faye Dunaway's dreary photographs on the wall instead of showing the whole commercial!
Rumors have it, Eastern will return. I read an article in the wallstreet journal about it in 2009. I can't wait to follow in my Grandads shoes soon and earn my wings everyday.
No, that is not Jack Webb. It is, though, a well known character actor from the 60s and I just can't recall his name. Can see his face clearly, just can't think of his name off hand.
My family and I flew Eastern many times to San Juan, Puerto Rico in the late 60's- early 80"s. The world is a different place now. It used to be that you had to go to a travel agent to purchase tickets. Now everyone books their own flights on Orbitz, Priceline or Cheapflights.com and still people complain about everything. People used to dress up when they traveled. No one does that these days.
"E Pluribus Unum - One From Many. "This is the miracle we celebrate today. One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We celebrate not the final achievement, for there is still much to be achieved. We celebrate the promise. The progress. The hope." I never knew Ted Sorensen wrote airline commercials.
