WSVN TV Channel 7 News at 10pm Eastern Airlines Shutdown Coverage January 18, 1991 

Lorenzo has a special corner in Hell for this.

I used Eastern Airlines only 3 times in my life. 1970 to meet my grandparents in 🇵🇷 as an infant. 1981 Florida vacation with my father. 1985 2 months visit at grandma’s place in 🇵🇷. Too bad it went down. Many Puerto Ricans used that airline.

The Eastern Airlines story reminds me of TV-AM in the UK. In the late 80s, the laborers went on strike, but were soon locked out by their boss. TV-AM would go out of business in 1992 after losing their license in an auction.

Good to have you back, uploading miami clips, it's been awhile.

Sad what happened to that company. Everyone pointing the finger but no one wanted to accept their part of the problems much less embrace solutions.

My dad was lucky. He had only just gotten a job as a second officer the year before flying the L-1011 Tristar. He was able to get a job with Delta eventually making Captain flying the Tristar again. After 30 years with Delta he was finally able to retire. He was very fortunate. A lot of his older friends practically lost their pensions. Sad.

Back when news agencies reported facts, not opinions, actually investigated, and provided honorable prefessions. I wonder if we'll ever see that again.

So sad im still weeping.😢

Hard to see how the Gulf War killed 3 US airlines Eastern, Midway, and most notably Pan Am

This was the first of the two saddest days in the history of Miami International Airport both within the same year (1991). Eastern shut down on this day and PanAm would follow suit 11 months later. Had it not been for the insight of then American Airlines CEO Robert Crandall to buy Eastern’s Latin American & Caribbean Market and in turn, make MIA a critical hub for American Airlines, MIA would cease to exist. Michael Williams (the field reporter in this video and younger brother of NBC News Alum Brian Williams) is now the Evening News Co-Anchor at WPTV News Channel 5 (NBC-West Palm Beach).

Eleven months later another icon left the stage - PAN AM

I left EAL in 1984 after 10 years. I knew they wouldn't last. Terrible management and unions did them in.

Tough night.

I remember watching these 2 when I was stationed at Homestead AFB in the 90's. I always had the hots for Kelly Craig on WTVJ.

All 3 commercial airliners went out of business all in one year. First, it was Eastern Air Lines. Then, Midway Airlines. Next, Pan Am shut down.

I flew the last 757 into DCA that night.

Makes one wonder how Airlines survive now days especially with high oil prices. I remember when Eastern Airlines went under.

Looks like WSVN found that Jordan Greene clown over by the fence taking pictures of all the shiny planes taking off and landing. I guess that made him an "airline analyst."

Frank Lorenzo destroyed Eastern and upstreamed all their good assets to Continental.

Sad day😢. Came shortly after Pan Am shut down on the 4th😢. Sad days with more to come.

Eastern was my way to Puerto Rico and Florida back in the 80's great airline. Having to use American after they went out of business was disheartening.

Lol.."The Unions are bragging but now they have no payroll!" It's a fine balancing act. And not every company can manage it. The one's that can, soar.

What was a the last fligth eastern airlines in Miami airport?

This lead to the eventual acquisition of the vast majority of the gates by American.

The main reason the airline went down was because of Frank Lorenzo and his union busting and greed and selfishness.

It was Frank Lorenzo did this make no mistake about that.

Frank Lorenzo did this.

Thanks to fkn war of Israel and Iran and all those idiots we always fall that it’s BS tbh with you this shouldn’t happen we don’t have to pay that price as a airline employee it’s hard to believe that bull crap we pray and hope we don’t have to get thru that again I wish peace to this world no more war and let’s work together to make it better let’s vote for better leaders

Eastern Airlines Iconic Pop Culture Atlanta Georgia Hub Headquarters Not Miami Florida I Still Have Eastern Airlines System Timetable From 1990 Before Shut Cease Operations In 1991

For me what killed Eastern Airlines was management being too militaristic in their leadership style dating back to the leadership of Rickenbacker and Borman and the distrust of management by the unions and workforce of Eastern. The distrust of management got much worse after Frank Lorenzo’s Texas International brought the company in 1986 but was there years before. I am sorry to say this but without Frank Lorenzo’s though leadership in the 1980s, Continental Airlines would of declared bankruptcy in the years immediately following 9/11 and it might of went out of business by the late 1990s. This is because Frank Lorenzo knew that in order for Continental Airlines to compete with Airlines such as Southwest and People Express, Continental had to cut costs and fares in the 1980s in order for it to survive. Could Frank Lorenzo of done a better job with his rank and file employees. Yes of course because he should of been more willing to work with the unions rather than playing the blame game at Eastern and Continental. Also I think that Frank Lorenzo could of been more human, had more empathy towards his workers, and more understanding of the pain that his policies were causing the rank and file employees at Texas International, Eastern and Continental. Plus Frank Lorenzo should of done a heck of a lot more to come up with a deal with its Machinists union, especially after those talks went into mediation in the late 1980s. Also selling the good assets of Eastern as a threat to the unions was not a good idea because it caused not only low morale amongst the workers but it helped lead to Eastern’s ultimate downfall in 1991. Well that and all of the strikes that Eastern had had over the decades which you can partly blame on the unions because they didn’t understand that the airline industry had changed after airline deregulation. However if you really want to blame someone for your wages being slashed and for you and your fellow workers losing jobs in the airline industry since the late 1970s blame former US Senator of Nevada Howard Cannon for introducing the bill that deregulated the airline industry in 1978. The of of the main reason why Cannon introduced the bill was in order to help Las Vegas and Reno area’s increase their tourism numbers, which airline deregulation did in massive numbers. Weather airline deregulation really lowed airfares is still a matter of massive debate. If airline deregulation didn’t happen in the late 1970s it would of happened during Reagan‘s Presidency because deregulation of industries was a major part of Reagan‘s platform. So deregulation had a much more major impact to the airline industry in the 1980s than anyone executive of an airline including Frank Lorenzo. If it wasn’t for deregulation what Frank Lorenzo did at Continental wouldn’t of had the impact that it has had ever since. Weather you agree with what he did or not.