Bankrupt - Eastern Airlines

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After evolving from a aeronautical company in the mid 1920's, to a major airline along the United State East Coast by the 40's, Eastern Airlines was an iconic brand name that only grew larger by the year. With a massive fleet of state of the art aircraft and service spanning multiple countries, it seemed there was no stopping this massive airline. However it all came crashing down by the late 90's and saw the brand name disappear entirely by the early 90's following a devastating bankruptcy. Join me today as we take a look at the rise and fall of this once revered airline.
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Bright Sun Films 2024
Presented in 4K

[@copywriternj]

My dad was an Eastern pilot, hired by Eddie Rickenbacker right after WWII. I took his last flight with him on an L1011 the day before his 60th birthday, which was the legally required retirement age at that time. It never occurred to me that Eastern and other legacy airlines like Pan Am and TWA would go out of business. The airline industry has changed so much in the last three or so decades...and in my humble opinion, not for the better. I miss those days. Miss those airlines. And most of all, I miss my father.

[@AirbusA--si4kw]

The state of US carriers these days is such a shame. There are still many airlines in East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East that offer fantastic service. Just look at Emirates and Singapore Airlines, for example. Great food, comfortable seats, hospitable crew, excellent inflight entertainment, etc., all included in economy class.

[@28ebdh3udnav]

Safety wise, yes, it's a lot safer. Quality, heck no

[@GlycerinZ]

I miss my father more than anyything

[@theghostoftravel]

@@28ebdh3udnav quality is fine, when was the last time you were in an incident?

[@The_Ossifrage]

@@theghostoftravel They probably mean quality of service, not the aircraft. That's mainly due to how much more affordable flights are now, so they're far more commercial. A regular flight service in the 80s or 90s would be more comparable to Business class today, I imagine.

[@hozerius5590]

My father worked for Eastern for 23 years and I remember he was getting ready to go into work in 1991 when he got the phone call that the company had shut down. He was in the shower. My mom answered the phone. She said let me get him and you can talk to him (my dad) and they just said just tell him not to bother coming in. My mom told him when he got out of the shower. He called them and confirmed it and I remember him just sitting on the edge of his bed for awhile afterward. Things were hard for several years afterwards and it affected him for the rest of his life. I believe the stress from it and the life after it played a huge part in him dying only 9 years later.

[@utubewatcher806]

I'm sorry to hear that. My last Eastern ride was to a job interview in 1988. I recall thinking how "used" and worn the seats appeared and how sloven they were overall. Eastern had its Columbia to Miami to NYC routes, though, which was a boon for certain travelers.

[@vincentsolomitajr4029]

Sorry to hear that!

[@davedave5787]

Unless you are a principal of a business you never fall in love! They will not love you Ever, sad your dad was sad.

[@copywriternj]

My dad had retired (in 1976) well before the worst of this, but when the airline went bankrupt, he lost half his pension. Only the part insured under ERISA remained. To say the least, it made things difficult for he and my mom. Overall, the whole thing was so sad for so many. I understand how hard this hit your dad...not just financially, but emotionally. Once upon a time, many were with the same company for most if not all or their working lives. And I remember that it was as much a family and an employer. The company picnics and so much more. I'm so very sorry for what happened to your dad. It no doubt has left a big hole in your heart.

[@ozzielinkin]

and lorenzo got a 40 million dollar exit package . sheeeshhhh

[@mrrpepsi24]

It always amazes me how a CEO runs a company into the ground, but still gets their PAY !!

[@bobroberts2371]

You could always volunteer to be a CEO at a shaky company that needs rescued and work for nothing.

[@19ate4]

Destruction with no regard for what comes next

[@veloraloves]

Because they are paid to infiltrate businesses and then destroy it from the inside through short selling. It's the same bankruptcy model being used in the corporate takeovers of all the huge companies we've been seeing. Boeing is next...watch.

[@cwshawk]

Golden parachutes abound!

[@scottparker1741]

*Their pay

[@Wemfsh]

The airline videos are always the best ones

[@JoshuaPaolini]

Yea they are.

[@NHSSHINOBI]

His Bankrupt series is the best.

[@JoshuaPaolini]

@@NHSSHINOBI They are.

[@trainguy1045realyeah]

but smudger just laughed

[@shadowmoth9158]

The 2nd episode about premier cruise lines is still in top 3. Idk what place they’d go in terms of ranking but yeah… pan am, TWA, eastern and premier cruise lines are the top 4

[@0518Purple]

My father was a pilot, and mother a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines. I have lots of memorabilia from Eastern. It was truly one of the best airlines. Until it was purchased and the money was misused. Anyway, my mother and father are both in their 90’s now. They love watching airline videos. Will show them this one for sure. Thank you.

[@TrainGuru]

I was watching a video about Eastern Airlines flight 401, and thought “Bright Sun Films should really do a video about their bankruptcy.” Major Deja vu here lol.

[@AustinMcGrannLive]

Same!!!

[@AdamBorseti]

No, no, this is Vu Ja De! 😂

[@dclikemtndew]

That is called a coincidence, not Deja vu.

[@piedpiper1172]

@@dclikemtndewHow about you de ja these nuts!

[@richardgelber2740]

The movie was a made-for-TV film that aired on ABC, I think only twice, titled "The Ghost of Flight 401" and starred Ernest Borgnine. This crash was largely responsible for a new discipline in aviation, known as "cockpit resource management."

[@hgman3920]

The 1987 film Wall Street featured a plot line where the corporate raider characters in the film tried to take over a struggling airline, which was very a case of art imitating real life

[@renardfranse]

Hey Blue Star!!!!!! LOL

[@georgeandritsakis1482]

They even mention Texas Air 😁

[@jeremy1350]

Hi Jake. I grew up in Miami, from 1972 onwards. Originally from New Britain Ct, we used Eastern Airlines to go back and forth. The famed 727 was the North East Work horse back then. In 1981, when my dad's mum had a stroke, we flew one of the first A-300's northbound. The plane was empty, so we were upgraded to 1st class, pretty snazzy for a kid my age. I was in 8th grade. That was the last Eastern Airlines flight I would ever take. Somewhere in the archives of the Miami Herald, is a shot of a widebody Eastern Airline plane, back where their hangers used to be, on the back lot of MIA. The doors and cargo doors were open, and the plane was left there to rot. The shot is in the old black and white stock. I haven't seen that photo in a very long time, but it does exist. Back in the late 70's and early 80's Eastern had the market on the North East Corridor. Where American Airlines sits now in MIA, is where Eastern used to be. You would drive into the airport, up to the arrivals deck, and Eastern was the first airlines you would come to at the top of the ramp. They had a huge operation at MIA with the hub being moved there. The entire, I guess (Eastern end of the airport) because the airport was a kind of oblong horse shoe shape, and you drove around it to the exit end, is where Eastern housed its operations. My uncle Tommy worked for Eastern his whole life, as a machinist. They had good service and we always flew them back home, when I was a kid.

[@thirstly]

Thank you so much for sharing with us!

[@VGHSyntheticOrchestra]

My dad lived between there and Hartford from '64 to '94. I was born in Bristol in 1994.

[@creeguyvernon]

727 Whisper Jet 😁 the PW Jt8D did not whisper 😉

[@jeremy1350]

@@VGHSyntheticOrchestra I was born in New Britain, in 1967, at NB General Hospital. My Uncle Leo and his family lived in Bristol.

[@MrAsmith1583]

Both my uncles worked for Eastern. They immigrated to the Atlanta area in the late 70's from the Philippines. They prepped the plane between flights by vacuuming, cleaning, replacing pillows and blankets, cleaning the bathroom and of course emptying the sewage tank. They were so PROUD to be working for Eastern and I distinctly remember they had been worried for a while that the company may go under and they would lose their jobs. Thankfully, after the company went under they were able to get jobs at Delta. One of my uncles retired after being the head of customer service in ATL and my other uncle is still with Delta in ORD.

[@nagasako7]

$30m golden parachute in 80s is crazy

[@marsoelflaco5722]

🪂

[@Erik_The_Viking]

That was an INSANE amount of money back then.

[@marsoelflaco5722]

@Erik_The_Viking It's an insane amount for today, especially for screwing up.😉

[@relwalretep]

Cocaine's a hell of a drug

[@markm-ci6rj]

CEOs get rewarded fpr failure constantly.

[@denisesmith2745]

Frank Lorenzo killed us at Eastern. Flight attendant there married to a captain. Sorry those of you have never heard of us at Eastern… you never knew how fabulous air travel was. Best years of my life

[@robertplatt1693]

The Wings Of Man!

[@denisesmith2745]

@@robertplatt1693 Yes, Robert!!!! Thank you for knowing!!!!

[@georgethetravelgenius1705]

I remember Eastern. I also remember how toxic y'all were in the SLC Res center. I remember connecting from Eastern to TWA and TWA was MILES above. Sadly, they folded a decade later.

[@Suisfonia]

While I do feel that Lorenzo killed it, I think government interference played a part as well.

[@dc10driver1]

I was an Eastern Pilot from 1984-89. Still hurts.

[@Official_Kezzie]

Not sure if you’re going to mention it, but my favorite fun fact about Eastern is that it was - at one point - headed by Frank Borman, who was a former astronaut. He commanded the first crewed spaceflight around the moon in ‘68.

[@averagejoejesse]

Yeah that would have been just as interesting as the Rickenbacker mention. Not sure why it was left out. On the crew of the first trip around the MOON of all things

[@glennac]

He was shown at several points in the video but not mentioned. In addition to his Apollo 8 loop around the Moon, he headed the investigation into the Apollo 13 explosion and perilous return to Earth. It was after his retirement from NASA that he became an executive at Eastern and lead the airline through its most profitable period.

[@scottparker1741]

Not sure if you’re going to watch the video before commenting ay

[@tracywilliams7929]

I saw Borman in person one time. It was here in New York. The wealthy midtown section near Central Park South at night. He was dressed in a dark expensive suit and accompanied by two executive types. I was so surprised how compact and small he was. Back then astronauts had to be short of stature for various reasons. Today, at Space Camp, I was told astronauts can be quite tall and it doesn't matter. I mentioned this and was reminded a certain pilot was well over 6 feet.

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

@@glennac I made a quick trip to Wikipedia and learned Borman led the company from 1975 to 1985. I'm not sure this was Eastern's most profitable period. The war with Delta happened under his watch, and (ironically) he purchased a bunch of expensive fuel-saving planes only to see fuel prices *fail* to rise. Borman ultimately agreed to the selling the company to Lorenzo, so he has a mixed legacy IMO.

[@elviraraff6809]

I was on the last flight from Florida to NY with a stop in Atlanta. Just before arriving at Atlanta the pilot informed us that Eastern was no more and that he officially was unemployed. With that he told us that we were stopping in Atlanta. He then said that guess what folks, this plane is based out of NY and that is where I'm taking it along with all of you. The cheers were deafening and then he said that anyone who wants a drink, its on me. Exiting the plane took forever as everyone wanted to thank the flight crew and wish them well. I still miss Eastern to this day.

[@scottparker1741]

No you weren’t

[@elviraraff6809]

@scottparker1741 Really, Scott, you are clueless. I think your mommy is calling you out of the basement.

[@amtraklover]

Hey if you're gonna go out may as well have fun with it!

[@lifevest1]

While I don't want to discredit you, wouldn't a pilot refusing to land in Atlanta after being told to do so set off warning bells with the FAA and Air Force? You'd be swarming with fighter jets after deviating.

[@elviraraff6809]

@lifevest1 We did infact land in Atlanta and since we had enough fuel we continued to NY.

[@bradcolby3624]

Frank Lorenzo was the death of Eastern. As a Miami native it was devastating for our area at the time. I worked for Delta and Eastern was constantly canceling flights and send them to us last minute with guaranteed interline tickets. They delayed our flights. Total nightmare. Executives got paid of course..

[@patanouketgersiflet9486]

Of course they got paid. Humongous amounts, despite running the company into the ground. While ground workers who did their job correctly got paid the bare minimum and ended up getting fired eventually. Responsability you say?

[@blastedmcgraw152]

My mom was a reservationist at Eastern Airlines for over 20 years. My childhood was filled flying across North America on Eastern using standby tickets she was able to get for free by working there. This airline played a huge role in who I am today. Can’t wait to watch this!!

[@baystated]

Executives always get their millions when they should instead be sent to jail.

[@robertsimon2885]

Yeah.

[@michael-michaelmotorcycle]

Thanks for getting this done Jake. I suggested this a few months back. My dad was a machinist for Eastern airlines for 28 years before they crumbled. He worked LaGuardia, Kennedy and at Miami international during his career. I remember walking the picket lines with him during the strike when I was 12-13 years old at Mia.

[@bobroberts2371]

UNION STRONG !!! They showed Eastern who is boss. . .. . .

[@jimlubinski4731]

My father worked for Eastern for many years. I worked for them through the Borman/Lorenzo disaster. I was not union, but both of those "leaders" eliminated any chance of survival for the airline. Borman used 2 sets of books, showing whichever worked to his advantage to investors and unions. When the unions found out they were being scammed, they lost all trust. Lorenzo destroyed far more airlines than just Eastern. But in Eastern's case (which was making more money than Continental at the time), he clandestinely transferred assets from Easter to Continental so that the surviving carrier was the one with weaker unions. Your treatment of this is one of the most factual I have seen. Thank you for mentioning the 30 million dollar golden parachute that Lorenzo took from a company that he put under. Also notable is that after all this, Lorenzo tried to start new airlines ("The airline builder"), one of which called ironically Friendship Airlines, but was prevented by the U.S. government.

[@scottparker1741]

No he didn’t

[@Zig_Was_Here]

Nothing says I’m old more, than when I read comments like, “I never even knew this airline existed”. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@SanchoPanza-m8m]

We've got to overhaul the educational system. I propose we kick out the woke administrators and re-introduce meritocracy and mandatory minimums. Children who fail to perform will not be promoted to the next grade. We must re-introduce a curriculum consistent with the narrative of American exceptionalism and manifest destiny, and we must do all we can to discourage Marxism, communism, progressivism, post-modernism. Lastly, we must re-stigmatize all of the weirdos who associate themselves with those anti-American ideals.

[@Cupcardriver]

My uncle was the 2nd most senior captain at Eastern Airlines. During the rough times in the 80’s, my uncle was on his normal route, PR to Mia to EWR, when the FO who clearly couldn’t or didn’t know how to read a compass almost caused a “point of no return”, my uncle thankfully caught the error (his responsibility no matter what as he is PIC). He landed immediately took sick leave for 2 months and retired with a full pension. Sadly his friends weren’t so fortunate. As a Naval aviator going directly to Eastern it was the only airline he ever flew for, but when he could no longer trust the support around him he no longer wanted to be responsible for 300 souls. He was also one of the very first pilots in the US to fly the newly minted A300. Decorated veteran and number 2 man at Eastern. God speed Uncle Norman. 🙏🏻

[@declanlacey337]

Its acutally pretty incredible that despite there being more people flying almost every single year, at how few deaths we actually see from plane crashes. In the last 22 years in the United States, only 159 people have died in commercial plane crashes. Almost 100 of which were from 2 plane crashes. And in the last 10 years, there has been 2 deaths, just 2. It makes it all the more hard to believe when you look back at a time when plane crashes were almost commonplace. Awesome video Jake.

[@LunarKiwi]

The reason is rules and regulations for the way air craft fly and are worked on are wrote in blood, if you're ever bored look through the F.A.R. (Federal Aviation Regulations) most of the rules and regulations are made form past accidents

[@Astrobucks2]

@@LunarKiwi That and technology is vastly better now.

[@CongressSux1776]

@@Astrobucks2 What difference does that make when the human aspect is heading towards its lowest point ever in the industry?? The accidents we have missed the last two decades are about to return in full swing

[@Astrobucks2]

@@CongressSux1776 Thankfully, I don't think we need humans anymore. The tech that's coming is pretty incredible. lol

[@MikeHarris1984]

After 25 episodes, I still absolutely love the bankrupt intro with the video, talking over stories, and the stock footage of Enron and other companies. Freaking love this channel

[@MrBibi86]

Isn't it just the House Of Cards theme song?

[@barrymack9516]

As a former EAL F/A there will never be another Eastern Air Lines. It was a great time in my life and i can still hear the roar of those R/R engines during takeoffs of the L1011

[@dennisud]

I lived in Miami most of my life and saw this Airline as well as National Airlines go under. The Iconic Headquarters building Torn down symbolizes Eastern's demise!

[@ItsGoz]

Yes😊

[@dc10fomin65]

I was living in Miami Lakes back then, living at Executive Apartments next to Shula's Golf Club, many Eastern people lived there as well. I remember in 91 when Eastern died they had a party like I 've never seen ,everybody was drinking but nobody was laughing, many tears, I felt so sorry for all of them!

[@RealGAaviation]

There has never been a video from this channel i haven't enjoyed. This one suits me the best. Thanks for being something i enjoy once a day.

[@BrightSunFilms]

Thanks very much, I’m super glad to hear.

[@RealGAaviation]

​@@BrightSunFilmsYour welcome

[@andrewnardelli]

My grandfather ran the tampa res office literally until they shut the doors. My grandparents both worked there for 20+ years, they lost everything the day the doors shut. Amazing video as always

[@alcosteam]

an older friend of mine had been a pilot for Eastern from the early 60's till they went bankrupt. He made alot of flights from New York down to the mexican resorts. He got to meet Eddie Rickenbacker one time, a flight attendant came to the cockpit and announced they had a special guest on board and once they landed in New York him and the crew got to chat a bit with Rickenbacker. The writing was on the wall when Lorenzo took over as those who had been around for many years figured out the investors were not there to turn things around but just in it to bleed the company broke and in reality to change the landscape of the airline industry as it went from being an experience in luxury to more a peasant class means of travel.

[@belagracie]

I was an Eastern Air Lines reservationist/ticketing manager/gate agent for their last 11 years of existence. If someone told you, “I was on the raft with Eddie” they got free/low cost air fare. It was a great place to work, and a truly great airline.

[@unr3alGaming]

Thank you for the hard work. My grandfather was a Captain for Eastern Airlines with a few different long haul narrow-body and wide-body jet airline type ratings, including the Airbus A300. Before that he was a pilot in the U.S Navy flying propellor aircraft during the Korean War, and moved into the passenger air travel business right around the dawn of the jet age. He worked for Eastern from the start of his career until a little before they went under. He told the family at the time that he could see the writing on the wall and took his retirement a few years earlier than scheduled so he could get his pension. He made the right move in doing so, as it would turn out. He loved flying, and after his retirement was still able to get some joy out of a home flight simulator setup he had until shortly before he passed away. I didn't talk to him about his career at Eastern Airlines much, which I now regret, but I'm sure with all of the decades of knowledge and experience under his belt, he would agree that the passenger and pilot experience of air travel isn't what it used to be.

[@Flies2FLL]

Eastern Airlines was destroyed by ONE man: Frank Lorenzo. Frank Borman was simply the wrong man in the wrong place. He was a former fighter pilot and astronaut who had been thrust into a game he knew NOTHING about! You would think that a classically trained pilot like him would instinctively know that he was not qualified for the job and as such turn it down, but single-seat fighter pilots are taught that they are basically god and as such he couldn't shy away from the opportunity. I have 31 years of experience as an airline pilot, and the notion of running one of these places scares the living shit out of me! I would never take the "yoke" of the business known as airline; That is for someone who has spent the past 31 years working his way up the managerial chain and knows exactly what to do. "Good morning passengers! I am CEO John Doe, and I am going to Captain your flight today. I have zero flight time at all and have spent 31 years cutting costs and screwing my co-workers in order to get promotions, and I know nothing about aviation other than where the autopilot on switch is located. Sit back, relax, enjoy the flight....." -Do you want to put your kids on that flight? Frank Lorenzo was arrested in Colorado for drunk driving.....

[@georgethetravelgenius1705]

Funny you mention that. I worked at TWA. Our last CEO was a pilot, and he actually sold us down the river literally two weeks before we were going to announce a merge with America West (before Doug Parker). He took off with something like $45 million.

[@Flies2FLL]

@@georgethetravelgenius1705 So typical... 👍

[@Flies2FLL]

@@GNMi79 It was flying low, but Lorenzo is the one that flew it straight into the ground. On purpose.

[@Flies2FLL]

@@GNMi79 "He did it to cut costs" Bullshit. He wanted to break the union, primarily due to his big EGO. He also wanted to find a way to legally transfer assets from Eastern to Continental, and he did just that. Screwing thousands of people in the process. If you think Lorenzo was just cutting costs and had the faintest idea how to run an airline, then tell me why the FAA banned him from ever working in airline management?

[@Flies2FLL]

@@GNMi79 Charlie Bryan was an idiot, that's for sure. But you can point the finger wherever you want, it was LORENZO that killed the place.

[@monstersponge9096]

I cannot get over how good the intro sequence for Bankrupt is. The audio effects when the Kodak camera flash briefly takes over the monologue is incredible.

[@Av8rwaka]

One of my instructors was a pilot with Eastern. He had a cool belt buckle that he would wear everyday made from the melted down metal of every type of plane they had operated to that point. Super neat!

[@fstanley2328]

The Lockheed Tri-Star was such a beautiful aircraft and was far better designed than anything Boeing has made in the last 35 years.

[@stevencramsie9172]

*29 years - the 777 has been a massive hit for Boeing.

[@whizwart1]

Eastern was also part of Spaceship Earth at EPCOT. There was a point where your passing a futuristic city and all the air traffic had Eastern's logo....which I didn't even realize was a real company when I saw it since I had no idea what Eastern Air was. The Simpsons had a great bit about this, with the ride talking about how you will bow to your masters at Eastern in the future, with Eastern planes with arms and legs oppressing humans.

[@scottparker1741]

No it wasn’t

[@amtraklover]

I remember that Simpsons bit, it's when they went to Epcot. 😂

[@jazzcupjoey]

Eastern 401... I met some of the crew of that flight at the airliners convention when it was in Orlando in 2009 and they had a whole booth set up with pictures and stuff and they showed up wearing the outfits they survived the crash in, that part really stuck with me, and old parts from that plane were used on other L1011's for parts and those aircraft would have ghost sightings on them.

[@bhurley5243]

It was said after this that no L1011 would crash again.

[@100percentSNAFU]

​@@bhurley5243None ever did from mechanical failure, only from pilot error. It was a great aircraft with a great record. The Everglades incident soils its legacy, but this as well was due to pilot error and a preoccupation with a burned out bulb on the landing gear indicator.

[@stephaneaderca7948]

I flew Eastern once in my life, between San Francisco and New York, in 1986. We had flown in to San Francisco from Japan, where we lived, spent a few days in SF, then flew to NY with Eastern. I remember my dad asking the nice stewardess which areas of New York were safe - or were not. She must have lost her job barely 5 years later, and found it tough to get a new one in the 90s recession. I read about Frank Lorenzo in the Wall Street Journal or the Herald Tribune in the late 80s. I had no idea he treated his staff so dismally. When I compare him to Herb Kelleher, who treated staff like family, and was genuinely loved in return, well, there's no comparison. Don't think Frank Lorenzo, when he goes, will be mourned in quite the same way Herb was by his former staff. "Be nice to people your way up because you will meet them on your way down". That's a quote I heard in my American high school in Japan around the time I flew Eastern for my first and last time.

[@crazy4gta1]

My grandma used to work for Eastern. She was there until they closed. During the strikes, she still worked but they needed her to drive the cargo trucks around the airport. I still have the temp licenses they gave her and a deck of cards I found in her house once.

[@KC-Mitch]

Supposedly Eastern's Disney attraction was extremely popular because it was one of the only free attractions at the time of ticketbook attractions and it meant being able to get out of the heat.

[@readmedottext]

I remember it as a kid. It projected various places like you were flying through them while some really obnoxious song kept singing "if you had wings?!?!?" over and over

[@KristianWontroba]

First flight I was ever on was an Eastern Airlines DC-9 to Orlando. I was 7 and on a Disney and Epcot vacation with my family. Epcot just opened then. Man, I guess I’m old. 😂

[@ChrisMcCarroll]

My mom was a flight attendant for this airline. She was on a flight from Atlanta to Chicago. As she was serving drinks, a little old lady pointed out that she was bleeding from her ears. Pilot told her that the door, her seat was located on, had a bad seal. She insisted the plane turned around. The pilot refused and kept going onto Chicago. By the time she landed, she had to go to hospital. Because of the bad she lost about 85% of her hearing. She was also told she could never fly again. The airlines fired her. She sued them for wrongful termination. They eventually hired her back to work the ticket desk. But then went bankrupt. She wants some money in the lawsuit and used that to purchase a lot of Eastern airlines stuff when they were selling off the company. Our house was filled with plates and glassware and other stuff from Eastern.

[@BlackPill-pu4vi]

The courts should've frozen all those golden parachutes until the debtors and employees were made whole.

[@BlackPill-pu4vi]

@@GNMi79 That's good to know but, all too often, employees are often left with nothing after a sudden unannounced bankruptcy and liquidation. If the company is bankrupt, how did the CEO and his shareholder cronies get their golden parachutes? Why were those parachutes not frozen by the bankruptcy court until all parties were made whole?

[@kingquacken]

My mom worked for eastern airlines for the last 15 years until they ceased operations in the 90s. Including working at one of their major offices outside of Washington DC.

[@cz2681]

My grandfather flew for Eastern, so did my father and my mother was a flight attendant. Eastern closing still stings when I think about it from the family fallout to my first dream (being a captain for Eastern) dying with the company.

[@bigB6flyer]

Eastern’s polished silver aluminum scheme was sharp looking on their fleet. I’m old enough to remember when they had a hub in CLT.

[@Part_121]

On an interesting side note, we (I worked there as a mechanic, then supervisor, from 1980 until the end) stripped all the white paint off the 727s & L1011s to save weight. They also went from carrying 2 copies of each magazine down to 1 copy, also to save weight. When it came time for the first A300 to have its "D-Check" a decision had to be made as to what to do about the white paint. The A300 could not go with a polished fuselage like the 727 & L1011 due to a lot of composite parts being used. It had to be painted some color, so they went with gray paint for the A300s. They only looked good for about 1 day.

[@bigB6flyer]

@@Part_121 Interesting. I forgot that the 300s were gray.

[@bhurley5243]

Those 727's may have been Whisperjets on the inside. On the outside, they were very loud.

[@Gabriel-ci7db]

Nothing sounds like the JT8D.

[@dindog22]

I always loved the classic blue livery. my favorite of all the airlines. I also liked the colorful United livery but Eastern was my favorite

[@mjames70]

Besides management, don’t underestimate the effect the nasty crashes had on public perception. Eastern’s jingle used to be ‘Come fly with Eastern, America’s favorite way to fly!’ After all the crashes, some wags changed it to ‘Come die with Eastern, America’s favorite way to die’…

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

It lends a macabre shade of meaning at 18:00 when Jake says, "Eastern struggled to keep its planes in the air."

[@mjames70]

@@benjaminrobinson3842 the Flight 401 stuff creeped me out as a child.

[@henryd1981]

I hope you'll one day do a Bankrupt video on Braniff International, which was the first major US airline to go bankrupt in the post-deregulation era.

[@kallsop2]

Was going to post about Braniff. There is an interesting story called I think The Last Flight which was a flight from Dallas TX to Honolulu HI and the flight was west of California over the Pacific when the company stopped operations.

[@AvRail57]

I was a A&P Mechanic at the 3rd Braniff, working midnights at Newark, when they folded in 1992. I remember we were told to take our tools and go home because we’re done. I worked most of the avionics discrepancies at EWR. It took years in bankruptcy court to get some of the pay owed me. There was a cool Braniff flight engineer I would run into now and then, hopefully he had a good career after that mess of an airline.

[@100percentSNAFU]

Wasn't Braniff the ones with the funky liveries? Those were pretty cool.

[@henryd1981]

​@@100percentSNAFU Yes, they did

[@kallsop2]

@@100percentSNAFU Yes, they were painted bright solid colors like orange, green, red, blue. Couldn't mistake them at the airport.

[@KN-op3et]

I remember those L1011's. The passenger experience was quite nice.

[@fstanley2328]

They were far better designed than anything Boeing or Airbus has made in the last 35 years or so. They were so well engineered.

[@dannydaw59]

Didn't those planes have cameras in the tail that let the passengers watch the takeoffs and landings?

[@kallsop2]

Its interesting to go back and look at all the airlines that were in the US in 1985 and then see how many survived to 2000. So many went bankrupt, merged, consolidated and got bought up to just a handful now.

[@ChrisPearsall]

I’m a Miami native and my aunt and uncle both worked for Eastern. Me being the first kid in the family I flew much more than the average person my first few years. It was sad to see Eastern fail

[@Wnick1996]

From partnering with Disney to bankruptcy. What a downfall

[@doowroh]

And at the rate Disney is going with their wokeness, they'll be saying "from partnering with Easter to bankruptcy. What a downfall".

[@Riseoffrost2]

Agreed, Disney seems to be doing about as well at this point as eastern airlines.

[@Excalibur_86]

@@doowroh😂 you think its “wokeness” thats wrong with disney?

[@ajword81]

​@doowroh what a smooth brain you have 🤦🏽

[@Fay7666]

​@@doowroh Disney is _very_ flawed, but "wokeness" ain't part of the problem lol.

[@gracelandone]

Mid to late 80’s became a feast for those of us who flew NY to Boston regularly. Fare wars drove the prices down to $29 one-way and enabled carpet-baggers like People Express to get a foothold. People Express, which rolled a pay cart up the aisle after airborne to process credit cards for the fare. Truly a low water mark in customer service.

[@luciusvorenus9445]

I remember being in the Navy during the late 80s and flying Eastern to duty stations or on leave. The seat covers didn't match, trim was missing from the cabin, and I hoped everything was sound. I flew Eastern in 1970s to Disney World and remember their attraction there. The cabin crew used to give child passengers this little plastic planes and pilot's wings. Damn shame they went under.

[@scottnichols3685]

Eastern never served Europe nonstop from ATL with scheduled service. Eastern’s only scheduled service to Europe was MIA-London (Gatwick) which it only served from 1985 to 1986.

[@east_carolina_rail_photos]

Great video as always. A quick tidbit about the current Eastern Airlines: their main source of revenue now is actually US military charter flights. I live near Cherry Point marine base and photograph their 767s and 777s on a fairly regular basis.

[@josephw8888]

I rode on one going to JRTC just last year.

[@jb31842]

The Trump Shuttle didn't exactly disappear: It was acquired by US Airways and became the US Airways Shuttle. It was a separate internal entity within US Airways for a long time, then got integrated into the rest of the company, then eventually became American Airlines Shuttle after that merger for a while. It took COVID to finally kill off the Shuttle service.

[@CO84trucker]

One surviving remnant of Eastern Airlines is the frequent flyer program more or less. While launched by Eastern, OnePass found its way to Continental during the tumultuous Frank Lorenzo era. When Continental & United merged in the 2010s, the OnePass program was phased out in favor of MileagePlus but retained CAL OnePass' 8 digit ID numbering thus CAL customers retained their frequent flyer details while UAL customers had to get a new ID#.

[@Blue-Star-Line]

Love Bankrupt. Especially the ones about Airlines. Fantastic video!

[@rtw67intx]

I remember seeing their grounded planes parked at the airport when I was flying regularly for my job back then. Also remember some super low fares trying to drum up business right before they shut down. I almost bought a ticket, but a friend in the airline biz warned me away from them. Sad ending for a company with a such a cool history.

[@themidcentrist]

I remember flying Eastern Airlines with my mother as a kid around 4 years old. This dates me pretty badly but it was back when people were still allowed to smoke on aircraft circa 1980. I was absolutely terrified and it didn't help that as far as I can remember we actually landed at another nearby airport maybe 10-15 minutes after taking off due to massive thunderstorms (summer in Florida). We got off the ground again but I was afraid to eat the dinner they served (airlines served real meals back then) because I was still terrified and also afraid the pilot would make a sharp turn and I would spill food everywhere. There was a nice gentleman sitting next to us who was an experienced flyer, and he started a conversation that distracted me from being afraid and I was able to let go of the death grip I had on the armrests. 2 hours later we landed in NY at what would have been either JFK or LGA. After our trip we returned to Florida on a Delta Airlines flight. I don't remember anything about that so I must not have been so scared on the flight home. These days I'm not afraid of crashing at all, but I am terrified of being stuck in an aircraft on the tarmac for 8 hours.

[@fa535bi8]

Hey!! I never got to see Eastern Airlines in operation because I was born waaay to late for that, but I've heard a lot of stories about it. My grandfather worked as groundcrew with Eastern since the 50's until the airline shut down in their base here in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He has recounted how it was when the first jet aircrafts arrived and when he participated in the multiple strikes against the company. I even got some original Eastern utensils in my house. We still see the new Eastern 767's and 777's arrive in San Juan for cargo and military charter flights. A reminder of how air travel once used to look like. As always love your videos!!❤

[@wapartist]

One of my best childhood friends dad was an Eastern pilot out of Atlanta in the late 80’s. We used to get foam planes and stuff and was awesome

[@chris_is_here_oh_no]

Excellent video, this was very thorough and well documented! An amazing overview of the complete story of the airline!

[@miketaggart3803]

Used to fly eastern unaccompanied when I was a kid From Pittsburgh to Tampa to visit grandma. The crew was always nice To me. And don’t forget the haunted planes they had too. Eastern used parts from that crashed plane in the Everglades to fix other planes. Passengers and crew would report seeing faint aperitions on board during flights. Then the airline had to strip those parts from the planes and the sightings ceased.

[@matthewchester8930]

That “bankrupt spirt airlines” is going to hit like crack in the 80’s when it drops in the future.

[@kaminsod4077]

It can't come soon enough. Spirit and Ryanair are insults to air travel.

[@jonsmith6496]

And allegiant sun country and frontier

[@Sam42069]

@@kaminsod4077how so? Can’t speak for Spirit but Ryanair really isn’t that bad (especially because all their routes are relatively short). Definitely not luxury but opens up air travel and international travel in general to pretty much everybody which I think is very important.

[@somethingsomething404]

Eh you can still make good crack these days, you just have to admit the coke is stomped to shit and you’ll get like 30-50% back at most, once you admit that then the rest is easy! Oh. I mean. What? /s

[@airplanegod]

Brought to you by the Biden Administration, the worst in history.

[@JimHendrickson]

Eastern was my first airplane ride - a trip to St. Petersburg in the summer of 1980. I think it was on the A300. I'm a bit nostalgic whenever I see that old logo, and I still remember it being the only time I had an actual meal on board an airplane.

[@brettlowenthal9989]

Growing up in Miami I remember them very well

[@bwright925]

My dad worked for Eastern Airlines in Atlanta. He took me up in the tower and it was like I was on a UFO. He came into work and they were closing. Just like that they were gone.

[@bcabrera971]

Thanks for your videos man. Really just well made and I enjoy them so much.

[@royavery6949]

Excellent overview. Eastern was the first airline I ever flew as a child. Now as a uber driver I find myself at tampa international at least five days a week. About 2 years ago while entering the property I spotted one of the current fleet in the classic paint scheme at one of the gates. It was a surreal experience as I felt like I was 4 years old all over again. Honestly thought it was a mirage and I was seeing things. IMO best looking plane's ever and really tap into my core memories of flying as a child. I do still have one of the eastern flight pins they give kids from one of those first flights. It's attached to my childhood toy stuffed racoon. My mom saved everything lol.

[@newsman9539]

I always enjoy watching Bankrupt. Would you consider future episodes of Bankrupt on Aloha Airlines, Consumers Distributing, and CompUSA? Thank you Jake and great job on this episode :)

[@raymondmartin6737]

I think the Mexican Billionnaire, Carlos Slim bought Comp USA in the early 2000's and drove it into bankruptcy? 😮

[@AdamBorseti]

CompUSA for sure!

[@x808drifter]

Next or in the future you need to do Aloha Airlines. Started in 1946. Ran until chapter 11 i 2008. Only the cargo side semi-survived. Can also to a quick segment on the Flight 243 incident that was directly responsible for the FAA and others to change fuselage inspections from hours flown to cabin pressurizations. While most 737's flew long trips at least for their range, Alohas ones were used to fly interisland. Most flights only last 30-40 min wheels up to wheels down. Far shorter than the 1+hr minimum on other airlines. That led to the metal fatiguing very fast. The front 3rd or the fuselage ripped away in flight.

[@fdwyerSDMM]

Fondly remember the Eastern L1011's between ATL to MCO... with parents and grandparents.

[@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606]

The L1011 was way ahead of its time, it’s a shame that Lockheed was unable to stay in the passenger jet industry. Definitely would’ve put pressure on Boeing and Airbus in the modern era.

[@Gburnsfire]

My father was a Captain for Eastern on a 727. He had to medically retire due to a heart attack in ‘85. He was heartbroken to loose his career. Fortunately, he faired better than the employees that were still there in ‘91.

[@ericsmith4813]

Once again, Jake, EXCELLENT video.....please keep it up ....in my opinion, yours are the best videos on KZbin.

[@BrightSunFilms]

That’s really kind of you, thanks!

[@tdrewman]

I flew Eastern in the 70s and 80s to New York and Panama. I remember loving getting those wing pins and coloring books..

[@thatguyjonny695]

Always a good day when Jake drops a video

[@18564864]

I listen to your KZbin videos at work and no joke already watched over 30 videos. Very interesting stuff.

[@BrightSunFilms]

Thanks so much!

[@18564864]

@@BrightSunFilms plz keep making more. 😁😁😁

[@theEagleBeagle]

A britsh aviation KZbinr flew the flight to Dominican Republic, it was very light in Passengers. It does keep them in line with regulations so they can keep doing cargo as they do .

[@troodon1096]

It's a hilarious flight that's intentionally priced just low enough so some people will buy tickets on it but high enough that the plane's rarely more than about half full, and they fly it for no other reason than to legally qualify as an airline so they can keep doing their primary business of cargo. It only flies about once a month. It's almost worth flying just for the nostalgia of what flying on Eastern was like in the 1980's.

[@avrinrose5457]

In my fictional world, that airlines never get bankrupt and still successful

[@slackerman9758]

Let's not leave off the underhanded transfer of Eastern's assets to Lorenzo's other holding companies. Lorenzo transferred Eastern's reservation system to a new subsidiary, System One. The transfer value was set at $100 million based on investment banking opinions, although it was substantially below some value estimates of $200 million to $400 million. Eastern then paid fees to lease back the system. Later, Texas Air (his main holding company, sold half of its interest in the system to Electronic Data Systems, based on an overall system value of $250 million. The movie Wall Street was about this crook.

[@troodon1096]

Eastern was like a proverbial burning building; Lorenzo knew that and tried to get the valuables out before the building burned down. Say what you will about him, it's not his fault Eastern went bankrupt; that was inevitable no matter who was in charge.

[@slackerman9758]

@@troodon1096 I doubt his adding 300 million dollars to their debt burden in the leveraged buyout, nor selling their assets to himself at 25 cents on the dollar helped. As for whether they would have survived till now, we’ll never know, but they would have lasted longer without that debt burden and selling assets at market prices.

[@brianlisk6142]

And Eddie Rickenbacher also owned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after racing in the 500 a couple times

[@djtomt]

When I was 5 years old in 1975, I took my first flight on an Eastern Airlines 727. It was thrilling! The flight was amazing and the service was impeccable. I remember saving items from the flight, like beverage napkins, and being brought to the flight deck and introduced to captain where he gave me a pair of wings - a pin with the Eastern logo that I treasured. I would make airplanes out of Legos and play airport for years and dream of flying Eastern again. Flying back then was truly like a dream relative to the current flying busses we pile into. Ahh - the good old days!

[@kyliethelittlespider-mangirl94]

Nice! I only heard of Eastern because of Defuctland’s video on them!

[@ItsGoz]

Ok

[@kyliethelittlespider-mangirl94]

@@ItsGozYeah, both BSF’s vid here and Defuctland’s vid on Eastern are very great in different ways 😊

[@maxsmodels]

Your info is correct but there is so much more (probably more than you can put in 1 video). There were so many other things going on for example Lorenzo's upstreaming of Eastern's funds by making generous loans to his other airline, Continental airlines, with Eastern's money. There were so many other ways he stripped the airline of its assets. Buying the L-1011 and 757 cost them dearly as well (never fly the A model of anything). That said, Eastern's failure was a long time in the making and you got the highlights.

[@727sky]

Bill Cherry (retired American Airlines Captain) was the Captain of the B-17 that crashed in the pacific with Rickenbacker. Rickenbacker was found before the rest of the crew because the crew cut his raft free at night. The crew was tired of his endless bitching and complaining. One story you usually never hear; Cherry was a friend of mine..

[@veganbutcherhackepeter]

😂 Nice story. Thanks for sharing.

[@namewithheld129]

Bright Sun Films continues to put out great content. Thanks for the post.

[@McFetty]

Let’s go perfect thing to watch before nap time

[@LatitudeSky]

Such a mixed set of emotions over this airline. In chronological order, lost a relative on one of the 70s crashes. Devastated my family. But my first flight was later on Eastern. And I dated an Eastern flight attendant just before the company went under. The company literally steered my life. Seeing the old hockey stick logo brings back so many memories.

[@Mr.LaughingDuck]

Looking forward to your *Red Lobster* episode

[@BrightSunFilms]

Coming up next…

[@jazzcupjoey]

I’m an aviation enthusiast, and have been a huge fan of your channel for a long time so whenever the two of those come together… it’s a good thing lol

[@BrightSunFilms]

Hope I did this justice for ya! Thanks!

[@jazzcupjoey]

@@BrightSunFilms gonna check it out once I get cozy wozy on the the couch!

[@drewhardin3992]

My uncle was an Eastern pilot, and a union man. He was also a staunch conservative and today is very, very into the weeds. His children hate unions. This is a sad story, but for men like him it was also pretty much him getting exactly what he voted for. He went on to other airlines, got screwed again, and flew until retirement.

[@100percentSNAFU]

Teamsters endorsed Donald Trump. Anyone else with a brain that is in a private sector union should do the same. It isn't your grandfather's Democrat party any longer. Democrats don't care about working people, they care about illegals and buying votes.

[@100percentSNAFU]

Teamsters officially for Trump. Times have changed. This isn't your grandpa's Democrat party any more.

[@ronparrish6666]

Flew on them a couple of times from Toronto to Miami in the late 70,s and 80,s couldn't get over how worn down and rough the inside of DC 9and 727 was

[@mikelavelle5019]

I buffed on the overnight crew... I drove trash, potable water, LAV and finally fueling and defueling trucks. I turned 21 at C7 in Atlanta. The L-1011 was my favorite...

[@luka-ut7yk]

great channel

[@mfamus2272]

I’m just loving these stories of people who use to be affiliated with Eastern 😊😊😊

[@AlanToon-fy4hg]

I had a good friend that flew for Eastern. He crossed the picket line during one of the strikes. After Eastern fell, he never flew again.

[@josephw8888]

I flew on Eastern Airlines last year. It was a military charter going to JRTC.

[@SpaceDogGlobalEntertainment]

Eastern Airlines is an interesting one, was hoping you’d make a Bankrupt episode on this one for quite a while! Edit: forgot how much I dislike Frank Lorenzo

[@Rabbitlord108]

Meanwhile Red Lobster recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

[@theEagleBeagle]

I'm sure he's already writing a script! Lol

[@azblueauthor8081]

He's well aware. He posted that he'd gone to one within the same day as the announcement.

[@Rabbitlord108]

@@azblueauthor8081 Okay

[@troodon1096]

Chapter 11 isn't guaranteed death though; several companies have recovered from it, some even multiple times. Chapter 7 is when they completely give up.

[@Rabbitlord108]

@@troodon1096 Touche.