Thread: Is Eastern Airlines Trying to Make a Comeback?

Eastern Air Lines Group has filed an application with the Department of Transportation to start service once again. Approval from the department and Federal Aviation Administration is a drawn-out process that can take at least 12 months to complete.
But Ed Wegel. CEO of the group, said the airline hopes to start flights by December of this year. It expects to take delivery of its first plane, an Airbus A320, in August or September.
The airline will be based in Miami. Wegel said no decisions have been made on initial routes, but that the airline plans to restart as a provider of charter services initially, and then build into scheduled service at a yet-to-be-determined date. Wegel said the group bought the rights to the Eastern name and logo out of bankruptcy court in 2009, but that it had to wait until now to find the investor support needed to restart the airline. Airlines have become more profitable in the last year or two, and airline stocks, traditionally poor performers, have been doing very well recently.
According to the group's website, Eastern was founded in 1927 and adopted the name in 1930. It was a major carrier along the East Coast, pioneering the shuttle service from New York to Boston and Washington.