#TBT: Eastern Air Lines flights between the United States and South America in 1987

Eastern Air Lines was a U.S.-based company that operated between 1926 and 1991. One of the airline’s hubs was Miami, being the city’s biggest employer from the mid-1970s until the time of its closure.

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The carrier’s main focus was in the United States, with some routes to Canada and Mexico. In 1971, the company expanded in the Caribbean, more precisely in Puerto Rico, with the acquisition of Caribair.

See also: #TBT: PLUNA flights between Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid in 2007.

Nearly from the beginning, Eastern Air Lines requested on several occasions the corresponding authorization to operate between the United States and South America. For different reasons, in all these cases it was denied.

Braniff and Pan Am were the most important companies in the U.S.-South America market, with departures from their different hubs in the United States.

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Subsequent to the deregulation of the airline industry in 1978, Braniff was affected by the entry of new companies and the strengthening of its competitors. This, in addition to high fuel costs, was the beginning of the end for Braniff.

Due to its crisis, Braniff began negotiations with Pan Am in early 1982 to sell its routes between the United States and South America, but the agreement would never be finalized since it was considered that Pan Am would have a monopoly in the area. Months later, Eastern took over these routes from Braniff, starting flights to South America in May of that year.

Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Paraguay were the South American countries served by Eastern Air Lines. The airline operated with Boeing 727, DC-10, Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar, among others.

See also: #TBT: TAP flights between Portugal, Brazil and Argentina in 1972.

Schedule between United States and South America in 1987 – Eastern Air Lines

DEPARTURES FROM UNITED STATES

• Barranquilla: Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday – Boeing 727

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Flight	From	ETD	To	ETA
EA 955	Miami	19:00	Barranquilla	20:25

• Bogotá: daily – Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar

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Flight	From	ETD	To	ETA
EA 518	Los Angeles	08:30	Miami	16:14
EA 518	Miami	17:35	Bogotá	19:35

• Buenos Aires and Santiago: daily except Tuesday – DC-10

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Flight	From	ETD	To	ETA
EA 27	New York	18:25	Miami	21:08
EA 27	Miami	23:00	Buenos Aires	08:27 +1
EA 27	Buenos Aires	09:22 +1	Santiago	10:24 +1

On Friday and Saturday it was flight EA 23 departing from Los Angeles (timetables from Miami, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile were unchanged).

• Cali via Panama City: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday – Boeing 727

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Flight	From	ETD	To	ETA
EA 977	New York	13:30	Miami	16:10
EA 977	Miami	17:35	Panama City	19:15
EA 977	Panama City	19:58	Cali	21:15

• Cali, La Paz and Asunción: Monday, Thursday and Saturday – Boeing 727

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Flight	From	ETD	To	ETA
EA 987	Miami	13:50	Cali	16:12
EA 987	Cali	16:45	La Paz	21:22
EA 987	La Paz	22:15	Asunción	00:09 +1

• Guayaquil and Quito: Friday and Sunday – Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar

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Flight	From	ETD	To	ETA
EA 9	New York	09:00	Miami	11:39
EA 9	Miami	12:50	Guayaquil	15:48
EA 9	Guayaquil	16:35	Quito	17:22

DEPARTURES FROM SOUTH AMERICA

• Asunción, La Paz and Cali: Tuesday, Friday and Sunday – Boeing 727

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Flight	From	ETD	To	ETA
EA 992	Asunción	05:30	La Paz	07:47
EA 992	La Paz	08:42	Cali	12:10
EA 992	Cali	13:00	Miami	17:26

• Barranquilla: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday – Boeing 727

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Flight	From	ETD	To	ETA
EA 972	Barranquilla	08:30	Miami	12:02

• Bogotá: daily – Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar

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Flight	From	ETD	To	ETA
EA 505	Bogotá	10:05	Miami	14:30
EA 505	Miami	17:50	Los Angeles	19:51

• Cali via Panama City: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday – Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar 

To see all tables, place the mobile phone in a horizontal position

Flight	From	ETD	To	ETA
EA 976	Cali	09:15	Panama City	10:37
EA 976	Panama City	11:35	Miami	15:15
EA 976	Miami	17:00	New York	19:35

• Quito and Guayaquil: Tuesday and Sunday – Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar

To see all tables, place the mobile phone in a horizontal position

Flight	From	ETD	To	ETA
EA 24	Quito	07:45	Guayaquil	08:31
EA 24	Guayaquil	09:30	Miami	14:27
EA 24	Miami	16:15	New York	19:03

• Santiago de Chile and Buenos Aires: daily except Wednesday – DC-10

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Flight	From	ETD	To	ETA
EA 10	Santiago	18:40	Buenos Aires	21:22
EA 10	Buenos Aires	22:16	Miami	06:00 +1
EA 10	Miami	08:00 +1	New York	10:35 +1

On Friday and Saturday it was the EA 22 flight ending in Los Angeles (timetables for Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires and Miami were not modified).

EASTERN’S COMPLETE NETWORK IN SOUTH AMERICA

Eastern Air Lines filed for bankruptcy on March 9th, 1989, and finally ceased operations on Saturday, January 19th, 1991 at midnight.

American Airlines purchased Eastern’s route rights to and from South America in April 1990, later becoming the leading carrier in the market.

Source

• Guía Argentina de Tráfico Aéreo (GATA) – 1987.

See also: #TBT: Avianca flights between Colombia and Europe in 1954.