A water cannon salute heralded the arrival of “The Spirit of Captain Eddie Rickenbacker” at Miami International Airport Friday, the first jet in the fleet of the rebooted Eastern Air Lines, a pioneering carrier that operated from 1927-1991, the Sun Sentinel reported.
The Boeing 737-800, named after a longtime CEO of the company (and WW I flying ace) is the first of 20 slated to begin operations in the first quarter of 2015. No routes have been announced yet, but in January, Miami-based Eastern Air Lines Group Inc. put in applications to both the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration to begin service.
Once the largest employer in Miami-Dade county and number one in flights to Latin America before it went under, Eastern Air Lines Group is giving the carrier a new start with an eye to those classic years. They purchased all the airline’s intellectual property in 2011, so the livery will bring back memories, and they have taken up residence in Eastern’s old operations building.
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