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Immediately following the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, Eastern
Airlines began fighting for the authority to open a route from Miami to
London. As the 1970s drew to a close Eastern's Miami-London route
authority looked promising. Both the United States and Britain
were very receptive to the idea. However, by 1980 Eastern was
dealt a setback. The British government would only authorize the
route on the condition that Eastern fly its route to Gatwick Airport
rather than Heathrow. This was seen unacceptable to Eastern at the
time, and when Eastern reminded the British that they wanted to fly to
Heathrow instead of Gatwick, the route was given to Air Florida.
This setback would discourage Eastern from any expansion plans in Europe
until 1985, when they settled for the Miami - London Gatwick route after
Air Florida ceased operations.
However, there was a time
when Eastern's Miami - London Heathrow route looked promising. In
1980 Eastern took pre-emptive action to secure the route authority when
it purchased two used 747-200 aircraft from QANTAS; at the time, Eastern
had no aircraft in its fleet capable of flying the Miami - London route.
The aircraft were also purchased with the option for an additional 4
747-200s should Eastern decide to expand into more European markets.
However, when news came that Eastern would not recieve the Miami -
London Heathrow authority, the airline cancelled the deal and returned
the 747-200s. However, before this happened, at least one of the
aircraft was painted in full Eastern colors.
In the spirit of the 747s
that almost joined the real Eastern fleet, and a significant demand for
the aircraft by our senior pilots, Virtual Eastern Airlines has decided
to add the 747-200 to the fleet as a special aircraft for members with
at least 500 hours. The aircraft will be subject to special rules
as well. It may only be flown on certain routes that will be
announced with the aircraft's official addition to the fleet. |
