An Eastern Airlines 767 in the new livery. (Photo: Eastern Airlines)
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Eastern Airlines made headlines in June when it became the only U.S. non-legacy commercial airline to add a passenger Boeing 777 to its fleet. As N771KW, the airline’s first 777, completes its final conformity checks this week, Eastern is already committed to expanding the fleet type with the recent acquisition of two additional 777-200 jets.
The Wayne, Pennsylvania-based airline completed the purchase of two additional 777s on Oct. 15. The aircraft, N783KW and N821JT, are expected to begin flying alongside the first 777 over the next three to six months.
Steve Harfst, CEO of Eastern Airlines, told AirlineGeeks: “We see market opportunities for niche, long-range scheduled and charter operations with our 777 fleet.”
The airline recently filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to fly twice weekly to Buenos Aires and Viru Viru, Bolivia from its developing Miami hub.
“We’re looking worldwide. The 777 expands our range circle significantly” said Harfst.
While no announcements have been made, the airline is actively looking to expand with new routes from the U.S. to complement its current offerings. The Wide-body Strategy
“We’re not in the business of competing with big airlines. We want to fly niche routes that aren’t big enough for them and focus on markets that we can serve with limited to no competition,” said Harfst.
It’s unlikely that Eastern would serve a route such as New York to London, but connectivity to smaller European markets could be on the horizon when travel levels between the two continents normalize.
Harfst continued to state: “Once countries start to open up and remove travel restrictions, there will be opportunities for us to continue expanding our strategy to additional markets.”The strategy Harfst discusses is the traditional low-cost structure. Harfst has had an extensive history in the low-cost aspect of the aviation industry on a global scale. He believes there is room for Eastern to establish itself as a wide-body player in an already competitive sphere.“We like the 767 and 777 fleet because they cycle through the market and their value comes down to a point where our low cost of ownership allows us to put those aircraft into markets where they otherwise would not be profitable,” Harfst said.One big problem with the long-haul low-cost structure is that many airlines try to operate brand new and expensive equipment, making the business model unsustainable. By operating […]