The revival of the Eastern Air Lines name continues apace with an announcement that it will buy up to 40 Mitsubishi MRJ90 regional jets.
A memorandum of understanding was signed at the UK’s Farnborough Air Show for an order for 20 aircraft and purchase rights for an additional 20.
Miami based Eastern plans to take delivery of the jets in 2019.
"We are extremely impressed with the operating cost benefits of the MRJ with the geared turbofan engine, which reduces seat mile costs almost to the level of the current 130-seater aircraft," said Eastern Air Lines CEO Edward Wegel.
"This provides an excellent scheduling and route network advantage to Eastern as we look to add a second fleet type within five years," he added.
The new Eastern Air Lines plans to start flying from Miami by the end of 2015 and will initially operate as a charter airline to the Caribbean and Latin America.
The startup is still undergoing Federal Aviation Administration certification.
The original Eastern Air Lines operated from Miami from 1930 and dominated traffic on the New York-Florida route for decades before succumbing to bankruptcy in 1991.
