Frontline

The Battle for Eastern Airlines (1989x3)

Air date: Jan 31, 1989

Donald Trump's recent purchase of Eastern Airlines' shuttle focused national attention once again on the fight for this troubled airline. Frontline correspondent Robert Kuttner chronicles the saga of Eastern's ongoing labor-management disputes and the behind-the-scenes struggles between Charlie Bryan, head of the machinists' union, and Texas Air's Frank Lorenzo, as well as the fate of the experiment in joint union and management ownership of Eastern under former astronaut Frank Borman.