Trump Shuttle, Inc., was an airline owned by businessman Donald Trump from 1989 to 1992. The landing rights and some of the physical assets necessary to operate the shuttle flights were originally part of Eastern Air Lines and known as the Eastern Air Lines Shuttle. It operated hourly flights on Boeing 727 aircraft from LaGuardia Airport in New York City to Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts and Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., as well as charter service to other destinations. Its IATA designator code was TB (later reassigned to Jetairfly). Trump's formal launch in the air business occurred in March 1988 when he acquired three Sikorsky S-61 helicopters that belonged to Resorts International Airlines (RIA) used to shuttle high rollers to the Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The three green and orange helicopters were repainted black and red and emblazoned with the Trump Air logo. History Formation In the late 1980s, both Eastern Air Lines and Pan American World Airways operated air shuttle services in the Northeastern United States, which were highly profitable even though the two airlines, as a whole, were not. As the financial outlook for Eastern became more pessimistic in the late 1980s, the carrier began to sell its routes and aircraft. It organized its profitable shuttle operation into a separate company, headed by Bruce Nobles, with the intent of selling it to raise cash. Eastern president Frank Lorenzo met Donald Trump at a party, and subsequently negotiated the sale of the shuttle to Trump for $365 million, more than the projected cost to start up a similar airline, but justifiable if the airline achieved a high market share. For that price, Trump got a fleet of 17 Boeing 727s, landing facilities in each of the three cities that the shuttle flew to, and the right to put his name on the company and its airplanes. The shuttle had previously been a "no-frills" operation for business travelers, but Trump announced that he would convert it to a luxury airline. After reaching an agreement with Trump in October 1988, Eastern filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Many passengers switched to the competing Pan Am Shuttle, and the previously profitable Eastern Shuttle began losing money. Trump attempted to use the situation to negotiate a lower price and to acquire additional aircraft from Eastern. America West Airlines submitted a more attractive competing offer on May