Aside from being a successful businessman and a former American president, Donald Trump is also known for his stunning private Boeing 757. But did you know that Trump once owned his own airline some 30 years back? We will be recounting the story of the Trump Shuttle.

Origin

For context, Eastern Air Lines and Pan American operated air shuttle services in the Northeastern United States. This was during the 1980s when both airlines were not doing well financially despite their respective shuttle services being profitable. In the late 1980s, Eastern looked to downsize by selling various assets, including sidelining its Shuttle service as a separate company.

One night at a party, Eastern's president, Frank Lorenzo, met Donald Trump, and the two negotiated the sale of Eastern Shuttle to the latter. The agreed-upon price was $365 million, for which Trump would get a fleet of 17 Boeing 727s, landing facilities in Eastern Shuttle's three destinations, and the right to put the Trump name on the company and its aircraft. Following the acquisition, Trump announced that he would transform Eastern Shuttle from a no-frills, budget-like operation to a luxury airline.

The Shuttle Launches

Trump's new "Trump Shuttle" launched on June 8, 1989, and was quickly successful. By the end of that August, the carrier controlled a market share of 40-50%. The new carrier operated a fleet of 25 planes, all of which were Boeing 727s. There were eight 727-100s and 17 of the larger 727-200s. Specializing in Northeast shuttle service, Trump Shuttle only served two destinations from its New York LaGuardia (LGA) base: Boston (BOS) and Washington Reagan (DCA).

The aircraft interiors were redecorated with features like maple wood veneer, chrome seatbelt latches, and gold lavatory fixtures based on Trump's promise of making his new carrier a luxury service. Being a luxury shuttle service was not the only advancement of Trump Shuttle as the airline pioneered various tech advancements in the aviation industry.

For starters, Trump Shuttle was one of the first airlines to introduce passenger self-service check-in kiosks and also offered an onboard laptop rental service. It also adopted GTE Airfone inflight telephone systems. Other notable service features included free meals onboard, including chicken and steak.

Decline

Despite its various pull factors, the Trump Shuttle was never profitable. Later, in 1989, passenger traffic declined amid an economic recession. The 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait caused jet fuel prices to double, resulting in higher fares and even less traffic. As a result of these hardships, the Trump Shuttle ran out of cash and defaulted on its rising debt in September 1990.

However, to generate some money, the carrier operated select charter services. One notable example was when Nelson Mandela was carried across the United States during his 1990 eight-city tour. Furthermore, Trump Shuttle was contracted by the U.S. government to ferry military personnel between key air force bases such as Dover, Charleston, and Travis. Eventually, talks to sell the airline materialized. In December 1991, USAir agreed to take operational control for up to ten years, with the option of buying Trump Shuttle after five years.

Legacy

Trump Shuttle ceased to exist on April 7, 1992, when it was merged into a new company called "Shuttle, Inc." This began operating the service as the USAir Shuttle, later named U.S. Airways Shuttle. Shuttle, Inc. remained a subsidiary of U.S. Air Group until 2000 when it was fully merged into U.S. Airways. The company soldiered with U.S. Airways until the airline merged with American Airlines, renamed it the "American Airlines Shuttle."

American Airlines Shuttle continued the legacy of the shuttle product, operating weekday hourly services (slightly fewer on weekends) serving Chicago, New York, Boston, and Washington. Though its planes were not specially branded, American Airlines sidelined 36 aircraft to operate Shuttle flights. These were 16 Boeing 737-800s, eight Airbus A319s, and 12 Embraer 175s operated by regional subsidiary Republic Airways. 

Each aircraft type was limited to the following routes:

• 737-800: Chicago (ORD) to New York (LGA)
• A319: New York (LGA) and Washington (DCA) to Boston (BOS)
• E175: Washington (DCA) to New York (LGA) 

These shuttle services mainly catered to business traffic within major East Coast cities. Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, business traffic dropped significantly. As such, American felt compelled to discontinue its Shuttle brand on November 9, 2021. Delta Air Lines remains the only airline operating a shuttle service. Its version, Delta Shuttle, serves the same four destinations as American Shuttle.