New Pilot at Eastern

With Pan Am recovering, Eastern Air Lines is now rated by some analysts as the most financially shaky of all U.S. air carriers. Last week it reported a third-quarter loss of $21.4 million ($17.8 million in September alone), v. a profit of $7.6 million in the comparable period of 1974. Simultaneously, it chose a new pilot: former Astronaut Frank Borman, one of the three who read from the Book of Genesis on Christmas Eve, 1968 as their capsule orbited the moon. Borman, 47, joined Eastern as a vice president in 1970; he became president last May and now takes the title of chief executive from Floyd D. Hall, 59, who remains chairman.

The switch is believed to reflect pressure from bankers who worried that the line would not survive under Hall. Wall Street analysts give Borman at least a fair chance of pulling the company through. One of Eastern's worst problems is low productivity caused largely by poor employee morale. Borman seems more effective than Hall at communicating with employees. He has persuaded them to accept a wage freeze for 1976, which he described last week as "the most important thing I've done since becoming president." Borman also talks to workers with realistic candor. Earlier this year, he warned them that the line might lose $30 million in 1975.

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