Northeastern International Airways

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Northeastern International Airways, Inc. was founded in 1980 by Stephen L. Quinto, with corporate headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and an operating base at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip, New York. Scheduled service began on February 11, 1982, when a Douglas DC-8 connected Islip with Fort Lauderdale. Its proposition was agreeably direct: low, unrestricted fares and less commuting to the big New York airports.

The airline’s code was QS, its callsign was NORTHEASTER, and its slogan was “A lot of airline for a little money.” By 1983, Northeastern had grown from its Florida–Long Island roots into a multi-city carrier flying Boeing 727s and DC-8s. In 1984 it went full deregulation fever dream, leasing Airbus A300 widebodies and adding service through New York-JFK, Florida, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and other cities.

The growth looked dramatic: during summer 1984, Northeastern operated 66 daily flights to 17 destinations. But widebodies, expansion, and thin cash flow are a famously combustible in-flight cocktail. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection on January 8, 1985, sharply reduced service, and was acquired by JEI Airlines later that year. The remaining company was liquidated in 1986.

Our Northeastern International Airways collection celebrates a brief, bright airline age when cloud-painted jets, bargain fares, and very large ambition took off from Long Island bound for the sunshine—and occasionally for the financial weather system.