Eastern took over Braniff's Latin American routes on mid-May 1982. The routes were initially designed to be a long-term lease, but Braniff's future led EA officials to believe these would be permanent. Eastern was supposed to begin services on June 1st but due to Braniff's bankruptcy, it took over early. Eastern transferred the routs to American in 1990 prior to its own bankruptcy in 1991. Eastern operated 727s and Tri-Stars through Latin America. Delta and Eastern had near parity at the Atlanta hub. The airline was the dominant carrier at Miami.