A federal judge threatened to fine Eastern...

A federal judge threatened to fine Eastern Airlines $10,000 per day for future breaches of a court order that has blocked the carrier from trying to sell its profitable East Coast air shuttle. The Washington judge also ordered Eastern to halt its efforts to gain permission to complete the deal. In addition, he told top Eastern executives to write to all 32,000 of the airline’s workers, notifying them that the carrier had been found in contempt of an earlier court order and promising that the company will comply with the court in the future. Eastern, owned by Texas Air Corp., announced Feb. 5 that it would sell its shuttle to a newly created Texas Air subsidiary for $225 million. The shuttle flies between Washington, New York and Boston.