1930s Founding: TWA TWA's corporate history dates from July 16, 1930, and the forced merger of
Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT),
Western Air Express (WAE), Maddux Air Lines, Standard, and Pittsburgh Aviation Industries Corporation (PAIC) to form Transcontinental & Western Air (T&WA) on 1 Oct. 1930. The companies merged at the urging of
Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown, who was looking for bigger airlines to give
airmail contracts to. The airline brought high-profile aviation pioneers who would give the airline the panache of being called "The Airman's Airline". TAT had the marquee expertise of
Charles Lindbergh and was already offering a 48-hour combination of plane and train trips across the United States. WAE had the expertise of
Jack Frye. TWA became known as "The Lindbergh Line", with the "Shortest Route Coast to Coast". TWA started using the DC-3 on June 1, 1937. The fleet included ten DST sleeper aircraft and eight standard DC-3 day versions. The Army fliers had a series of crashes, and it was decided to privatize the delivery with the provision that no former companies could bid on the contracts. T&WA added the suffix "Inc." to its name, thus qualifying it as a different company. It was awarded 60% of its old contracts back in May 1934 and won back the rest within a few years. LaMotte Cohu took over as president, and TWA ordered 12
Lockheed L-749 Constellations on October 18, 1947. Cohu was replaced by Ralph Damon in 1948. As president of
American Airlines (AAL), Damon was a proponent of AAL being in the transatlantic market. Damon approved the mergers of AAL and American Export in 1945 to form
American Overseas Airlines (AOA). When C.R. Smith sold AOA to Pan American, Damon became disillusioned with AAL. As a consequence, Hughes was able to hire Damon to run TWA. Damon described air transportation as "a race between technology and bankruptcy." Over the next 7 years, Damon introduced practices within the industry that became standard, such as multi-class service with first class and economy class. Damon also brought financial stability by eliminating the company deficit, which was reflected in the stock price rising into the 60s.
Carter L. Burgess then took over in 1957, but lasted less than a year, unable to work with Hughes' meddling.
Charles Sparks Thomas became president on July 2, 1958. The inaugural flight of TWA's Boeing 707 took place on March 20, 1959. In 1964, TWA opened its New York office.
Kansas City International Airport Kansas City approved a $150 million bond issue for the TWA hub there. TWA vetoed plans for a
Dulles International Airport–style hub-and-spoke gate structure. Following union strife, the airport ultimately cost $250 million when it opened in 1972, with Vice President
Spiro Agnew officiating. TWA's gates, which were intended to be within of the street, became obsolete because of security issues. Kansas City refused to rebuild its terminals as
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport rebuilt its similar terminals, forcing TWA to look for a new hub. Missouri politicians moved to keep it in the state and in 1982, TWA began a decade-long move to
Lambert International Airport in St. Louis.
All-jet fleet trijets on their US domestic routes between 1964 and closure of operations. On April 7, 1967, TWA became one of the first all-jet airlines in the USA with the retirement of their last Lockheed L-749A Constellation and L-1649 Starliner cargo aircraft. That morning aircraft ground-service personnel placed a booklet on every passenger seat throughout the TWA system titled "Props Are For Boats". Between 1967–72, TWA was the world's third-largest airline by passenger miles, behind Aeroflot and United. During the mid and late 1960s, the airline extended its reach as far east as Hong Kong from Europe and also introduced service to several destinations in Africa. In 1969, TWA carried the most transatlantic passengers of any airline; until then, Pan American World Airways had always been number one. In the
Transpacific Route Case of 1969, TWA was given authority to fly across the Pacific to Hawaii and Taiwan, and for a few years, TWA had a round-the-world network. In 1969, TWA opened the
Breech Academy on a campus in the Kansas City suburb of
Overland Park, Kansas to train its flight attendants, ticket agents, and travel agents, as well as to provide flight simulators for its pilots. It became the definitive airline facility, training other airlines' staff, as well as its own. The airline continued to expand European operations in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. In 1987, TWA had a transatlantic system reaching from Los Angeles to
Bombay, including virtually every major European population center, with 10 American gateways.
1970s TWA introduced the
Boeing 747 to its fleet in 1970. After the merger with Hilton International in 1967, TWA's
holding company, Trans World Corp., continued to diversify, buying Canteen Corp. in 1973, and then the Hardee's restaurant franchises. Financial woes in the 1970s included a flight attendants' strike, higher fuel prices after the
Arab Oil Embargo, and
airline deregulation. In a significant milestone, TWA's network expanded globally for the first time in its corporate history. However, this achievement would be short-lived as subsequent events led to its eventual termination. In 1975, Trans World Airlines was headquartered in
Turtle Bay, in
Midtown Manhattan. The uniforms for the flight attendants during this decade went through three different designers. From 1971–1974, the official TWA uniform was designed by Valentino. From 1974–1978, the official TWA uniform was designed by
Stan Herman, and from 1978–2001, the official TWA uniform was designed by Ralph Lauren.
1980s at
Heathrow Airport in 1983 Facing the pressures of
deregulation, the airline consolidated its route system around a domestic hub in St. Louis, aided by its purchase of
Ozark Air Lines in 1986, and an international gateway in New York. It was able to remain profitable during this time because of its good route positioning and the relatively low costs of adapting its operations. In 1983,
Trans World Corporation spun off the airline. In 1985, TWA's board agreed to sell the airline to
Frank Lorenzo's
Texas Air Corporation. Due to Texas Air's ownership of non-union carriers
Continental Airlines and
New York Air, as well as Lorenzo's reputation of being a '
union buster', TWA's unions objected to the sale, and instead supported a takeover deal from
Carl Icahn by offering concessions on condition that Icahn's deal be accepted by the board. Directors subsequently agreed, and the Texas Air deal was scrapped. Following the sale, Icahn appointed himself as chairman of the airline. Also in 1985, TWA closed its hub at
Pittsburgh International Airport after nearly 20 years as a hub. The following year, TWA acquired
Ozark Air Lines, a regional carrier based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, for $250 million. This transaction increased TWA's share of enplanements in St. Louis from 56.6% to 82%. TWA had pilot bases in many European cities such as
Berlin,
Frankfurt,
Zürich,
Rome, and
Athens. These bases were used to provide crews for the Boeing 727s which TWA operated in its European route network. Its Boeing 727 aircraft served
Cairo,
Athens,
Rome,
London,
Paris,
Geneva, Berlin, Frankfurt,
Hamburg,
Stuttgart, Zürich,
Amsterdam,
Oslo,
Vienna, and
Istanbul. In 1987, Icahn moved the company's main offices from Manhattan to office buildings he owned in
Mount Kisco. TWA earned a profit of $106.2 million in 1987. In September 1988, TWA stockholders approved a plan to take the company private, winning Icahn $469 million in personal profit, but adding $539.7 million in debt to TWA. Every day, Boeing 747,
Lockheed L-1011, and
Boeing 767 aircraft departed to more than 30 cities in Europe, fed by a small but effective domestic operation focused on moving U.S. passengers to New York or other gateway cities for
wide-body service across the Atlantic, while a similar inter-European operation shuttled non-U.S. passengers to TWA's European gateways—London, Paris (which was even considered a European hub by TWA), and
Frankfurt—for travel to the United States. In 1989, TWA decided to replace its fleet of Boeing 727 Series 100 aircraft with the former
Ozark Airlines DC-9s. This decision was based on the economics of operating three-crew airplanes (727s) with three engines, versus operating two-crew airplanes (DC-9s) with two engines. Both airplanes had about the same passenger and cargo capacity, so it was decided to replace the Boeing fleet. To prepare for this transition, TWA positioned several million dollars' worth of spare parts for the DC-9s in Germany. This was a requirement dictated by the German government. If TWA wanted to use DC-9s in the service of the German population, then TWA had to provide readily available spare parts for its fleet. The airline also sent its senior DC-9 pilots (known as Check Airmen) to Europe to observe the operations in preparation for the changeover of the crews that were to follow. Shortly before the DC-9 airplanes began arriving in Germany, however, the entire plan was cancelled because the leasing contracts that Carl Icahn had created for the former Ozark DC-9s specifically forbade any operations outside the continental limits of the United States.
1990s In 1990, Icahn's pressing need for additional capital forced him to sell the airline's
Heathrow operations to American Airlines about the same time that Pan American World Airways sold its Heathrow operation to United.
1992 bankruptcy Tillinghast's analysis overlooked the possible implications of the transpacific industry and the
specialized air freight market. Based on available reports, there are allegations that he purportedly articulated the perspective that the Pacific area and the freight business exhibit a deficiency in financial performance. The primary aim of their endeavor was to diminish the scale of the airline to achieve financial sustainability.
Airline deregulation hit TWA hard in the 1980s. TWA had badly neglected domestic U.S. expansion at a time when the newly deregulated domestic market was growing quickly. TWA's holding company, Trans World Corporation, spun off the airline, which then became starved for capital. The airline briefly considered selling itself to renowned
corporate raider
Frank Lorenzo in the 1980s, but ended up selling to yet another corporate raider, Carl Icahn, in 1985. Under Icahn's direction, many of its most profitable assets were sold to competitors, much to the detriment of TWA. Icahn was eventually ousted in 1993, though not before the airline was forced to file for bankruptcy on January 31, 1992. Negotiations continued until a deal was reached on 24 Aug. 1992. In that deal, Icahn had to pay TWA $150 million, the employees reduced compensation by 15% over the next three years, and the creditors forgave $1 billion in debt. When TWA emerged from bankruptcy in Nov. 1993, employees owned 45% of the company. Jeffrey H. Erickson took over as president in 1994, moved its headquarters to St. Louis, and sponsored the
Trans World Dome. The ticket program agreement, which began on June 14, 1995, excluded tickets for travel which originated or terminated in St. Louis, Missouri. Tickets were subject to TWA's normal seat assignment and boarding pass rules and regulations - they were not assignable to any other carrier and were not endorsable. No commissions were paid to Karabu by TWA for tickets sold under the ticket program agreement. . By agreement dated August 14, 1995, Lowestfare.com LLC, a wholly owned operating subsidiary of Karabu, was joined as a party to the ticket program agreement. Pursuant to the ticket program agreement, Lowestfare.com could purchase an unlimited number of system tickets. System tickets are tickets for all applicable classes of service which were purchased by Karabu from TWA at a 45% discount from TWA's published fare. In addition to system tickets, Lowestfare.com could also purchase domestic consolidator tickets, which are tickets issued at bulk fare rates and were limited to specified origin/destination city markets and did not permit the holder to modify or refund a purchased ticket. Karabu's purchase of domestic consolidator tickets was subject to a cap of $70 million per year based on the full retail price of the tickets. On most TWA flights, Karabu could buy at a heavy discount and then sell a certain portion of all TWA's available seats. As a result, TWA was hamstrung by the high proportion of heavily discounted seats that had been sold and was essentially left with no control over its pricing. It could not afford to discount any of its seats, and if TWA wanted to increase revenue on busy routes by putting a larger plane into service, Karabu would only claim more seats. TWA was losing an estimated $150 million a year in revenue due to this deal. To ameliorate the Karabu deal, TWA entered and exited bankruptcy in 1995. TWA entered its second bankruptcy on June 30, 1995. When TWA emerged in August 1995, employee ownership was reduced to 30%, but the company was relieved of $0.5 billion of its $1.8 billion debt. In June 1994, its headquarters moved to One City Centre in downtown St. Louis. TWA's fleet-renewal program included adding newer and smaller, more fuel-efficient, longer-range aircraft such as the
Boeing 757 and 767 and short-range aircraft such as the
McDonnell Douglas MD-80 and
Boeing 717. Aircraft such as the Boeing 727 and 747, along with the
Lockheed L-1011 and older DC-9s, some from Ozark and the 1960s, were retired. TWA had international code-share agreements with
Royal Jordanian Airlines,
Kuwait Airways,
Royal Air Maroc,
Air Europa, and
Air Malta. In 1997, a code-share agreement was signed with
Air Ukraine with plans to begin service between Paris and Kyiv by 1999. Domestic code-share with
America West Airlines was started, with long-term plans for a merger considered. The airlines' routes were also changed; several international destinations were dropped or changed. The focus of the airline became domestic with a few international routes through its St. Louis hub and smaller New York (JFK) and San Juan,
Puerto Rico hubs. Domestically, the carrier improved services with redesigned aircraft and new services, including "Pay in Coach, Fly in First", whereby coach passengers could be upgraded to first class when flying through St. Louis. Internationally, services were cut. European destinations eventually were limited to London and Paris; and in the Middle East, to
Cairo,
Riyadh and
Tel Aviv.
2000s TWA stated that it planned to make Los Angeles a focus city around October 2000, with a partnership with
American Eagle Airlines as part of
Trans World Connection.
Acquisition by American Airlines Financial problems soon resurfaced and Trans World Airlines Inc. assets were acquired in April 2001 by
AMR Corp., the
parent company of American Airlines, which quickly formed a new company called TWA Airlines LLC. As part of the deal, TWA declared
Chapter 11 bankruptcy (for the third time) the day after it agreed to the purchase. The terms of the deal included a $745 million payment. The bankruptcy court approved the purchase over a rival bid by Jet Acquisition Group, an investment group fronted by
Ralph Atkin, founder of
SkyWest Airlines. The total value of TWA's assets and assumed liabilities was estimated to be $2 billion. American did not claim the naming rights for the Rams' home, which eventually became the Edward Jones Dome and later
The Dome at America's Center. TWA Airlines LLC flew its last flight on December 1, 2001, with an MD-83 aircraft painted in a special inverted livery named "Wings of Pride" (N948TW). The ceremonial last flight was
Flight 220 from Kansas City to St. Louis, with CEO Captain William Compton at the controls. The final flight before TWA was 'officially' absorbed by American Airlines was completed between St. Louis and
Las Vegas, Nevada, also on December 1, 2001. At 10:00 pm CST on that date, employees began removing all TWA signs and placards from airports around the country, replacing them with American Airlines signs. At midnight, all TWA flights officially became listed as American Airlines flights. Some aircraft carried hybrid American/TWA livery during the transition, with American's tricolor stripe on the fuselage and TWA titles on the tail and forward fuselage. American Airlines acquired some Ambassadors Clubs; other Ambassadors Clubs closed on December 2, 2001. TWA's St. Louis hub shrank after the acquisition, due to its proximity to American's larger hub at Chicago's
O'Hare International Airport. As a result, American initially replaced TWA's St. Louis mainline hub with
regional jet service (going from over 800 operations a day to just over 200) and downsized TWA's maintenance base in Kansas City. In September 2009, American Airlines announced its intent to shut down the St. Louis hub it inherited from TWA and, in October 2009, American Airlines announced its intent to close the Kansas City maintenance base by September 2010. == Logo and design ==