Trans World Airlines

History

1930s

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".

On October 25, 1930, the airline offered one of the first all-plane scheduled services from coast to coast. The route took 36 hours, which included an overnight stay in Kansas City. In summer 1931, TWA moved its headquarters from New York to Kansas City, Missouri.

On March 31, 1931, the airline suffered after the 1931 Transcontinental & Western Air Fokker F-10 crash near Matfield Green, Kansas. The crash killed all eight on board, including University of Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne. The cause of the crash was linked to the wooden wings, one of which failed in flight. As a consequence, all of the airline's Fokker F.10s were grounded and later scrapped. TWA needed a replacement aircraft, but the first sixty modern all-metal Boeing 247s were promised to Boeing's sister company United Airlines (both were subsidiaries of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation). TWA was forced to sponsor the development of a new airplane design. Specifications included the ability to fly the high altitude route between Winslow, Arizona, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, with one engine inoperative. Other specifications included the capacity to carry 12 passengers and a range of 1,080 miles.

On September 20, 1932, the development contract was signed with Douglas Aircraft Company and the Douglas DC-1 was delivered to TWA in December 1933, the sole example of its type. On February 18, 1934, Frye (pilot) and Eastern Air Lines' head Eddie Rickenbacker (co-pilot), flew the DC-1 from Glendale, California, to Newark, New Jersey, setting a transcontinental record of 13 hours and 4 minutes. On April 17, Frye was elected president of TWA. Throughout 1934, Tommy Tomlinson set further load and distance records with the DC-1. At the same time, TWA used its Northrop Gamma as an "experimental Overweather Laboratory", in a desire to fly at altitudes above the weather.

1940s

TWA contracted its five Stratoliners to the Army Air Force's Air Transport Command after Pearl Harbor. Designated as C-75s, they flew 3000 transatlantic flights to Africa and Europe. TWA also contracted to fly its C-54s and Lockheed C-69 Constellations. Hughes and TWA had developed the Constellation in secret with Lockheed, and Hughes purchased 40 for TWA's use in 1939, through his Hughes Tool Company. On April 17, 1944, Hughes and Frye flew the TWA Constellation from Burbank, California, to Washington, D.C., in 6 hours 58 minutes. By the war's end, 20 Constellations had been built.

TWA had 10 Constellations by the end of 1945 and acquired international routes. TWA inaugurated its New York-Paris route on February 5, 1946, with the Star of Paris. The Italy route was initiated on 2 April and then extended to Cairo. Hughes flew the Star of California from Los Angeles to New York on February 15, 1946, in 8 hours and 38 minutes. Hollywood passengers included Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, William Powell, Frank Morgan, Walter Pidgeon, Tyrone Power, Edward G. Robinson. Hence TWA's reputation as the "airline of the stars".

On October 21, 1946, TWA pilots went on strike. The strike finally ended when TWA and the pilots union agreed to binding arbitration on November 15, 1946. Additionally, TWA lost $14.5 million in 1946, owed $4.34 million in short-term debt and $38.9 million in long-term debt. Yet Hughes opposed Frye's financing proposals.

Frye and Hughes had a falling out in 1947. Hughes's financial advisor Noah Dietrich wrote that "Frye's inept handling of costs, his inefficient operations, his extravagance with new purchases of equipment, all these factors combined to nosedive the TWA stock from 71 at the war's end to 9 in 1947". The airline was losing $20,000,000 a year, was in danger of not being able to acquire fuel for its planes due to being deeply indebted to oil companies, and the pilot's union went on strike. Hughes provided $10,000,000 worth of financing, which was later converted to 1,039,000 shares, Frye was removed, and Hughes added 11 members to the board, giving him control. Thus ended the era of "The Airline Run by Flyers".

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.

1950s: Trans World Airlines

On February 22, 1950, TWA signed a contract with the Glenn L. Martin Company for 12 Martin 2-0-2s and 30 Martin 4-0-4s. The first plane was delivered on July 14, 1950. TWA's Martin fleet was eventually increased to 53 planes, and they remained operational until 1961. On May 17, 1950, the airline officially changed its name to Trans World Airlines. On December 5, 1950, TWA ordered 10 Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations, which were delivered in 1952. On October 19, 1953, TWA offered nonstop transcontinental service.

TWA's flight operations were based at Kansas City Municipal Airport, while their overhaul base was located at Fairfax Airport. When the Great Flood of 1951 destroyed the facility, the city of Kansas City helped TWA build a new facility on 5000 acres, 18 miles (29 km) north of downtown at what became Kansas City International Airport.

On July 10, 1953, TWA ordered 20 Lockheed 1049Es, which was later changed to be 1049Gs. They were put in service on April 1, 1955. On September 25, TWA introduced multiple class services, first and economy. On October 30, they inaugurated their Los Angeles-London route, via New York.

On December 23, 1954, the Hughes Tool Co. ordered 25 Lockheed L-1449 turboprops. On March 29, 1955, this order was changed to piston-powered L-1649As. Hughes transferred the planes to TWA in 1956, after receiving Civil Aeronautics Board approval. The first L-1649A was delivered on May 4, 1957. Fully reclining seats were later added to the airliner.

In February 1956, Hughes Tool Co. placed an order with Pratt & Whitney for 300 jet engines, JT-3s and JT-4s. On March 2, 1956, Hughes Tool Co. placed an order for 8 domestic Boeing 707s, later increased to 15 aircraft on January 10, 1957, and an order for 18 international 707s on 19 March 1956, bringing the total order with Boeing to 33 jet planes. Then on June 7, 1956, Hughes placed an order for 30 Convair 880 Skylarks. Hughes wanted the newly ordered Covair's to be made of an aluminum alloy that looked like polished gold with an applied TWA logo in red. They were to be called "Golden Arrows." The plan was later dropped.

TWA suffered from its late entry to the jet age, and Hughes' 1956 order cost $497 million. The transaction ultimately resulted in Hughes losing control of the airline.

1960s

In 1961, TWA introduced in-flight movies. In 1962, TWA started using Doppler radar on its international flights.

In 1960, Hughes relinquished control of the airline, as the major stockholder, through the financial terms associated with the jet purchase. As a consequence of that deal, Charles C. Tillinghast Jr. took over as president. The battle over Hughes' control continued in court until 1966 when Hughes was forced to sell his stock. That sale brought Hughes $546,549,771.

Under a plan put together by Dillon, Read & Co., a $165 million loan was raised to fund a 45-jet fleet. The deal was signed on December 30, 1960 by Hughes' lawyer Raymond Holliday, who constituted one member of a three-person voting trust, with the other two members, Ernest R. Breech and Irving S. Olds, represented the financing institutions. On June 30, 1961, TWA filed a federal suit against Hughes, Hughes Tool Co., and Raymond Holliday. Then on April 18, 1962, TWA filed a Delaware suit against Hughes and Hughes Tool Co. On January 10, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against TWA in the federal case. However, on May 15, 1986, Delaware ruled in favor of TWA for the state case, eventually awarding TWA $48,346,000.

TWA started operating its Convair 880s on January 12, 1961 but would report a net loss of $38.7 million for 1961. TWA reported a net profit of $19.8 million in 1963, $37 million in 1964, and $50.1 million in 1965. TWA stock went from $7.5 per share in 1962 to $62 in 1965.

Under new management, the Trans World Corporation (TWA's holding company) expanded to purchase Hilton Hotels, Hardee's, Canteen Corp., and Century 21 Realty. Employment grew to nearly 10,000 employees. In 1964, TWA started a program to assist in the United States export expansion effort that became known as the TWA MarketAir Corporate Logo to promote business passenger air travel and as a marketing tool to be used in air cargo sales. This marketing effort was initiated by the Senior Vice President, of Marketing, Thomas B. McFadden, in collaboration with the Bureau of International Commerce, important U.S. financial institutions, and export expansion entities to offer tools that small and medium-sized U.S. companies could use at low or no cost to expand their exports. Staff management of this program was under the direction of Joseph S. Cooper. A key element of this program was the MarketAir Newsletter in a number of languages targeted to American exporters and international travellers.

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. During the early 1970s, the aviation industry faced significant challenges due to a severe economic downturn. TWA, in particular, had difficulties as their Boeing 747s and Lockheed L-1011s flew with very low passenger numbers. TWA had originally purchased these planes not because they needed them for their operations, but rather because Pan Am had ordered a large number of them. Consequently, TWA had to manage excess capacity with a fleet of oversized planes that exceeded their actual requirements. By 1975, the financial obligations of some payrolls could only be fulfilled by promptly selling six Boeing 747 aircraft to the Iranian Air Force. The financial deal involving TWA, in which the jetliners were sold for around one-sixth of their true value, was regrettable. However, the airline was in a state of desperation for immediate liquidity. TWA was experiencing financial losses on its trans-Pacific route which was part of its around the world route network during the early 1970s. 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

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.

TWA's zenith as an international carrier occurred in the summer of 1988, when, for the only time, the airline carried more than 50 percent of all transatlantic passengers. 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.

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.

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 August 24, 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 airline had announced plans to move the headquarters to St. Louis in 1993.

When Carl Icahn left in 1993, he arranged to have TWA give Karabu Corp., an entity he controlled, the rights to buy TWA tickets at 45% off published fares through September 2003. This was named "the Karabu deal". 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.

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.

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 booking ended on November 30, 2001.

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

The red TWA logo was developed in the 1950s with the red and white color scheme developed by Howard Hughes. In the 1960s, Raymond Loewy, legendary industrial designer, created the dynamic red arrow on white that ran the length of the fuselage. The red arrow lasted well into the 1970s.

In 1962, Loewy updated the corporate logo which had consisted of bold, purely typographic red italic letters. He kept the letters but added a double globe in yellow. The new logo was used for a majority of TWA's purposes until 1975, when the purely red typographic logo of red letters was reintroduced.

The red and white color scheme developed by Hughes was a central part of the airline's identity and lasted until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001.

Ongoing heritage

On December 16, 2013, Doug Parker, CEO of American Airlines Group, announced that TWA heritage aircraft would be added in the future: "We will continue that tradition at American, including introducing a TWA aircraft in the future and keeping a US Airways livery aircraft. That also means we will keep a heritage American livery in the fleet". On November 16, 2015, American painted a 737-823 in the TWA livery (with American titles, as shown to the right). The last of the TWA MD-83s stayed in service until September 2019. This was the last Trans World Airlines, Inc. aircraft in the American Airlines fleet.

An original lighted TWA sign still exists (as of 2019) on the east side of Saarinen's TWA Flight Center terminal facing JetBlue's Terminal 5. This sign has been incorporated by the TWA Hotel as part of their use of the TWA Flight Center building.

On May 15, 2019, the TWA Hotel opened in the Flight Center's headhouse, after four years of restoration work that began in 2015. In addition to replacing and repairing much of the infrastructure of the building, additional buildings were constructed to house the hotel rooms, with the Flight Center's interior being used for the lobby, restaurants and exhibition facilities. In addition, a vintage Lockheed Constellation L-1649 Starliner was acquired and fully restored for use as the hotel's cocktail bar, being placed on a section of apron in front of the hotel.

Destinations

For commuter destinations, see Trans World Express and Trans World Connection.

TWA had codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Air Europa

Air Malta

America West Airlines

American Airlines

Kuwait Airways

Royal Air Maroc

Royal Jordanian

Fleet

Final fleet

When Trans World Airlines was acquired by American Airlines in 2001, their fleet contained the following aircraft:

Retired fleet

Trans World Airlines had previously operated the following aircraft:

TWA, at one time, also held orders for both the BAC-Aérospatiale Concorde and Boeing 2707 supersonic transports (SST) as well as the Sud Aviation Caravelle and the Airbus A330-300. The remaining A330 orders were eventually converted to A318 orders. TWA, along with Alaska Airlines, Braniff International, Southwest Airlines and USAir, are the only major U.S.-based airlines to never have operated the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 as TWA chose the Lockheed L-1011 instead.

Accidents and incidents

Since 1942, TWA was involved in 84 incidents.

One of the first to gain wide press coverage was the crash of NC1946 (a DC-3), operating as Flight 3, which killed Hollywood film star Carole Lombard, her mother, and 20 others.

On July 11, 1946, a TWA Lockheed Constellation, NC86513, operating as TWA Flight 513, a training flight, crashed in Reading, Pennsylvania. Of six crew members, only one survived. The crash was caused by a fire in the cargo hold and grounded all Constellations from July 12 until August 23, 1946.

Another disaster that gained widespread coverage was the collision of a TWA Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation with a United Airlines' Douglas DC-7 over the Grand Canyon in 1956, which killed all 128 people on board both airliners. This accident led to groundbreaking changes in the regulation of flight operations in the United States.

A similar event occurred in 1960, this time in New York City, when another TWA L-1049 collided with a United Douglas DC-8. The disaster killed 134 people: 84 on board the UAL DC-8, 44 on board the TWA L-1049, and six people on the ground. No one survived from either airliner.

On June 26, 1959, a TWA Lockheed L-1649 Starliner, N7313C, operating as TWA Flight 891, crashed in a violent thunderstorm after it departed from Malpensa Airport, some 25 miles northwest of Milan, at 16.20. The aircraft was struck by lightning while flying at 11,000 feet above the ground, disintegrated with a tremendous explosion, burst into flames and crashed in several charred parts scattered over an area of five miles

Terrorist target

From 1969 to 1986, six TWA airliners were terrorist targets for Palestinian fedayeen, four of which were hijackings and two were bombings, mainly because the airline had a strong European presence, was a flag carrier for the United States, and flew to Israel.

In 1969, TWA Flight 840 from Rome to Athens was hijacked and forcibly diverted to Damascus. Nobody was injured, but the aircraft's nose was blown up (although replaced and the plane returned to service).

In 1970, TWA Flight 741 was hijacked after taking off from Frankfurt am Main en route to New York City. It was taken to Dawson's Field in Jordan, along with two other hijacked aircraft. All three aircraft were empty of passengers and crew when they were destroyed. A fourth aircraft landed in Cairo and had a similar fate.

In 1971, three members of the group "Republic of New Afrika" who had murdered a New Mexico State Police officer on November 8 hijacked TWA Flight 106, a Boeing 727, from Albuquerque to Havana. Passengers were released in Tampa, Florida.

In 1974, TWA Flight 841 from Tel Aviv to New York City crashed into the Ionian Sea shortly after takeoff from Athens en route to Rome after a bomb believed to have been in the cargo hold exploded, killing all 88 on board.

In 1976, TWA Flight 355 was hijacked by five Croatian separatists as it flew from New York–LaGuardia to O'Hare International. They ordered the pilot to fly to Montreal, where the plane was refueled, and then made additional refueling stops in Gander and Keflavik; at some of these stops, the hijackers unloaded propaganda pamphlets that they demanded to be dropped over Montreal, Chicago, New York, London, and Paris. At the plane's final stop, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, the hijackers surrendered after direct talks with U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Rush, and their explosives were revealed to be fakes.

In 1985, TWA Flight 847 from Athens to Rome was hijacked first to Beirut, then to Algiers, back to Beirut, back to Algiers, and finally back to Beirut—with some of its fuel being paid for by the Shell credit card of flight attendant Uli Derickson. United States Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert Stethem was singled out by Hezbollah as a member of the American military. The hijackers beat and tortured Stethem; Mohammed Ali Hammadi murdered the dying sailor and dumped his body on the tarmac. Robert Stethem was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with burial in Arlington National Cemetery. The memory of Robert Dean Stethem is honored by his nation with a namesake U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS Stethem (DDG-63).

TWA Flight 800

TWA's worst accident occurred on July 17, 1996, when Flight 800, a Boeing 747 en route to Paris, exploded over the Atlantic Ocean near Long Island, killing all 230 people on board. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the most likely cause of the disaster was a center-fuel-tank explosion sparked by exposed wiring. In their subsequent coverage, the media focused heavily on the fact that TWA's airline fleet was among the oldest in service (the 747 used for Flight 800 was manufactured in 1971, making it 25 years old at the time of the incident). The flight was under the command of Captain Steven Snyder, a veteran TWA pilot.

Crew bases

TWA had crew bases in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Frankfurt. International flight attendants' crew bases were located in Paris, Rome, Hong Kong, and, at one time, Cairo. Starting in 1996, TWA had a "West Coast Regional Domicile", in which pilots and flight attendants covered originating flights out of major West Coast U.S. airports from San Diego, California, north to San Francisco.

Ambassadors Club

TWA operated Ambassadors Club locations in various airports. American Airlines acquired some clubs, and other clubs closed on December 2, 2001. Before the closure of the clubs, TWA maintained clubs at:

Clubs in North America open on December 1, 2001

United States

California

Los Angeles (Los Angeles International Airport) (Converted into Alaska Airlines Board Room)

San Francisco (San Francisco International Airport) (Converted into Alaska Airlines Board Room)

Massachusetts

Boston (Logan International Airport)

Missouri

Kansas City (Kansas City International Airport) (Converted into Admirals Club)

St. Louis (Lambert-St. Louis International Airport) (Converted into Admirals Club)

New York

New York City (LaGuardia Airport)

Virginia

Washington, D.C., area (Washington Dulles International Airport)

Clubs in North America and the Caribbean closed prior to dissolution

United States

Arizona

Phoenix (Sky Harbor International Airport)

California

(San Diego International Airport)

New Mexico

Albuquerque (Albuquerque International Sunport)

New Jersey

Newark (Newark Liberty International Airport)

New York

New York City (John F. Kennedy International Airport)

Ohio

Columbus (Port Columbus International Airport)

Dayton (Dayton International Airport)

Texas

Dallas/Fort Worth (Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport)

Houston (George Bush Intercontinental Airport)

Virginia

Washington, D.C., area (Washington Reagan National Airport)

Washington

(Seattle-Tacoma International Airport)

Puerto Rico

San Juan (Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport)

Clubs in Europe closed prior to dissolution

United Kingdom

London (London Gatwick Airport)

France

Paris (Charles de Gaulle Airport)

Italy

Milan (Malpensa Airport)

Rome (Leonardo Da Vinci Airport)

Germany

Frankfurt (Frankfurt Airport) (became an American Airlines Admirals Club in 1997)

Leadership

Presidents and chairman of TWA were:

President

Harris Mathewson Hanshue, 1930–1931

Richard W. Robbins, 1931–1934

William John Frye, December 27, 1934 – February 21, 1947

LaMotte Turck Cohu, April 24, 1947 – June 1, 1948

Ralph Shepard Damon, January 25, 1949 – January 4, 1956 †

Carter Lane Burgess, February 4, 1957 – January 1, 1958

Warren Lee Pierson (acting), January 9, 1958 – July 2, 1958

Charles Sparks Thomas, July 2, 1958 – July 28, 1960

Charles Carpenter Tillinghast Jr., April 17, 1961 – April 24, 1969

Forwood Cloud Wiser Jr., April 24, 1969 – June 18, 1975

Charles Carpenter Tillinghast Jr. (acting), June 18, 1975 – January 6, 1976

Carl Edwin Meyer Jr., January 6, 1976 – September 23, 1985

Richard Dwayne Pearson, September 23, 1985 – June 11, 1986

D. Joseph Corr, January 15, 1987 – October 31, 1988

Jeffrey Hartford Erickson, April 1994 – January 1997

William F. Compton, December 3, 1997 – October 1, 2001

Chairman of the Board

Henry Belin du Pont III, October 13, 1934 – February 7, 1936

Thomas Bayne Wilson, November 29, 1938 – February 15, 1947

Warren Lee Pierson, April 24, 1947 – April 27, 1961

Ernest Robert Breech, April 27, 1961 – April 24, 1969

Charles Carpenter Tillinghast Jr., April 24, 1969 – December 31, 1977

Louis Edwin Smart Jr., January 1, 1977 – January 1, 1979Subsidiary of Transworld Corporation, January 1, 1979 – February 1984

Carl Celian Icahn, January 1986 – ?

William Reed Howard, July 13, 1993 – January 4, 1994

Donald Forsyth Craib Jr., January 4, 1994 – February 28, 1995

John Conway Cahill, February 28, 1995 – November 4, 1995 †

Thomas Francis Meagher, November 14, 1995 – February 12, 1997

Gerald Leslie Gitner, February 12, 1997 – 1999

† = died in office