Trans World Airlines

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[edit] History

Trans World Airlines (IATA: TW, ICAO: TWA, and Callsign: TWA), commonly known as TWA, was an American airline which was acquired by American Airlines in April 2001. For many years it was headquartered at the Kansas City Downtown Airport, as well as midtown Manhattan in New York City. At the time of the merger, it was headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and used the airport nearby, St Louis Lambert Field, as its major hub.

The airline was founded on July 13, 1925, as Western Air Express. In 1930 it merged with Transcontinental Air Transport (T-A-T) to become Transcontinental and Western Air (T&WA).

Howard Hughes purchased T&WA in 1939, and the airline expanded dramatically under the leadership of Hughes and CEO Jack Frye. After breaking Pan American World Airways legal designation as the United States' sole international carrier, TWA began transatlantic service in 1946 using new Lockheed Constellation aircraft. Until the early 1970s, TWA and Pan Am were the only U.S. airlines serving Europe.

In 1950, the airline changed its name to Trans World Airlines. It established routes from Europe to Asia during the 1950s and 1960s, flying its aircraft as far east as Hong Kong. In the Transpacific Route Case of 1969, TWA was given authority to extend its route network across the Pacific Ocean as well. TWA was also a major helper in the foundation of Saudi Arabian Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines.

Hughes' growing eccentricities caused TWA to sue for his removal as chairman in 1961. Under new corporate management, the TWA Corporation expanded to purchase the overseas operations of Hilton Hotels. By 1969, TWA's transatlantic operation was larger than Pan Am's.

TWA's landmark Terminal 5 at New York City's JFK International Airport, designed by Eero Saarinen, is one of the world's most famous buildings: a lyrical expression of the unified sculptural forms that could be created in reinforced concrete, before the age of computer aided design.