Trans World Airlines

Trans World Airlines began in 1930 as Transcontinental & Western Air and became one of the "Big Four" US domestic carriers, later a second unofficial US flag carrier after Pan Am. Debt, deregulation and three bankruptcies wore it down, and American Airlines bought its assets in 2001. The last TWA flights ran on 1 December 2001.

How it started

TWA's corporate history dates from 16 July 1930, when the US Post Office pushed several carriers into a forced merger. According to Wikipedia, Transcontinental Air Transport, Western Air Express, Maddux Air Lines and others combined at the urging of Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown, who wanted bigger airlines to hold airmail contracts. The new Transcontinental & Western Air flew from New York to Los Angeles via St. Louis and Kansas City, using Ford Trimotors. Some sources trace the lineage further back to Western Air Express (1924), which is why founding dates vary; the 1930 merger is the one used here.

Early publicity leaned on Charles Lindbergh, and the airline was known as "The Lindbergh Line". A crash in 1931 that killed Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne led to the grounding of its wooden-winged Fokker F-10s. TWA then sponsored the Douglas DC-1, which led to the DC-2 and DC-3.

The heyday

Howard Hughes gained control in the 1940s. TWA and Hughes developed the Lockheed Constellation, and the airline opened New York–Paris on 5 February 1946. Its Hollywood passengers earned it a reputation as the "airline of the stars". After the war it served Europe, the Middle East and Asia, making it a second unofficial US flag carrier behind Pan Am. Its Eero Saarinen-designed Flight Center at New York JFK opened in 1962 and remains an architectural landmark.

Its international peak came in summer 1988, when, for the only time, it carried more than half of all transatlantic passengers, according to Wikipedia. Boeing 747, Lockheed L-1011 and Boeing 767 aircraft flew to more than 30 European cities, fed by a domestic network. St. Louis became its largest hub after the 1986 purchase of Ozark Air Lines.

What went wrong

• Deregulation and neglect. After 1978, TWA had neglected domestic expansion in a fast-growing market. Its holding company spun it off in 1983–84, leaving it short of capital.
• Icahn's ownership. Carl Icahn took control in 1985 and took the airline private in 1988. That added about $540 million in debt, and valuable assets were sold, including the Heathrow routes to American in 1990.
• Repeated bankruptcies. TWA filed for Chapter 11 on 31 January 1992 and again on 30 June 1995, as creditors and employees took losses and equity.
• The Karabu deal. A ticket agreement with an Icahn-controlled company, running to 2003, gave it the right to buy seats at 45% off. Wikipedia says this cost TWA an estimated $150 million a year in revenue.
• Flight 800 and an old fleet. The 1996 explosion of TWA Flight 800 added further strain. TWA announced a renewal order for 125 aircraft, and by 1998 it had become mainly a domestic carrier built around St. Louis and New York.

Financial problems returned. In January 2001 TWA filed for a third bankruptcy, and American's parent AMR bought its assets, as Wikipedia reports. That included a $745 million payment, and the court approved the sale over a rival bid from a group fronted by SkyWest founder Ralph Atkin.

The last flight

AMR set up TWA Airlines LLC to operate the business. Bookings on TWA ended on 30 November 2001. On 1 December 2001, an MD-83 in a special "Wings of Pride" inverted livery (N948TW) flew the ceremonial last flight, Flight 220 from Kansas City to St. Louis, with CEO Captain William Compton at the controls. The Simple Flying history of the St. Louis hub gives the same date and route. Wikipedia adds that a final flight before the official absorption ran between St. Louis and Las Vegas that day. At 10pm Central Time employees began replacing TWA signs with American ones, and at midnight all TWA flights became American flights.

What happened next

TWA continued to exist as an LLC under American until 1 July 2003. Some aircraft flew in a hybrid livery for a while, and American took over some Admirals Club-style lounges (TWA's Ambassadors Clubs) while closing others on 2 December 2001. American laid off many former TWA employees after the 11 September 2001 attacks.

St. Louis was cut back sharply, from over 800 daily operations to just over 200. American announced the closure of that hub in 2009 and of the Kansas City maintenance base in 2010. The order for Airbus A318 and A330 aircraft passed to American but was later cancelled. The 29 Boeing 717s TWA had in service also moved to American.

Sources: Wikipedia: Trans World Airlines, Simple Flying: American Airlines' St Louis hub, Fandom Culture: Trans World Airlines