doc
Mar 12, 01, 3:04 pm
A brief history of Trans World Airlines:
--July 13, 1925: Western Air Express, the airline that would merge with Transcontinental Air Transport in 1930 to form the ``TWA'' brand, is incorporated.
--Oct. 25, 1930: TWA begins offering coast-to-coast all-air service, a trip that takes 36 hours and includes an overnight stop in Kansas City.
--1931: TWA moves headquarters from New York to Kansas City.
--Aug. 6, 1931: A shipment of livestock from St. Louis to Newark, N.J., on TWA is first air cargo service in the United States.
--1939: Movie mogul Howard Hughes acquires control of TWA.
--Feb. 5, 1946: TWA begins trans-Atlantic service with flight ending in Paris. Later that year, TWA adds service to Rome, Athens, Cairo, Lisbon and Madrid.
--1950: TWA officially becomes Trans World Airlines.
--1954: TWA starts relocating executive offices to New York, while training, maintenance and engineering offices remain in Kansas City.
--Jan. 3, 1957: TWA is the first airline to offer passengers freshly brewed coffee in flight.
--July 19, 1961: TWA shows its first in-flight movie, ``By Love Possessed,'' starring Lana Turner.
--April 6, 1967: TWA becomes the first U.S. airline to go all-jet.
--Jan. 1, 1979: Trans World Corp. is formed, with subsidiaries including Trans World Airlines, Canteen Corp., Hilton International, Spartan Food Service and Century 21 Real Estate.
--November 1983: Trans World Airlines becomes separate public company.
--June 14, 1985: Shiite gunmen seize a TWA airliner and force it to Beirut, Lebanon. A U.S. Navy diver was killed and 39 Americans held hostage for 17 days.
--Sept. 26, 1985: Carl Icahn acquires control of TWA.
--Sept. 7, 1988: Icahn takes the company private, at a cost of $610.3 million. Icahn receives $469 million. The deal adds $539.7 million to TWA's debt.
--1989: Icahn moves TWA headquarters to Mt. Kisco, N.Y.
--July 1, 1991: Icahn sells TWA routes from New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago to London to American Airlines.
--Jan. 31, 1992: TWA files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
--Jan. 8, 1993: Icahn resigns as chairman.
--February 1994: TWA relocates its headquarters to St. Louis.
--June 30, 1995: TWA again files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, emerging two months later.
--July 17, 1996: TWA Flight 800 from New York to Paris crashes shortly after takeoff, killing all 230 passengers aboard.
--July 2000: TWA celebrates 75th anniversary.
--Jan. 10, 2001: For the third time, TWA files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. AMR Corp [NYSE:AAR - news].'s American Airlines announces plans to buy the company and retire the TWA name.
--March 12, 2001: A U.S. bankruptcy judge in Delaware officially approves the deal.
-------
TWA Deal Bittersweet for Some
By JIM SALTER
AP Business Writer
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Pilot James Lawlor has grown fond of that TWA emblem on his jacket -- the same emblem his father, also a pilot, wore for 33 years before retiring in 1999.
Now, Lawlor and 20,000 other Trans World Airlines Inc. workers will have to get used to new attire. On Monday, a federal bankruptcy judge gave the go-ahead for American Airlines to buy TWA. Barring objection from regulators, the decision will eventually bring an end to one of the oldest and most recognizable names in aviation history.
``I'm pretty sad,'' Lawlor, of Kansas City, said after he heard the news at Kansas City International Airport. ``It's been a good place to work.''
Still, he figured the deal was for the best.
``If they'd sold the assets, I think it's quite probable a lot of us would be out of jobs,'' Lawlor said. ``So the buyout beats the alternative.''
Lawlor's reaction was like that of many connected to TWA -- glad to say goodbye to the financial black cloud that has hung over the airline and its workers for more than a decade, still sorry to see it go.
``That's the big drawback, that we'll lose the name that's been a hallmark in aviation for years and years,'' said Al Lane, a retired TWA pilot who is now a state representative in Kansas.
No timetable has been offered for phasing out the TWA name, though it won't go away immediately. The Justice Department still has to sign off on the merger. TWA workers must undergo training in the American way of business. Planes will have to be repainted.
TWA has been flying longer than any other carrier.
It was founded July 13, 1925, as Western Air Express. In 1930, it eventually became Transcontinental and Western Air, a mouthful by any standard. People started calling it TWA.
In 1950, movie mogul Howard Hughes, who owned a controlling interest in TWA, redubbed it Trans World Airlines, providing a more palatable name to go with the TWA acronym.
In its prime, TWA was the airline of choice for many of the rich and famous. Joe DiMaggio made flights west on TWA's Lockheed Constellation to visit wife Marilyn Monroe in Hollywood. Four times, the pope flew TWA on visits to the U.S., including his 1999 trip to St. Louis, a special honor for TWA since the airline is based here.
http://biz.yahoo.com/apf/010312/twa_reax.html
UPDATE: The Justice Department announced Friday it will not challenge American Airlines' proposed acquisition of TWA, a decision that effectively retires one of most storied names in the annals of U.S. aviation.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-American-TWA-Merger.html
See also:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum49/HTML/000331.html
[This message has been edited by doc (edited 03-16-2001).]
--July 13, 1925: Western Air Express, the airline that would merge with Transcontinental Air Transport in 1930 to form the ``TWA'' brand, is incorporated.
--Oct. 25, 1930: TWA begins offering coast-to-coast all-air service, a trip that takes 36 hours and includes an overnight stop in Kansas City.
--1931: TWA moves headquarters from New York to Kansas City.
--Aug. 6, 1931: A shipment of livestock from St. Louis to Newark, N.J., on TWA is first air cargo service in the United States.
--1939: Movie mogul Howard Hughes acquires control of TWA.
--Feb. 5, 1946: TWA begins trans-Atlantic service with flight ending in Paris. Later that year, TWA adds service to Rome, Athens, Cairo, Lisbon and Madrid.
--1950: TWA officially becomes Trans World Airlines.
--1954: TWA starts relocating executive offices to New York, while training, maintenance and engineering offices remain in Kansas City.
--Jan. 3, 1957: TWA is the first airline to offer passengers freshly brewed coffee in flight.
--July 19, 1961: TWA shows its first in-flight movie, ``By Love Possessed,'' starring Lana Turner.
--April 6, 1967: TWA becomes the first U.S. airline to go all-jet.
--Jan. 1, 1979: Trans World Corp. is formed, with subsidiaries including Trans World Airlines, Canteen Corp., Hilton International, Spartan Food Service and Century 21 Real Estate.
--November 1983: Trans World Airlines becomes separate public company.
--June 14, 1985: Shiite gunmen seize a TWA airliner and force it to Beirut, Lebanon. A U.S. Navy diver was killed and 39 Americans held hostage for 17 days.
--Sept. 26, 1985: Carl Icahn acquires control of TWA.
--Sept. 7, 1988: Icahn takes the company private, at a cost of $610.3 million. Icahn receives $469 million. The deal adds $539.7 million to TWA's debt.
--1989: Icahn moves TWA headquarters to Mt. Kisco, N.Y.
--July 1, 1991: Icahn sells TWA routes from New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago to London to American Airlines.
--Jan. 31, 1992: TWA files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
--Jan. 8, 1993: Icahn resigns as chairman.
--February 1994: TWA relocates its headquarters to St. Louis.
--June 30, 1995: TWA again files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, emerging two months later.
--July 17, 1996: TWA Flight 800 from New York to Paris crashes shortly after takeoff, killing all 230 passengers aboard.
--July 2000: TWA celebrates 75th anniversary.
--Jan. 10, 2001: For the third time, TWA files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. AMR Corp [NYSE:AAR - news].'s American Airlines announces plans to buy the company and retire the TWA name.
--March 12, 2001: A U.S. bankruptcy judge in Delaware officially approves the deal.
-------
TWA Deal Bittersweet for Some
By JIM SALTER
AP Business Writer
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Pilot James Lawlor has grown fond of that TWA emblem on his jacket -- the same emblem his father, also a pilot, wore for 33 years before retiring in 1999.
Now, Lawlor and 20,000 other Trans World Airlines Inc. workers will have to get used to new attire. On Monday, a federal bankruptcy judge gave the go-ahead for American Airlines to buy TWA. Barring objection from regulators, the decision will eventually bring an end to one of the oldest and most recognizable names in aviation history.
``I'm pretty sad,'' Lawlor, of Kansas City, said after he heard the news at Kansas City International Airport. ``It's been a good place to work.''
Still, he figured the deal was for the best.
``If they'd sold the assets, I think it's quite probable a lot of us would be out of jobs,'' Lawlor said. ``So the buyout beats the alternative.''
Lawlor's reaction was like that of many connected to TWA -- glad to say goodbye to the financial black cloud that has hung over the airline and its workers for more than a decade, still sorry to see it go.
``That's the big drawback, that we'll lose the name that's been a hallmark in aviation for years and years,'' said Al Lane, a retired TWA pilot who is now a state representative in Kansas.
No timetable has been offered for phasing out the TWA name, though it won't go away immediately. The Justice Department still has to sign off on the merger. TWA workers must undergo training in the American way of business. Planes will have to be repainted.
TWA has been flying longer than any other carrier.
It was founded July 13, 1925, as Western Air Express. In 1930, it eventually became Transcontinental and Western Air, a mouthful by any standard. People started calling it TWA.
In 1950, movie mogul Howard Hughes, who owned a controlling interest in TWA, redubbed it Trans World Airlines, providing a more palatable name to go with the TWA acronym.
In its prime, TWA was the airline of choice for many of the rich and famous. Joe DiMaggio made flights west on TWA's Lockheed Constellation to visit wife Marilyn Monroe in Hollywood. Four times, the pope flew TWA on visits to the U.S., including his 1999 trip to St. Louis, a special honor for TWA since the airline is based here.
http://biz.yahoo.com/apf/010312/twa_reax.html
UPDATE: The Justice Department announced Friday it will not challenge American Airlines' proposed acquisition of TWA, a decision that effectively retires one of most storied names in the annals of U.S. aviation.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-American-TWA-Merger.html
See also:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum49/HTML/000331.html
[This message has been edited by doc (edited 03-16-2001).]