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End is near for TWA name
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November 7, 2001: 8:22 a.m. ET
Brand that dates back to early days of aviation will disappear on Dec. 2.
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NEW YORK (CNNmoney) - The end is near for the Trans World Airlines name, whose TWA brand goes back to the earliest days of commercial passenger aviation.
The airline, which was purchased by American Airlines parent AMR Corp. earlier this year, will stop using the TWA name on flights as of Dec. 2, as part of a move to integrate the unit into American.
The airline first flew under the TWA brand in 1930 when the letters stood for Transcontinental and Western Air Inc. That carrier was formed from the merger of Western Air Express, which was formed in 1925, and Transcontinental Air Transport, an airline whose routes were laid out by aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh.
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The TWA name will disappear at ticket counters and gates on Dec. 2 as part of the airline's integration into American Airlines. | |
Howard Hughes, who acquired control of the airline in 1939, changed the name to Trans World Airlines in 1950, about four years after it started trans-Atlantic service.
The airline filed for bankruptcy protection in January the same day it agreed to be purchased by AMR Corp. for about $742 million. The deal closed in April.
The airlines have continued to operate as separate carriers since the deal closed. While management and nonunion staffs of the two airlines have been combined, the union pilots, flight attendants and mechanics at the two airlines continue to operate separately.
Passengers will continue to see no change through Dec. 1. As of Dec. 2, the TWA ticket counters and gates will all have American Airlines signage. 
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