TWAHistory.com

Today is the front page from the employee newsletter, the “TWA Skyliner”.  The big news?

They were bringing back the Polar Route:  LAX-CDG.  This was served with the first of the Boeing 767-300’s they purchased.  This particular one was from Condor.  (It was TWA #16103, tail # N691LF.  You can see a picture of it from airliners.net right here.)

Also in this issue:  Optimism about TWA’s Summer Schedule, including more international flights from JFK (59 today to 77 by June 1st) and more flights from STL (257 today to ‘more than 300′ by June 1st).  A lot of these increases were by reducing service at the infamous ATL hub from 57 down to 11 flights.

Also included is an article about a retired TWA pilot by the name of Captain Randy Kramer.  He spent his own time in the LAX Ambassador’s Club greeting passengers and in general, spreading goodwill.  Another example of how TWA’s people went ‘above and beyond’.

Enjoy!

Yeah, it’s been too long.

Sorry about that; it’s been hectic here.

So, today, I present the April 1992 schedule.  The highlights?  Well, TWA was flying to Moscow.  Only $800 in economy!  I believe this was a 727-200 from Brussels to Moscow, but not 100% sure on that.

Click images for larger versions.

Thanks to the Disneyland blog Stuff from the Park, we have a brochure that TWA released for taking TWA to Disneyland. The copyright date on the brochure is 1955, so this is from shortly after the park opened.

Of course, TWA sponsored the “Rocket Ship to the Moon” ride. This was later changed to Mars.

Link to original Blog entry.

Thanks to reader Alex S, he pointed out this recent auction on Ebay:  TWA’s $100,000 Cosmic Auction.

According to the description, it was a contest that TWA put on back in 1955.  You’d write an essay describing what air travel would be like in 30 years, or 1985.

You could enter an essay to win $50,000 now or $50,000 in 1985.  In 1985, they’d open the container of all the entries and pick a winner.

Does anyone know if this was given way in 1985?  According to the images, it was stored at the Kansas City maintenance base, so maybe someone there could recall it?  (That is, to say, if Icahn didn’t take the $50,000 to buy something else.

I’ve attached the images from the auction, to be sure these are kept.  It’s very interesting!

If anyone has any information on this contest,  be sure to leave a comment or send me some email.

Here’s a schedule from July 1994, featuring FA Patricia Marshall on the front cover.  I think putting TWA’s greatest assets, it’s employee-owners on the cover, was a great idea.

About the only thing that really stands out in this one for me is that Alpha Air is still a Trans World Express partner.  Didn’t seem to last too long.

Merry Christmas!

(Click images for larger version.)

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and traveled safely on airlines other than TWA.

Let’s take a look at some email I’ve received lately.

First off is Andre at TriSta500.net, a great website dedicated to the L1011-500.  Even though he doesn’t have any TWA-specific info, he sends along the TWA L-1011 Cabin Plan from an old issue of the OAG: (Click for larger version.)

Thanks, Andre for sending that along! And check out his great website.

Up next is Pete asking about a jeep.  Here’s his email:

Howdy,

I am buying this jeep from a fella in Woodland Hills.  I would like to research where it might have come from or where it was used.  Rumor has it Mr. Hughes had ordered three of these.  Do you have any thoughts as to where I could start checking?

Extremely Rare 2 wheel drive Red Fire Inspector TWA / AA CJ Jeep.  Has only driver’s seat and a special gas tank in the interior.  Very low miles, under 30,000 and under 350 hours on a four cylinder engine.  Running condition. Special heavy duty rear suspension and airport rear wheels and tires. 1969 CJ No top

And here is the picture he sent along:

Well, Pete, I’m not sure on that one.  If it’s a 1969 Jeep, as in your description, that was 8 years after Howard Hughes left TWA, so I don’t think that’s it.

If anyone has information, send it to comments@twahistory.com and I’ll forward it on to Pete.

Finally, we have S.M.D. who asks:

I would love to hear the late ’60s commercial “Up, Up & Away…T-W-A” based upon the 5th Dimension song. I used to work on the TWA computer processing account at that time and I loved that commercial. Any chance that you could find a copy and upload it to your website? That would be much appreciated.

Well, S.M.D., I don’t have it, but hopefully someone out there does.

Keep those letters coming!  If you have a question, or even has some TWA memorabilia you would love to share with others, send me an email!

Sorry for the delay in updates; it’s been quite hectic for me, and updating the site is just one of those things that fell by the wayside.

Today, I have the May 1998 schedule.

This is one of the latest schedules I have in my collection, actually.  I don’t think I even have one that is later than this.

It was interesting to see all the new service that TWA was touting:  new flights from St. Louis to Anchorage,  and increased service to many existing destinations.

I’ve also included the flight itineraries that they so thoughtfully included in the back, as well as the terminal maps for STL and JFK.

(Click images for larger versions.)

Today I’m showing one of my EBay finds:  A 1961 TWA Bond for $1000.

This bond was issued in 1961 and would pay the amount on June 1st, 1978.

Unfortunately, my flatbed scanner is just a bit too short to fully scan this, so the bottom is cut off.  Sorry about that.

Today I present the 1991 version of the L1011 safety card.

Love the in flight photo on the front.  Classic.

You might recall this entry, where I talked about a visit I had to JFK from PHX.  I went mostly to take pictures of JFK, and especially, TWA aircraft, since we here in PHX only saw the occasional L1011 usually, with a lot of 727’s and MD-80’s.

Here are a few more pictures from that trip.

Here is a TWA 747, N133TW (Fleet #17133), ex-Iberia.

Another TWA 747, N134TW (Fleet #17134), also ex-Iberia.

Other 747, but do not know the tail number.  Tried to be artistic with this picture, if you couldn’t tell.

Finally, here are a couple close ups of some TWA L-1011’s.  This was always my favorite aircraft.  Enjoy!