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 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. The move will bring an end to one of the oldest and most recognizable names in aviation history.
A federal judge ruled that the assets of bankrupt Trans World Airlines Inc. be sold to AMR Corp.'s American Airlines for $742 million plus the assumption of $3.5 billion in TWA debt. TWA is based in St. Louis, where this passenger aircraft was heading for takeoff Monday at Lambert International Airport.
"I'm pretty sad," said Lawlor, of Kansas City, Mo., 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.
The name 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. No timetable has been offered for phasing out the TWA name.
TWA has been flying longer than any other carrier.
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