Trans World Airlines, Inc. - Specimen Stock Certificate

Specimen Stock printed by Security-Columbian Banknote Company. Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a prominent American airline that operated from 1930 until 2001. Initially established as Transcontinental & Western Air, it provided service from New York City to Los Angeles, with stops in St. Louis, Kansas City, and other locations, utilizing Ford Trimotors. Alongside American, United, and Eastern, it was recognized as one of the 'Big Four' domestic airlines in the United States, a designation established during the Spoils Conference of 1930. In 1939, Howard Hughes gained control of TWA, and following World War II, he spearheaded the airline's expansion into Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, effectively positioning TWA as an unofficial second flag carrier of the United States, alongside Pan Am. Hughes relinquished control in the 1960s, after which the new management sought to diversify the airline's operations by acquiring Hilton International and Century 21.

The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 triggered a series of airline failures, new ventures, and mergers in the United States, leading to TWA's separation from its holding company in 1984. Carl Icahn took control of TWA and privatized the company through a leveraged buyout in 1988. Subsequently, TWA became burdened with debt, divested its London routes, and underwent Chapter 11 restructuring in 1992 and 1995, further exacerbated by the tragic explosion of TWA Flight 800 in 1996. At one point, TWA was headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, and had plans to establish Kansas City International Airport as its primary domestic and international hub, a plan that was ultimately abandoned in the 1970s. The airline later established its largest hub at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, while its principal transatlantic hub was located at the TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, an architectural landmark designed by Eero Saarinen and completed in 1962.