Anonymous Artists
View Artist Biography
Title:
TWA
Medium:
Lithograph
Price:
$650.00
Signed:
L/R
INV. #:
20143
Original Trans World Airline (TWA) airline vintage posters. This offer is for the entire set of TWA prints that are numbered 167 / 500 Very fine condition.
TWA was a New York based airline that operated from 1926 to 2001. The airline had a reputation for luxurious service, innovative technology, and swanky airplanes. TWA offered service to 140 destinations in 45 countries. The airline was also known for its James Bond themed planes and was the inspiration for the film Goldfinger. However, the original TWA suffered several high profile disasters and went bankrupt in 1990. In 1996, Howard Hughes’ heirs sold TWA to an Italian company named Fin Cos Ltd. In 2001, Fin Cos merged with another company to create the modern-day Italian carrier Volare International Airlines. Even though the original TWA is no longer around to tell its story, many passengers still share their insights on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
Many passengers felt cheated by the airline’s handling of flight 253. According to passenger Stephen Goff, “the pilots and cabin crew were ordered not to assist us” after the plane crash-landed at JFK airport in New York City. The situation quickly became chaotic as passengers tried to exit the burning plane. Some were trampled by panicked crowds and others were injured by flying debris or fuel during the emergency exit process. At least 43 people died in this tragic accident and many more were left injured or physically scarred for life. Several lawsuits were later filed against TWA for failing to adequately prepare their passengers for an emergency landing at that busy airport. To avoid further lawsuits, TWA officially closed down just two years later on April 8, 2013— more than three decades after this infamous flight disaster took place!
The airline lost a lawsuit filed by the family of one of the victims due to a jurisdictional dispute between courts in New York and Ohio where she died. However, Goff stated that all of his fellow crash-landed passengers “were treated very well by most personnel” after they deplaned at JFK airport. It is believed that this disagreement involved humanitarian donations made by family members before they boarded the plane. Some family members reportedly complained about allegedly uncoordinated donations dropped off at different locations during their journey home from New York City’s La Guardia Airport (LGA). According to court documents, “TWA employees refused to deliver some donations because they would have caused traffic jams near LGA”— apparently a serious violation of road safety laws!
The airline’s history and business model are controversial among aviation enthusiasts who prefer older airplanes with more historical value than new ones with state-of-the-art technology. Some consider TWA old fashioned because it used propeller planes rather than jet engines like other major airlines of its time period did. Plus, some note that given today’s safety regulations, it would be impossible for an airliner today to send every passenger home safely after a plane crash-landing at JFK airport! Nevertheless, many people look back fondly on their experiences flying on old planes like those used by TWA when they were young adults in the 1960s and 1970s!
TWA was a New York based airline that operated from 1926 to 2001. The airline had a reputation for luxurious service, innovative technology, and swanky airplanes. TWA offered service to 140 destinations in 45 countries. The airline was also known for its James Bond themed planes and was the inspiration for the film Goldfinger. However, the original TWA suffered several high profile disasters and went bankrupt in 1990. In 1996, Howard Hughes’ heirs sold TWA to an Italian company named Fin Cos Ltd. In 2001, Fin Cos merged with another company to create the modern-day Italian carrier Volare International Airlines. Even though the original TWA is no longer around to tell its story, many passengers still share their insights on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
Many passengers felt cheated by the airline’s handling of flight 253. According to passenger Stephen Goff, “the pilots and cabin crew were ordered not to assist us” after the plane crash-landed at JFK airport in New York City. The situation quickly became chaotic as passengers tried to exit the burning plane. Some were trampled by panicked crowds and others were injured by flying debris or fuel during the emergency exit process. At least 43 people died in this tragic accident and many more were left injured or physically scarred for life. Several lawsuits were later filed against TWA for failing to adequately prepare their passengers for an emergency landing at that busy airport. To avoid further lawsuits, TWA officially closed down just two years later on April 8, 2013— more than three decades after this infamous flight disaster took place!
The airline lost a lawsuit filed by the family of one of the victims due to a jurisdictional dispute between courts in New York and Ohio where she died. However, Goff stated that all of his fellow crash-landed passengers “were treated very well by most personnel” after they deplaned at JFK airport. It is believed that this disagreement involved humanitarian donations made by family members before they boarded the plane. Some family members reportedly complained about allegedly uncoordinated donations dropped off at different locations during their journey home from New York City’s La Guardia Airport (LGA). According to court documents, “TWA employees refused to deliver some donations because they would have caused traffic jams near LGA”— apparently a serious violation of road safety laws!
The airline’s history and business model are controversial among aviation enthusiasts who prefer older airplanes with more historical value than new ones with state-of-the-art technology. Some consider TWA old fashioned because it used propeller planes rather than jet engines like other major airlines of its time period did. Plus, some note that given today’s safety regulations, it would be impossible for an airliner today to send every passenger home safely after a plane crash-landing at JFK airport! Nevertheless, many people look back fondly on their experiences flying on old planes like those used by TWA when they were young adults in the 1960s and 1970s!