[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 78 (Thursday, May 11, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1001]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         TWA--NEW YORK TO LONDON

                                 ______


                        HON. WILLIAM (BILL) CLAY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 10, 1995
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to share with this body an issue 
which is of great importance to the St. Louis community and vital to 
the future of one of our major domestic airlines, Trans World Airlines. 
TWA, which maintains its operating hub at Lambert International Airport 
in St. Louis, needs to regain its longstanding New York-London route 
authority.
  I have joined my St. Louis area colleagues in urging the Department 
of Transportation to pursue this issue in behalf of TWA at the ongoing 
bilateral negotiations with United Kingdom representatives. I would 
like to take this opportunity to share the text of a letter which St. 
Louis Mayor Freeman Bosley recently sent to the Transportation 
Secretary Fredrico Pena. This communication clearly articulates the 
vital importance of TWA's request for New York to London route 
authority.
       Dear Secretary Pena: I am submitting this letter as Mayor 
     of St. Louis in strong support of Trans World Airlines 
     regaining its long-standing New York-London route authority 
     in the current bilateral negotiations with the United 
     Kingdom. It is essential that TWA--one of the nation's great 
     pioneers of international service--not be left out of these 
     negotiations.
       TWA maintains its major hub operation at St. Louis and 
     employs over 12,000 Missourians. This proposed New York-
     London (Gatwick) service would not directly affect Missouri 
     (TWA already flies between St. Louis and Long-Gatwick), but 
     it would go far toward rebuilding an airline attempting to 
     escape the financial damage and job loss caused by less than 
     satisfactory management for over six years.
       TWA had served London since 1950 from several large U.S. 
     gateways and all but the St. Louis authority was sold in 1991 
     and 1992. St. Louis opposed such sales and unsuccessfully 
     appealed the Department's approval. Under new energetic 
     management. TWA is now seeking to return to the New York-
     London market which was wrongfully given up by prior 
     management and whose transfer was wrongfully approved by the 
     prior Administration. The present Administration should be 
     fairness to TWA and its new employee ownership move to 
     redress that error and find a means to return to TWA its New 
     York-London authority which was the backbone of its 
     transatlantic route system. The current negotiations offer an 
     ideal opportunity to accomplish this objective.
       I also want to urge that TWA be granted St. Louis-Toronto 
     authority as early as possible under the new U.S.-Canada 
     agreement. St. Louis has been attempting for fifteen years to 
     obtain nonstop St. Louis-Toronto service. The St. Louis area 
     and the entire state of Missouri have an exceptionally strong 
     community of interest with Toronto and Canada as a whole. 
     Through all this period Toronto has continued to represent 
     one of the major deficiencies in St. Louis air service. St. 
     Louis clearly ranks very high on the nation's list of 
     deprived cities as far as Canada is concerned. It is long 
     past time to remedy this situation.
       TWA's proposed St. Louis-Toronto service involves first 
     nonstop operations to one of the largest U.S. service areas, 
     would offer beyond traffic support unequaled by any other 
     carrier and would provide the only effective means through 
     one service proposal of meeting the Canada needs of both the 
     Midwest and Western parts of the United States. TWA should 
     definitely be one of the carriers selected for Toronto 
     service in the second year of interim operation.
       Further, St. Louis--in addition to its tremendous beyond 
     area support--has a very strong traffic base in its own area. 
     St. Louis is the nation's fifth ranking Fortune 500 company 
     headquarters city and was ranked by World Trade magazine as 
     one of the ten best U.S. cities for international companies. 
     Substantial numbers of St. Louis area companies have major 
     business ties to Canada. The Canadian business investment in 
     the St. Louis area is similarly substantial and long standing 
     in nature. According to Canadian data (Canadian Consulate, 
     Chicago) total Missouri exports to Canada were $1.934 billion 
     in 1993 and Canadian exports to Missouri were $1.435 billion 
     in that year. Trade between Canada and Missouri is about the 
     same as that between Canada and Mexico.
       In the interest of building a sound airline industry, it is 
     high time that the Department look away from the mega-
     carriers such as American, Delta, Northwest and United in 
     favor of competition. TWA's London and Toronto requests are 
     fully in accord with the Administration's consistent position 
     that there should be increase competition--not less--in the 
     airline industry.
       Moreover, there are unique reasons for finding ways to 
     strengthen TWA. The most important of these is the fact that 
     TWA is under new ownership by its own employees. TWA's 
     employees now own 45 percent of the voting stock of the 
     carrier, an equity interest for which the employees are 
     paying substantial amounts in hard earned wages. These 
     employees have incredible dedication to the success of the 
     carrier. This development--the employee-ownership 
     reorganization of TWA--represented the first successful 
     equity reorganization of this nature in the industry and 
     constitutes a model for subsequent airline restructuring. It 
     should be encouraged by the Department.
       Further, TWA has demonstrated great determination to reform 
     itself by completely overthrowing its old management and by 
     developing new service concepts that truly attempt to met 
     public needs. It was able to effect its major ownership and 
     management change and come through a painful reorganization 
     under Chapter 11 in an expeditious and successful fashion. It 
     is now undergoing a further financial restructuring to 
     strengthen its operation. These efforts by TWA's employee 
     owners deserve to be recognized by the Department as a major 
     favorable development in an airline industry that has seen 
     too few favorable developments in recent years.
       In achieving its turnaround, TWA has been able to preserve 
     one of the great historic names in the international aviation 
     arena. TWA was a true pioneer of international operations and 
     its name continues to command respect abroad. It is only 
     right that the Department move to strengthen the carrier in 
     the international arena and grant it strong London and 
     Toronto routes which will materially aid its operations while 
     at the same time meeting clear public needs. I appreciate 
     your consideration of these matters which are vital to TWA's 
     future.
           Sincerely,
                                           Freeman R. Bosley, Jr.,
                                                            Mayor.
     

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