Foundation Anniversary: Trans World Airlines — July 16, 1930

Trans World Airlines was established on 16 July 1930 as Transcontinental & Western Air through the government-urged merger of Transcontinental Air Transport (founded in 1928) and Western Air Express (incorporated on 13 July 1925, with mail and passenger flights between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City beginning in 1926), with Harris “Pop” Hanshue serving as president. The merged carrier formally began operating as Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc. on 1 October 1930 and inaugurated 36-hour coast-to-coast all-air service from New York to Los Angeles with an overnight stop in Kansas City on 25 October 1930, before relocating its corporate headquarters from New York to Kansas City in the summer of 1931.

A note on this date. Historical sources for Trans World Airlines record two 1930 formation dates alongside the 1925–1926 origins of predecessor Western Air Express: 16 July 1930, when Transcontinental Air Transport and Western Air Express merged to form Transcontinental & Western Air, and 1 October 1930, when the combined company formally began operating as Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc. ahead of its 25 October 1930 coast-to-coast service. This anniversary follows 16 July 1930 and states all dates. We publish it with the warning rather than leave the page out, and if you can point us to a register or an archive that carries it we will confirm or correct it.

Dates verified on TWA Spirit Historical Archive, Legends of America and TWA Active Retired Pilots Association (TARPA).