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“TWA--NEW YORK TO LONDON” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1001 on May 11, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TWA--NEW YORK TO LONDON
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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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