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9 Although the company ’ s name officially remained Transcontinental & Western Air , TWA began to refer to itself as the Trans World Airline after World War II , as illustrated on this Douglas DC-4 . // BOEING CO . PHOTO
10 Trans World Airline ( no ‘ s ’) titles are plainly visible on Lockheed L-049 Constellation NC86505 , photographed at Burbank ( BUR ). // PROCTOR- LIVRESEY-THOMAS COLLECTION
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TWA - THE LINDBERGH LINE
T & WA gave way quickly to the more easily pronounced TWA , which became the moniker referred to by the public when speaking of Transcontinental & Western Air .
The effect on the collective American psyche of Charles Lindbergh ’ s 1927 non-stop solo flight from New York to Paris cannot be over-emphasized . Overnight , the perception of flying changed from a nation ’ s mild interest in barnstorming daredevil Pilots to a realization that the airplane could be a viable means of transportation
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that would save hours … even weeks … in travel time .
Everyone wanted in on any aspect of aviation . The country was booming ( the stock market crash that ushered in the Great Depression would not take place until October 1929 ). Investors poured money into aircraft manufacturing companies , engine manufacturers , the newly-formed airlines , and the conglomerates that were being created as umbrella corporations to oversee all of these functions .
Having the Lindbergh name associated with your company was as good as gold . Both Pan
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American Airways and TAT ( later , TWA ) hired the young flyer as a consultant who oversaw technical matters , from aircraft selection to airfield improvements . During the 1930s , TWA proudly painted the words ‘ The Lindbergh Line ’ across the upper fuselage of its DC-2s .
TRANSCONTINENTAL & WESTERN AIR , THE TRANSCONTINENTAL LINE
TWA ’ s Jack Frye had been instrumental in the birth of the Douglas Commercial ( DC ) line of aircraft through his communication with Donald Douglas about the type of
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