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[BLOCKQUOTE]----------------[BR]On 11/11/2002 6:41:49 PM JFK777 wrote:
[P]TWA was a huge force in service to Europe. It flew everywhere. Before it sold LHR to AA in 1991 it also had a hub at CDG. ITS had service to LHR from BOS, ORD, JFK, PHL, & LAX. At various times it flew to LGW from STL, BWI, PHL, & PIT. CDG was served from BOS, IAD, JFK, LAX and STL. JFK was the core with 747 service, in the 1980's, to ATH, FCO, MXP, MAD, CDG, FRA, AMS and LHR. L-1011's and later 767's flew to LIS, BCN, BRU and other cities. It was a regular night when 10 or more 747's left JFK for Europe and daily Tel Aviv service. Cairo was also regularly served from JFK nonstop and via CDG. TWA was especially powerful to the Mediterrean countries, Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal. This new AA service is one of the reasons AA saw value in TWA. TWA was in such bad shape that they have route authorities all over the world they don't use, even over the Pacific. The treasure chest of TWA has only just been opened by AA. Look for more treasure in the future.[/P]----------------[BR][BR]Good points JFK777,[BR][BR]And just off the top of my head, some of the dormant authorities that TWA held but no longer flew included, Bombay, Casablanca, Hong Kong and numerous other Asia and Pacific destinations, (remember their around the world flights?) and in Europe, Copenhagen, Berlin, Munich, I believe Oslo and Stockholm, Geneva, Zurich, Vienna, Shannon, Dublin, Nice, and God knows what else. They used to have a couple of 727's parked over there (remember the flight 847? hijacking) and flew them intra-European. I recall flying a 727-100 from Frankfurt to Berlin in the early 90's. And of course they had route authority to Moscow as well, which they flew with a 727 from CDG I think. [BR][BR]With no open skies between Spain and the US, that means AA is using the TWA authority to MAD, which tells you why it's from JFK, as you have explained. I wonder if they'll tag Barcelona onto that if the route is successful. [BR]Finally, TWA was awarded, but had not yet exercised it's relatively new route authority from STL to Tokyo. This could come in very handy for AA's Asian market growth once the economy turns around. In terms of international route authorities, AA paid less for TWA than the value of those routes alone. They got quite a bargain, at least until Open Skies agreements proliferate, which is probably still quite a way off. Somewhere in the tons of legal filings related to the BK, I remember seeing a list of the international route authorities TWA held and AA acquired, and the list was truly mind boggling. [BR][BR]When the timing is once again right, AA has positioned themselves to truly rule the world with these vast route authorities. Just go back to TWA's heyday and superimpose their international route map over AA's existing international route map and you'll get an idea of just how impressive the power is that AA holds in its back pocket. It's awesome!![BR][BR]m[STRONG]AA[/STRONG]rky[/BLOCKQUOTE]
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