TWA became saddled with debt, sold its London routes, underwent Chapter 11 restructuring in 1992 and 1995, and was further stressed by the crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996, which would become the third deadliest aviation accident in U.S history.

Despite emerging from bankruptcy the following year, TWA continued to operate at a loss and announced in January 2001 that American Airlines would acquire its assets. TWA ceased to exist as a separate airline in December 2001.

Carl Icahn sells TWA's route authorities from New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago to London to American Airlines for $445 million.

Trans World Airlines Pan Am's major U.S. competitor in international flights, Trans World Airlines, or TWA, has not survived either. Originally founded as two companies—in 1926 as Western Air Express and in 1928 as Transcontinental Air Transport—the two merged in 1930 to become TW&A.