Private company

Trans World Express

Regional airline of the United States (1993–1995)

Trans World Express (TWE) was the fully owned and certified regional carrier for Trans World Airlines (TWA) and an airline trademark name for TWA's corporation. Trans World Express - The formerly independent regional airline known as Ransome Airlines previously owned by Pan Am (PA) before its purchase by the Trans World Corporation for TWA.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

ATR ATR-42-300, Trans World Express AN0268933
Photo: JetPix, GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons4

Trans World Express (TWE) was the fully owned and certified regional carrier for Trans World Airlines (TWA) and an airline trademark name for TWA's corporation.2

The story

Until November 6, 1995, TWE, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of TWA, operated flights under the Trans World Express banner. This fully certificated airline, previously named and certificated as Ransome Airlines - Pan Am Express, was headquartered at Philadelphia Northeast Airport far from TWA's (John F. Kennedy International Airport and (STL) St Louis hubs.

After that date, November 6, 1995, TWA outsourced all TWE operations to third-party "banner" airlines. Other airlines previously operating under the name and TWE "banner" included Resort Air and Metro Air Northeast.

Most flights were from the Eastern Seaboard to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport or from the South and Midwest to Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport.

In 1993, Alpha Air was operating Trans World Express service with Beechcraft 1900C turboprops from a hub at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) with service to Burbank (BUR), Grand Canyon (GCN), Lake Tahoe (TVL), Mammoth Lakes (MMH), Palm Springs (PSP), Phoenix (PHX) and Santa Ana/Orange County Airport (SNA, now John Wayne Airport).

From Wikipedia’s article on Trans World Express, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

Fleet

The following aircraft were contracted and operating in the TWExpress system at the time of TWA's merger with American Airlines and the TWExpress brand was discontinued:

Embraer ERJ-145

ATR-72

ATR-42

Read the full text

Jetstream 41

Jetstream 31/32

Other aircraft that appeared in TWE colors included:

Beechcraft 1900C

Saab 340

de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter

Fairchild Metro II/III

CASA C-212 Aviocar

EMB-120 Brasilia

Destinations at closure

Trans World Express, via flights operated by Trans States Airlines, Corporate Airlines and Chautauqua Airlines, was serving the following destinations when the Trans World Express code share service was halted:

Canada

Ontario

Toronto (Lester B. Pearson International Airport)

United States

Arkansas

Bentonville/Fayetteville (Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport)

Illinois

Bloomington/Normal (Central Illinois Regional Airport)

Champaign/Urbana (University of Illinois Willard Airport)

Decatur (Decatur Airport)

Marion (Williamson County Regional Airport)

Moline (Quad City International Airport)

Peoria (Greater Peoria Regional Airport)

Quincy (Quincy Regional Airport)

Springfield (Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport)

Indiana

Evansville (Evansville Regional Airport)

Fort Wayne (Fort Wayne International Airport)

Indianapolis (Indianapolis International Airport)

South Bend (South Bend Regional Airport)

Iowa

Burlington (Southeast Iowa Regional Airport)

Cedar Rapids (The Eastern Iowa Airport)

Sioux City (Sioux Gateway Airport)

Waterloo (Waterloo Regional Airport)

Kentucky

Cincinnati, Ohio area (Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport)

Lexington (Blue Grass Regional Airport)

Owensboro (Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport)

Paducah (Barkley Regional Airport)

Louisiana

Shreveport (Shreveport Regional Airport)

Michigan

Grand Rapids (Gerald R. Ford International Airport)

Minnesota

Rochester (Rochester International Airport)

Mississippi

Jackson (Jackson-Evers International Airport)

Missouri

Cape Girardeau (Cape Girardeau Regional Airport)

Columbia (Columbia Regional Airport)

Fort Leonard Wood (Waynesville Regional Airport at Forney Field)

Joplin (Joplin Regional Airport)

Kirksville (Kirksville Regional Airport)

Springfield/Branson (Springfield-Branson National Airport)

St. Louis (Lambert-St. Louis International Airport) Hub

Nebraska

Lincoln (Lincoln Airport)

Ohio (for Cincinnati, see Kentucky)

Dayton (Dayton International Airport)

South Carolina

Charleston (Charleston International Airport)

Greenville-Spartanburg (Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport)

Tennessee

Jackson (McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport)

Knoxville (McGhee Tyson Airport)

Memphis (Memphis International Airport)

Nashville (Nashville International Airport)

Wisconsin

Madison (Dane County Regional Airport)

Previous destinations

United States

Alabama

Birmingham (Birmingham International Airport)

Arizona

Grand Canyon (Grand Canyon National Park Airport)

Phoenix (Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport)

Arkansas

Fort Smith (Fort Smith Regional Airport)

Harrison (Boone County Regional Airport)

Little Rock (Clinton National Airport)

California

Burbank (now Hollywood-Burbank Airport)

Inyokern (Inyokern Airport)

Lake Tahoe (Lake Tahoe Airport)

Los Angeles (Los Angeles International Airport) - Hub (at the time of the acquisition of Trans World Airlines by American Airlines in 2001, both TWA and Trans World Connection operated by American Eagle were serving Los Angeles. Alpha Air earlier served LAX as Trans World Express.)

Mammoth Lakes (Mammoth Yosemite Airport)

Oxnard (Oxnard Airport)

Palm Springs (Palm Springs International Airport) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 Trans World Connection served Palm Springs )

Palmdale (LA/Palmdale Regional Airport)

Santa Ana/Orange County Airport (now John Wayne Airport) (at the time of TWA's end in 2001 both the mainline airline and Trans World Connection operated by American Eagle served Orange County. Alpha Air earlier served Orange County Airport as Trans World Express.)

Connecticut

Hartford (Bradley International Airport) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 both the mainline airline and Trans World Connection served Hartford )

Illinois

Chicago (Midway Airport) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 the mainline airline served nearby O'Hare International Airport in Chicago )

Kentucky

Louisville (Standiford Field) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 the mainline airline served Louisville )

Maine

Portland (Portland International Jetport)

Maryland

Baltimore (Baltimore-Washington International Airport) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 both the mainline airline and Trans World Connection served Baltimore )

Massachusetts

Boston (Logan International Airport) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 both the mainline airline and Trans World Connection served Boston )

Missouri

Lake of the Ozarks (Lee C. Fine Memorial Airport)

New Hampshire

Manchester (Manchester-Boston Regional Airport)

New York

Albany (Albany International Airport) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 Trans World Connection served Albany )

Binghamton (Greater Binghamton Airport)

Buffalo (Buffalo Niagara International Airport) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 Trans World Connection served Buffalo )

Ithaca (Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport)

New York City (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 both the mainline airline and Trans World Connection served New York City )

John F. Kennedy International Airport - Hub

LaGuardia Airport - Hub

Newburgh (Stewart International Airport)

Rochester (Greater Rochester International Airport) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 Trans World Connection served Rochester )

Syracuse (Syracuse Hancock International Airport) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 Trans World Connection served Syracuse )

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg (Harrisburg International Airport)

Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh International Airport) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 both the mainline airline and Trans World Connection served Pittsburgh )

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport)

Rhode Island

Providence (T. F. Green Airport) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 Trans World Connection served Providence )

Virginia

Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Williamsburg (Norfolk International Airport) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 the mainline airline served Norfolk )

Richmond (Richmond International Airport) (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 the mainline airline served Richmond )

Washington, DC area (At the time of TWA's end in 2001 both the mainline airline and Trans World Connection served Washington, DC )

From Wikipedia’s article on Trans World Express, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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