'American Airlines to buy TWA'

TWA is struggling financially

American Airlines wants to buy Trans World Airways (TWA), the Washington Post reported on Monday.

The deal, if it goes through, would create a new giant among US airlines of a similar size to the proposed merger of United Airlines and US Airways.

TWA, one of the the longest established names in US civil aviation, was the only commercial airline in the US to lose money in 1999, and its losses continued during 2000.

In 1999, TWA lost $353m. During the first three quarters of 2000 the airline clocked up losses of $115.1m.

No job losses

American Airlines, which is a subsidiary of AMR, would reportedly buy TWA outright and retain all its 20,000 staff.

The deal would combine America's two hubs in Chicago and Dallas with TWA's hub in St. Louis.

The TWA acquisition could include an agreement with United Airlines to jointly operate a shuttle between Washington and two other cities; Boston and New York.

In addition, the deal might include an acquisition of a 49% stake in DC Air, a newly formed airline.