American Closes TWA Route Sale: American Airlines...

American Closes TWA Route Sale: American Airlines moved quickly to absorb three London routes from Trans World Airlines, sealing the transaction even as St. Louis city officials and TWA workers continued their last-gasp effort to prevent the sale. Shortly after the Transportation Department rejected a request from St. Louis politicians and TWA’s unions to put off the deal while a court appeal was proceeding, the carriers announced that they had closed it earlier than expected. The request for a stay stopping the sale was apparently made moot by the closing, but St. Louis and the unions are not ready to concede defeat. Because American is not scheduled to take over the routes until July 1, they hung on to hopes that the appeals judges could still side with them.