TWA Suspends Tour Division

Another airline tradition is going the way of white gloves and hot dinners: Last week, Trans World Airlines stopped taking bookings from U.S. customers for its Getaway vacations, leaving American as the only major U.S. airline that operates its own tour division.

A TWA spokeswoman said the Getaway division, which lasted about three decades, hadn’t been profitable for years and had declining sales. “We need to concentrate on the business of being an airline,” she added. All current bookings will be honored, she emphasized. The action doesn’t affect Britain, where TWA continues to package tours for Britons.

TWA is contracting with outside partners to run tours, which is how most of its competitors handle their tour operations. American Airlines said it plans to continue its in-house AA Vacations, which it said served 480,000 people last year. (America West Airlines’ parent, America West Holdings, packages tours through a subsidiary, Leisure Co.)