1988 · Contemporary coverage and later retrospective reporting
The TWA takeover and exit (documented history)
TWA's subsequent path — bankruptcies, shrinking, and eventual absorption by American Airlines — is usually cited against Icahn, and he has responded over the years that the airline's union structure and the industry's economics made any ownership outcome a fight for survival. The episode remains the standard exhibit in the debate over whether activist gains come at the expense of operating companies and their employees.