Does Twa Need A New Captain?

It has been the best year for U.S. airlines since deregulation arrived in 1978. With a booming economy driving demand and low oil prices cutting costs, airline after airline will report record earnings. But not TWA.

Trans World Airlines Inc. will actually lose money in 1998. And the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM), which represents 75% of TWA employees, who also own 14% of the company, is fed up. The IAM is calling for the resignation of both Chief Executive Gerald Gitner and President William F. Compton, noting that two years after they took office, the airline remains unprofitable. The IAM has also asked federal mediators to declare a stalemate in 18-month-old contract talks and start the clock toward a strike deadline. Gitner dismisses the threats: "We're in a stage of rhetoric now," he says.