TRANS WORLD AIRLINES TAKES DELIVERY OF FOUR BOEING 717 JETS THE SAME DAY

One of four new Trans World Airlines (TWA) 717-200 passenger jets departed under an arch of water at the Boeing Long Beach Division in California Thursday, April 12.

This is the first time an airline customer has taken delivery of four airplanes the same day. The 717s lined up and took off in sequence from the Long Beach Municipal Airport and then performed a low-level pass near the company's facility before heading to St. Louis, Mo. The twinjets - flown by a team of eight TWA pilots - were the initial four of 15 717s scheduled for delivery this year to TWA. Currently, TWA has 15 717s in revenue service. The airplanes carry 111 passengers in a two-class arrangement.

This week, American Airlines announced that it had completed acquisition of most of the assets of TWA, including its 717 airplanes.