Trans World Airlines  Boeing 707-131    N731TW         (c/n   17658)

                              

                                  Trans World Airlines was the only major trunk carrier not to order prop-jet airliners.  Instead it
                                  waited for the pure jets, of which the series -131 Boeing 707 seen above was the first. These were
                                  used on domestic transcontinental flights.  TWA opted to wait for the long range series 300 Boeing
                                  707 before serving international destinations with jets..  The series 100s were first introduced in 1959
                                  on the domestic flights, initially from San Francisco and Los Angeles to New York.  I flew on one of
                                  the first scheduled flights in 1959 whilst on my way to non-rev on a KLM DC-7C from Idlewild to
                                  Amsterdam.  The DC-7C seemed horrible compared to the silent swift ride in the 707 from L.A. to
                                  NYC.   The 707s were flown by the line until the early 1980s.  They underwent a livery change in the
                                  1960s as seen in the shot below, taken by Bob Garrard at Port Columbus International, Ohio, in April
                                  of 1972.

                                  Boeing 707-131B   N6727      (c/n  19217)