TWA/American Deal May Affect XNA

The pending merger agreement between American Airlines and Trans World Airlines may affect air travel between the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) and St. Louis.

The service — six inbound and six outbound flights per day — is currently provided by Trans States Airlines, the seventh-largest national airline. Trans States, which is based in St. Louis, has been under contract with TWA for the past 15 years to operate routes to smaller destinations like XNA from St. Louis. Trans States began providing air service to Drake Field in Fayetteville in 1993 when the company purchased Air Midwest. The service continued when the regional airport opened in Highfill in October 1998, and the airlines moved from Drake Field to the new location.

Bill Mishk, a spokesman for Trans States Airlines, said the company doesn’t know how the pending deal will affect its service to and from St. Louis. The number of routes could be increased or cut, he said.

“It’s sort of wait and see,” Mishk said. “We’re hoping we can sort of move along with whoever the successor to TWA is. We are encouraged that American has selected St. Louis as a hub.”

“With the merger, we simply don’t know if American will assume that service,” said Scott Van Laningham, staff director of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. “The bigger picture for us is we know there’s a market of folks who want to go from XNA to St. Louis.”

Van Laningham said the regional airport’s agreement was with Trans States and American Eagle, not TWA. The merger between United Airlines and U.S. Airways “has been on the table for six months” and has yet to affect travel to XNA, Van Laningham noted.