The US airline TWA found itself in serious financial trouble in the early 1990s. Deep in red ink, the company twice went into the US bankruptcy law's Chapter 11 procedure. In 1996, it lost the equivalent of £183 million.

The latest figures, however, show a return to the black. Pre-tax profits for the quarter ending last June were $50 million, compared with a loss of $10.3 million for the same period in 1997.

The company has put in place a three-phase plan, first improving its operations and timeliness, then increasing its load factor the number of passengers on each flight and it is now concentrating on maximising revenues for each passenger. New services to business customers have featured over the past year, along with upgrading its airline fleet.

It now employs 22,000 people worldwide, has annual turnover in excess of $3 billion and flies to 117 cities in 16 countries.