8-K

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                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            WASHINGTON, D.C.  20549


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                                     FORM 8-K

                                  CURRENT REPORT
                    PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
                        SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


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      Date Of Report (Date of earliest event reported): January 28, 1998


                              TRANS WORLD AIRLINES, INC.
             (EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)


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           DELAWARE                        1-7815                43-1145889
(State or other jurisdiction of   (Commission File Number)    (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)                              Identification No.)


                                ONE CITY CENTRE
                              515 N. SIXTH STREET
                           ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI 63101
                                (314) 589-3000

  (Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code,
                 of Registrant's principal executive offices)



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ITEM 5.   OTHER EVENTS


      On January 28, 1998 Trans World Airlines, Inc. (the "Company") announced
that Edgar M. House had been elected a Director of the Company.  Mr. House is
a retired General Vice President of the International Association of Machinists
and Aerospace Workers (the "IAM").  He was nominated by the IAM and elected by
the Trustee of the IAM Preferred Stock.  He replaces Mr. William W. Winpisinger
who passed away in December 1997.

      Also on January 28, 1998 the Company's Board of Directors elected
Kathleen A. Soled as Senior Vice President and General Counsel.  Ms. Soled
was previously Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary and has been
with the Company since January 1992.  She replaces Richard P. Magurno who
resigned from the Company.



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                                SIGNATURES

      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                       TRANS WORLD AIRLINES, INC.



Date:  January 29, 1998                By: /s/ Michael J. Palumbo
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                                       Title:  Senior Vice President
                                               and Chief Financial Officer



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EXHIBITS
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99    Press Release regarding new Director and election of Senior Vice
      President and General Counsel.





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EX-99

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                               [TWA letterhead]


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  CONTACT:  Jim Brown
January 28, 1998                                                 314/589-3214


                          TWA BOARD ELECTS KATE SOLED
                          SENIOR V.P./GENERAL COUNSEL

                          EDGAR M. HOUSE JOINS BOARD
                              AS AN IAM DIRECTOR

      ST. LOUIS, MO (January 28) -- At its regular meeting in St. Louis today,
the Board of Directors of Trans World Airlines, Inc. (AMEX: TWA) elected
Kathleen A. Soled Senior Vice President/General Counsel.  Soled formerly was
Vice President/Legal and Corporate Secretary of TWA.  She succeeds Richard P.
Magurno, who has resigned from the company.  In her new position, Soled
reports to Gerald L. Gitner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  She has
executive responsibility for all TWA legal affairs and for staff support of
the Board of Directors.
      Soled, 40, joined the TWA legal staff in January, 1992, as a senior
attorney.  Prior to joining TWA she was an attorney in private practice.
      "Kate Soled played a key role in the success of our recent financial
offerings, and she has provided strong support to our Board of Directors in
her role as corporate secretary.  I am very pleased that she has accepted
this promotion to become TWA's chief legal officer," Gitner said.

                                  (more)

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TWA BOARD -- first add
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      Soled is a graduate of Rutgers University Law School.  She received her
undergraduate degree in criminal justice from St. Anselm College in Manchester,
NH.
      The Board today also welcomed a new member, Edgar M. (Ed) House, former
General Vice President of the International Association of Machinists. Mr.
House was nominated by the IAM and elected by the Trustee holding the IAM
Preferred Stock to fill the Board seat of the late William W. Winpisinger.
Mr. House's term as a Class III director will expire at the company's annual
meeting of shareholders in 1999.
      Mr. House, 65, retired from the IAM on July 1, 1997.  He had served as
General Vice President since 1989.  Mr. House joined the union in 1951 while
employed by the International Paper company and has held numerous union offices
on the local, state and national levels since then.
      Mr. House is a native of Arkansas, and he and his wife Bonnie currently
reside in Camden, AR.  They have four sons and a daughter.
      In addition to his union work, Mr. House has served on several Arkansas
state boards and commissions, including the Alcoholic Beverage Control
Commission and the State Election Commission.

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