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Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Independent Federation of Flight Attendants

489 U.S. 426 · Decided February 28, 1989 · Supreme Court of the United States

Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.

At a glance

Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Independent Federation of Flight Attendants was decided on February 28, 1989 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Labor-management employee discharge” in the Unions area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
489 U.S. 426 · 109 S. Ct. 1225 · 103 L. Ed. 2d 456 · 1989 U.S. LEXIS 1197
Docket number
87-548
Decided
February 28, 1989
Argued
November 7, 1988
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
6–3
Majority opinion
Sandra Day O'Connor
Opinion assigned by
William H. Rehnquist
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
Unions
Legal provision
Railway Labor Act
Type of law
Federal statute
Decision direction (SCDB)
Conservative what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Independent Federation of Flight Attendants

SCDB identifiers: case 1988-046, docket 1988-046-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: Railway Labor Act

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Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error