Talk About a Long Haul

By DAVID ELLIS

Imagine having to hitch a 3,000-mile ride to your job. That is the plight of TWA crew members in Los Angeles who feel stranded by Carl Icahn's decision to sell off the airline's transcontinental routes. Hundreds of Los Angeles-based crews who handle international flights out of New York must sometimes leave a full day early to snare a TWA standby seat. Many employees contend that the commute leaves them too fatigued to do their job, but they see little choice. Why not relocate? "Leave California and move to Queens?" asks an incredulous senior pilot. "You think I'm crazy?"

With reporting by Linda Williams