TWA's Breech Academy (1969-1988)

Named in honor of TWA Airlines executive Ernest R. Breech, this complex housed a state-of-the-art training facility for flight attendants and other frontline personnel. The facility was owned and operated by TWA Airlines who also offered paid training to other airlines. The facility included flight attendant dormitories arranged as pods, each with its own decorative motif based on different countries and continents. The school's other buildings held training classes that included flight simulators, simulations inside aircraft fuselages, and even an aquatic facility for emergency training. The facility became known for rigorous training that included everything from serving five-course meals to assisting passengers in emergencies. The complex was later acquired by Wadell and Reed and now serves as an office park.

Prior to 1969, training for flight attendants occurred at TWA's downtown building at 13th and Baltimore, which was transitioned to focus on pilots after this complex was complete. When this facility opened, the company continued its historic practice of only hiring women as entry-level flight attendants (often referred to as "hostesses"), requiring regular "weigh-ins," and terminating flight attendants for pregnancy. Just three years later, pressure from employees and civil rights activists led to massive changes at TWA and throughout the industry. In 1972, TWA announced that they would hire men as flight attendants. The same year saw the first significant number of racial minorities as flight attendants at TWA and higher-paid cabin crew positions that had only been open to men became open to women.

Flight Attendant Exhibits at the TWA Museum accessed July 2024.