on january 29, 1937, twa contracted with boeing for five boeing 307 stratoliners, which included a pressurized cabin. however, the twa board refused to authorize the expenditure. frye then approached another flying enthusiast, howard hughes, along with algur h. meadows and his business partner henry w. peters, to buy stock in 1937. hughes tool company purchased 99,293 shares at $8.25 a share, giving hughes control, and noah dietrich was also placed on the board. later, hughes bought another $1,500,000 worth of stock. paul e. richter became executive vice president in 1938. a new order for five stratoliners was placed on september 23, 1939, the first stratoliner was delivered on may 6, 1940, and twa initiated coast-to-coast flights on july 8, 1940. the planes could carry 16 night passengers in berths, or 33 day passengers. the cabin was pressurized at 12,000 feet, enabling it to fly at an altitude of 20,000 feet, above much of the weather.