I don't know the details, but maybe it kept the company from filling bankruptcy by a few months? They didn't have the cash to pay the loan, so they offered the tickets.
Selling off the most profitable route, tickets, short ordering replacement aircraft - there is not one thing he did that benefited anyone but himself. Nevermind long term company value.
That doesn't make any sense. Icahn is a shareholder himself and he mainly makes his money through share appreciation. If the share price goes up, all shareholders benefit.
I don't know enough about the TWA business dealings, but sometimes a company is more valuable broken up.
Did you read the article you linked to with the stock buy-back, ticket sales, and then tanking it in Chap 11? That didn't benefit the other shareholders.