Nearly a year after hotelier Andre Balazs dropped plans to transform the landmark TWA terminal at Kennedy Airport into a boutique hotel, a new batch of candidates are pondering a bid.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in August issued a request for proposals seeking offers from developers, hotel investors or others interested in converting the former terminal into an airport hotel. With those bids due Oct. 14, companies including airline JetBlue, property developer Related Cos. and hotel operator Marriott International Inc., say people familiar with the matter.

The Eero Saarinen-designed property opened in 1962. With its curving, winged shape that suggested flight itself, the TWA Flight Center immediately became an icon of the emerging Jet Set era

The building closed in 2001 after Trans World Airlines ceased operations. The Port Authority spent $20 million in 2008 to remove asbestos and restore the interior in an effort to make it more attractive to developers.

The bidding process could get a boost from a recent study of airport hotels by the Global Gateway Alliance, a lobbying group of business and labor interests that was founded by real estate developer Joe Sitt.