Shuttle wars
By STAFF: Michael Brody, David SKirkpatrick, Michael Rogers, Patricia Sellers, H. John Steinbreder, Eleanor Johnson Tracy, and Daniel P. Wiener

(FORTUNE Magazine) – An East Coast air-shuttle war is raging, and the passengers seem to be winning. Pan American World Airways is challenging the defending champ on the Boston-New York-Washington route, Eastern Air Lines. New York Air used to be the challenger, but when its parent, Texas Air, bought Eastern last summer, Pan Am moved in to the lucrative Northeast corridor. Pan Am is trying to outpamper passengers. Planes on its New York-Washington route boast leather seats, and all planes offer about two inches more legroom than Eastern's. Life aloft can be hectic on Eastern, which not only serves food and drink on the 30-minute flights but also sells tickets. Says a frequent shuttler: ''It can be gridlock in the aisles. I call it bagel-lock.'' Pan Am operates out of LaGuardia Airport's Marine Air Terminal, nearly a half mile from the main terminal, and finding taxis can be difficult. Pan Am wants half the shuttle market, or about 6,000 passengers a day, by March. The company says it flew about 3,300 people daily in October, but Eastern does not believe the numbers. It posts employees at Pan Am shuttle gates every day to count its rival's customers. Eastern's count: around 2,500.