Power Corridor

By Alessandra Stanley/New York-Washington

At the dusty Pan Am shuttle terminal in New York City, balloons, powder blue T shirts, Danish pastries and champagne greeted bleary-eyed passengers as they queued for the maiden 6:30 a.m. flight to Washington. Over at the Eastern shuttle, where pre-emptive "upgrading" of the service began last summer, the attendants were more attentive than ever. When a New York filmmaker boarded the 9 a.m. shuttle to Washington carrying a half-eaten sandwich, an attendant exclaimed in mock horror, "Don't tell me you brought your own bagel?" Behind her lay rows of orange bags bearing the Eastern shuttle's latest gimmick: snacks.

For 25 years, Eastern's hourly no-frills flights linking Boston, New York and Washington have been the backbone of the Bos-Wash axis. Habitues have dubbed the $75 ride between New York and Washington, which combines the convenience and discomfort of a subway, the "cattle car." Anybody who is anybody in New York and Washington takes it at least twice a week. Senators, football players, lobbyists, lawyers and bankers scuttle between their spheres of influence, elbowing one another at the gate for favored seats. In Nora Ephron's Heartburn, the shuttle serves as a leitmotiv of power. Complaining about the shuttle is the next best thing to flying it. "New York begins the moment you board the shuttle," sniffs Washington Lawyer Travis Brown. "It's dirty, noisy, rude and expensive."

Now all that may change. Last week Eastern's domination of this golden market was challenged when Pan Am launched the opening round of the Frill Wars. Unlike New York Air, which five years ago began hourly scheduled service along the same routes, Pan Am will imitate Eastern by not accepting advanced ! reservations. Even with its occasional price cutting, New York Air never captured more than 30% of the market.

Pan Am has no intention of engaging in a fare war with Eastern. Instead it has borrowed the best of its rival's package: hourly flights and a guaranteed seat for anyone who shows up, even if that means bringing in a second plane for a single passenger. It has also poured on the extras: snacks, free drinks and newspapers, and two additional inches of legroom. Despite a few opening- day glitches -- the terminal is still under construction -- most Pan Am pioneer passengers seemed pleased. As he boarded the 8:30 a.m. Pan Am shuttle to Washington, Investment Banker Michael Duval noted sternly, "If Eastern doesn't have this kind of competition, the shuttle will go back to being the old hate-your-customer airline."

Hardly. Eastern renamed its service "The Shuttle Plus." New frills: free food and drinks, plusher waiting areas, assigned seating, additional legroom, newspapers, magazines and renewed zeal. "Nobody is going to make or break a shuttle on a bagel," Eastern Spokeswoman Paula Musto said stoutly. She added, "Of course, we don't want to lose anyone over a piece of cream cheese, so we'll do it too."