PAN AM’S DISAPPEARING ACT – The New York Times

”They really haven’t made any impact as far as passengers,” said Paula Musto, a spokesman for Eastern Air Shuttle, the pre-eminent air service in the Northeast corridor. Ms. Musto declined – for competitive reasons, she said – to disclose Eastern’s sales figures or passenger loads, other than to claim that the airline still carries 7 out of every 10 shuttle passengers in the market.

Pan Am said that 90,000 passengers used its shuttle in December. It is projecting the same for January, the slowest month of the year. Business travel, which accounts for 80 percent of all shuttle passengers, drops sharply in the holiday season.

”We expect over 100,000 passengers in February and then more growth in March,” said Bruce R. Nobles, president of the Pan Am Shuttle, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Pan Am Corporation. Mr. Nobles said that the shuttle’s revenues of between $15 million and $20 million for the last three months of 1986 were in line with projections, and he estimated sales of $125 million for 1987. He said the shuttle hopes to gain 50 percent of the market by its first anniversary.

Passengers flying either shuttle in the past two months, however, have probably had plenty of extra room. Pan Am, for example, filled only 25 percent of its seats during December and January, Mr. Nobles said, down from 35 percent in November and well below the 45 to 50 percent needed to break even. Mr. Nobles said the shuttle nevertheless expects to turn a $10 million profit in its first year.

Pan Am is serving bagels and cream cheese for breakfast, and a cheese and cracker snack for afternoon flights, prompting Eastern to offer snack service too. Recently, it switched to Beck’s beer instead of Heineken. Pan Am serves Budweiser.

”Someone in dining services thought Beck’s was an upgrade,” said Ms. Musto. Both airlines have the same fare – $75 one-way between New York and Washington and $65 between New York and Boston. On weekends, the fare drops to $50. – ERIC SCHMITT PAN AM’S TUMBLING MARKET SHARE. . .PUTS IT NEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE HEAP Total U.S. airlines ranked by share of total revenue passenger miles flown in 1986. Texas Air 18.8% UAL 16.4 American 14.1 Delta 11.7 Northwest 10.1 T.W.A. 8.2 PAN AM 6.0 US Air 4.3 Piedmont 2.8 (Source: The Airline Quarterly) AT A GLANCE: PAN AM All dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data Three months ended Sept. 30 1986 1985 Revenues $887,971 $1,022,193 Net income 5,508 21,096 Earnings per share $0.04 $0.18 Year ended Dec. 31 1985 1984 Revenues $3,484,368 $3,684,838 Net income 51,750 (206,836) Earnings per share $0.45 $- Total assets, Dec. 31, 1985 $2,448,413 Current assets 1,347,665 Current liabilities 1,182,150 Long-term debt 657,898 Book value per share, Dec. 31, 1985 $3.36 Stock price, Jan. 15, 1986 N.Y.S.E. consolidated close 5 1/2 Stock price, 52-week range 9 1/2-4 Employees, Dec. 31, 1985 24,537 Headquarters New York