P.M. BRIEFING : American Weighs Bid for Pan Am

DALLAS — American Airlines is considering a bid to buy the Pan Am Shuttle, which carries passengers in the densely traveled Boston-New York-Washington corridor, sources say.

Ft. Worth-based American is conducting an internal study to determine whether the airline should try to buy the shuttle, and if so, how much it should offer, The Dallas Morning News reported today.

“They’re taking a good, hard look at it,” an unnamed source told the newspaper. “They’re seriously interested.”

Since the Pan Am board of directors announced last week that it wanted to sell the shuttle, the names of most of the major U.S. airlines have surfaced as potential buyers.

“It’s not surprising that American would be looking at it,” said analyst Helane Becker of Shearson Lehman Hutton Inc. “It really offers a unique opportunity.”