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Qantas went shopping Monday, taking a joyride in the skies above Sydney in a variation of the aircraft it could soon be flying non-stop from Australia's east coast to New York and London. Airbus is pitting its A350-900 up against Boeing's 777-8X to be chosen by Qantas for its "Project Sunrise" ambition to fly across the globe to Europe and America's east coast without stopping from about 2022. The distance and almost 20-hour flight times of Qantas' planed new routes will test the standard capabilities of the A350 and 777-X but they can be modified to extend their range. The A350-1000 in Sydney Monday has a catalogue price of A$366m, while the -900 Qantas is considering buying is $317m. Qantas has an order for 8 A380s on its books with Airbus but has made it clear it has no intention of ever receiving those superjumbos. <br/>

The announcement by American Airlines seemed to hark to another era: The airline would be adding shuttle service between New York and Chicago this spring — and serving free beer and wine, no less. But the American shuttle is a “shuttle” in only the narrowest definition: It will adhere to a regular, frequent schedule. In the glory days of air shuttles, a few decades ago, shuttles were more freewheeling affairs. Passengers could buy their tickets on-board, and operators kept extra planes on standby so every person who showed up could be accommodated. There was just one class on the planes — no first class or economy — and meals were served to everyone on many of the flights, even if the plane was in the air for under an hour. Today, the seating is more finite — a reservation is probably a good idea. <br/>