Looked and didn't see any topics on this...found it on an ATLANTA local (www.11alive.com)

ATLANTA (AP) -- Delta Air Lines is pumping $300 million into an expansion of its service at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport -- the main hub of discount carrier JetBlue Airways -- as part of a plan that was derailed by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The nation's third-largest airline said Wednesday that New York, which it described as the world's largest air travel market, is a major focus of Atlanta-based Delta's growth plans.

The effort from Delta, which launched its own discount carrier Song last year, comes as JetBlue looks to expand its service at JFK. JetBlue has up to 80 flights a day leaving out of 10 gates at JFK. It said in October it hopes to expand that to 250 flights.

Delta dismissed the connection, saying its effort was in the works three years ago and is being launched now to target business travelers, especially on international flights. It said only two Song flights are being expanded as part of the effort and it is going after a different market than JetBlue.

"We have seen that the transcontinental market is traditionally more of a business market and business travelers expect more amenities such as movies, food, etc. on the transcontinental flights," Delta spokeswoman Peggy Estes said.

JetBlue, meanwhile, said late last year it would pull out of Atlanta, Delta's hub, and cancel flights to the West Coast because of intense competition from Delta and AirTran Airways. JetBlue had entered the Atlanta market to challenge Delta's dominance between there and Long Beach, and the move roughly coincided with Delta's launch of Song.

JetBlue spokesman Gareth Edmondson-Jones said that ultimately competition is good for everybody. He said, however, the company has no plans to look over its shoulder.

"We've competed with Delta and every other carrier at JFK from day one," he said. "Four years later, we're the biggest carrier at JFK now."

Ray Neidl, an analyst with Blaylock and Partners in New York, said the Delta effort at JFK could help the airline's international volume, but he doesn't expect it to do much for the airline at home. He also said the effort shouldn't affect JetBlue.

"They're building on an already strong trans-Atlantic system," Neidl said of Delta. "It's the domestic expansion capacity that worries me."

Shares of Delta fell 44 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $11.80 in afternoon trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of JetBlue fell $2.18, or 8.3 percent, to $24.25 in trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Delta will bring 10 airplanes out of storage and offer 200 furloughed flight attendants there jobs back, said executive vice president and chief marketing officer Vicki Escarra. About 100 more airport gate and ticket agents also will be brought back from furlough or brought in from other airports, she said.

The airline is still evaluating how many of its 1,000 furloughed pilots to bring back, Escarra said. Delta is in the midst of a protracted battle to get deep wage concessions from its pilots.

Escarra said that Delta, along with other major carriers, is considering purchasing assets from US Airways -- which emerged from bankruptcy last year -- but no decision has been made and that will not be part of the expansion effort at JFK. She also said the expansion is separate from Delta's plans announced in October to sell 11 planes scheduled for delivery in 2005 and delay the delivery of eight more.

Escarra said the New York initiative is very important to Delta, which is trying to rebound after another year of heavy losses.

Looks like one of 2 things
1) A a new leaf for DL
or
2) The beginning of the end for DL
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EDIT: did some extra research:
NEW SERVICE FROM JFK (**=DL connection, *=song
CHS** JUN 1
DEN APR 4
RSW* MAY 1
GSO** JUL 1
SAN JULY 1
SJU APR 4
SDQ Jun 1
SAV** JUN 1
CVG JUN 1
DTW** JUN 1
LAS JUN 1
LAX APR 4
ORF** JUL 1
RDU** JUN 1
SFO APR 4
SEA APR 4
STL** JUL 1

[Edited 2004-01-29 01:14:21]