By James Pilcher
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Delta Air Lines soon may unveil its plan to take on low-cost discount carriers in what industry experts say is a big first step for mainline airlines hammered by the likes of Southwest, AirTran and JetBlue.

But at least one of those experts says the Atlanta-based carrier probably will not bring its renewed low-cost effort to Cincinnati, its second-largest hub.

"I would be surprised if Delta's low-fare unit concentrated on new markets such as Cincinnati without addressing existing markets where discount competition is the most severe, and given that there is little discount competition in Cincinnati," said Jamie Baker, airline analyst with the Wall Street firm J.P. Morgan Chase Securities. Mr. Baker predicts Delta will make its announcement next week.

In August, Delta announced plans to revamp its current low-cost unit - Delta Express - which was created in 1996 as a way to compete for low-fare flights to Florida.

The airline bypassed the hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport then, but did operate out of Louisville, which is also served by Southwest. That Louisville service was terminated shortly before the Sept. 11 attacks, but Delta Express still operates out of Columbus and Indianapolis.

Delta officials said Friday they could not comment on any impending announcement about a new low-cost unit. Company spokeswoman Kristi Tucker did say Delta was still on schedule to unveil the program this month.

Another reason analysts such as Mr. Baker doubt Delta will bring its low-cost unit here is that the airline already owns most of the traffic, and it will look to compete against JetBlue to protect its share of the Northeast market.

"Most of the legacy carriers have been on the defensive against discount carriers, but Delta is going on the offensive, and that is a key step for the industry that everyone will be watching very closely," Mr. Baker said.

In other Delta news Friday, the airline's pilot union reached a tentative agreement with management to allow Delta to enter into a marketing agreement with Continental and Northwest. The agreement, still under review by the Department of Transportation, would allow each airline to sell seats on the others' flights.

Pilot approval of the deal was a necessary step.

The three-airline proposal was announced in August, shortly after another similar deal between United and US Airways was reached.

The Transportation Department has yet to rule on the Delta deal, and has twice asked for more time to review the proposal.

Industry experts have said that other such agreements have precluded flights flying between hubs, meaning Cincinnati probably would not see much impact - especially since most non-Delta flights from here go to another carrier's hub.

E-mail jpilcher@enquirer.com