This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. Plan for Airline Alliance Delayed December 20, 2002 By BLOOMBERG NEWS WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (Bloomberg News) - Delta Air Lines, the Northwest Airlines Corporation and Continental Airlines must wait 30 more days for a federal ruling on whether they can sell tickets to one another's flights, a plan that regulators have said raises competitive concerns. The Department of Transportation extended its review a fourth time, into next month, and said in a filing that it had discussed the issues in detail with the airlines, without providing specifics. The agency can decide to allow the alliance to go forward or begin a legal proceeding to try to block it. "The D.O.T. may be saying, `Don't think just because you guys are losing money we're going to let you carve up the industry by lessening competition,' " said Clifford Winston, a Brookings Institution economist who specializes in airlines. The department may force the three airlines to exempt from the alliance some routes where they are dominant, analysts have said. Delta, the third-largest airline in the United States; Northwest, No. 4; and Continental, No. 5; applied in August to share passengers and to coordinate routes and schedules. The alliance is intended to increase sales, which have been depressed since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Opponents have said the alliance, which expands an existing Northwest-Continental link, would bring a total of $600 million in revenue to the three carriers. The Transportation Department review may be extended one more time until late February as Continental continues talks with the department, said Dave Messing, a spokesman for the airline, which is based in Houston. Continental completed talks with the Justice Department and expects to be able to begin the alliance in the first half of next year. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/20/business/20AIR.html?ex=1041401234&ei=1&en=343ece218d46f0c8 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company