The competition between airlines is heating up – and the big winners could be passengers and workers.

Delta Air Lines and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey broke ground last week on a $1.2 billion project to expand Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens. The project is expected to generate 10,000 jobs.

The new terminal will rival the similarly modern, state-of-the-art facilities used by American Airlines and JetBlue at JFK, Delta officials said.

On the eve of the groudbreaking on the Terminal 4 project, American and JetBlue added reciprocal frequent flier benefits to its existing partnership. American Airlines also added five destinations from JFK, including Fort Lauderdale and Rio de Janiero.

Atlanta-based Delta, which recently merged with Northwest Airlines, also has announced new international routes for next year.