Wine snobs, truffle lovers and point guards for the San Antonio Spurs will now have a non-stop flight to their favorite country.
Beginning June 2, 2008, Delta Air Lines will offer a non-stop flight from Salt Lake City International Airport to Paris' Charles de Gaulle International Airport once a day. It is the first transatlantic flight from Salt Lake City on any airline.
The flight will leave Salt Lake at 5 p.m. and land in Paris at 11:05 a.m. the following day, with a total flight time of 10 hours and five minutes. The return flight will leave Paris at 10:20 a.m. and land in Salt Lake at 1:50 p.m., with a total flight time of 11 hours and 30 minutes.
Although flights will not start until next year, tickets are being sold on www.delta.com for a promotional rate of $499 one way until Sept. 6.
Delta President and chief financial officer Ed Bastian said during a news conference today at the Grand America hotel in Salt Lake that because the new route is connecting with two of the airline's major hubs, it will offer passengers a way to more easily visit Europe and America.
"We are not just starting a new route," he said. "We are opening a window to the world."
Salt Lake was chosen because of the number of flights which already route through the city, Bastian said, and because of financial incentives provided by the city and state.
The Salt Lake City Department of Airports provided $1 million in one-time funding for the new route, including $655,000 in cash and $345,000 in waived landing fees. The Governor's Office of Economic Development provided $250,000 in the form of a one-time grant, while the Utah Office of Tourism kicked in $600,000 in one-time in-kind money for marketing.
Bastian estimated that the new flights could bring as much as $150 million annually into the state.
Another incentive for Delta was that Salt Lake is their fastest growing domestic hub, Bastian said. In the past two years, Delta's passenger travel through the airport has grown by 40 percent, 30 new destinations have been added, and the airline increased service with 50 new flights.
The large number of connecting flights makes Salt Lake an important regional airport and will help draw tourists from Europe, because they can connect to almost any destination in the western United States. At the same time, travelers from throughout the Rocky Mountain region will now be able to reach Europe by connecting through Salt Lake instead of one of the East Coast hubs.
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson said that the Paris flight shows that the city is becoming more of a global player. The addition of the flight also gives a strong indication that Delta is committed to the city for the long-term.
"We're going to see a lot of benefits," he said. "Just to be able to have the transatlantic flight says so much about the cooperation between Delta and Salt Lake."
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said that the flight would provide big dividends to the state in tourism and economic-development dollars. Simply having a flight to Europe lends the city credibility with foreign travelers and business executives, he said.
"I am thrilled to death about what is happening today," he said. "In order for the state to stay relevant in a global world, this is a very important step."
E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com