Very Interesting.

I'm ecstatic that DAL management is looking for growth opportunities as opposed to the more characteristic "retrenchment" under previous management teams.

My understanding of the Salt Lake to Paris flight is that the city Of Salt Lake (and perhaps the state of Utah as well) gave DAL significant financial incentives to start that service. Perhaps RDU and PIT also provided incentives.

I ski a fair amount in the winter and it's always interesting to talk with others riding up the chairlift. DAL has early morning non-stop service from most major east coast cities to SLC. This means a passenger could get on a flight and be skiing in Utah early that afternoon.

But most people I talk to don't do that. They'll take another carrier and make an extra stop (or two) to save 20 bucks or so. Seems dumb to me. Especially when you factor in that at many UT ski areas if you show a boarding pass with your name on it from that day, they'll let you ski that day for nothing.

I suspect that there will be many more Europeans skiing in UT this winter.