When Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines merged in October, Greg Haug thought it was possible the airline would offer a flight out of North Dakota to Salt Lake City, a Delta hub.

"It falls into that 'it would make sense' category," the Bismarck Municipal Airport manager said.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., expects the airline to announce such a flight today at a meeting at Bismarck Municipal Airport.

Dorgan said he has received "enough information" from the companies' officials to believe that the announcement will be made during the meeting. The senator does not have information concerning timing of flights or locations for the flights.

A message left with a spokesperson in corporate communications for Delta Air Lines was not returned on Wednesday.

According to a release from Dorgan, the senator met with Delta President Ed Bastian two weeks ago and requested that the company consider establishing direct service between North Dakota and Salt Lake City. Bastian will speak at the meeting at the airport today.

The meeting, which is expected to be attended by members of the state's congressional delegation, state and local officials, and officials from the state's airports, also will be an opportunity for officials to question Bastian about frequency of flights, airfare and other concerns, Dorgan said.

"Northwest is the largest carrier in North Dakota, and we want to make sure that with the merger, our state still has access to competitively priced fares and a good frequency of flights," Dorgan said in a statement. "New routes would be a significant improvement in service for North Dakota air travelers, especially for those headed to points west of our state."

Haug has known about today's meeting, but said he has not received specific information about the announcement. However, he said the possibility of flights to Salt Lake City has been on his list of predictions for the past six to eight months as the two companies merged.

"I have not received any official word on that," Haug said.

Many discussions on the part of the airlines over the merger concerned creating efficiencies in service, Haug said. Offering a flight west from North Dakota would make sense in that regard, he said. Flights out of Bismarck on Northwest Airlines go to Minneapolis, even if passengers are heading west, southwest or northwest.

"They flew them east to go west," Haug said.

Going to Minneapolis, then west, means passengers travel about 1,000 miles before ever actually going west of Bismarck. About 50 percent of passengers out of Bismarck are heading to locations west, southwest or northwest, Haug said.

"You'll be able to fly them more efficiently and burn less fuel" with a flight to Salt Lake City, he said.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)