Bismarck-Mandan air travelers can't help but be pleased with Delta Air Lines' announcement that it will add daily Bismarck to Salt Lake City service in June. It gives a traveler options.

Delta will add a daily Fargo to Salt Lake City route, as well.

The new routes appear to be a spin-off of the pending merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines.

As North Dakota aggressively enters global markets and expands its energy exports, it becomes critical that business travelers can get in and out of the state's capital city by air - from the east and west.

The recent addition of non-stop service from Bismarck to Mesa, Ariz., by Allegiant, was a big boon to snow birds, their families and people looking for alternative connections.

The state's sparse population has always hampered the development of multiple air connections to wide-ranging destinations.

There has always been demand. The trick has been to find the right model, the right combination of flights in and out, and on the right days.

High ticket prices, and fares that have defied logic and a sense of fairness, also have held down volume.

People are happy with another connection, but they are worried about fares. Certainly, this summer and fall, high fuel prices added to the inflated fare costs. Those prices have been slow to come down, even though the per-barrel value of crude has fallen sharply.

While Bismarck and Fargo were a part of the smiling welcome to Delta, Minot was left out in the cold. Minot Mayor Curt Zimmerman stressed the need for connection to the west in support of the developing oil industry and expansion of the Minot Air Force Base.

"Our citizens deserve it. Our base folks deserve it," Zimmerman said in a Dec. 6 Associated Press story. He's right, but decisions such as these must hinge on financial feasibility.

The city of Bismarck has hired Sixel Consulting Group Inc. to "advocate" for the city with Delta. We hope that the firm is successful in not only seeing Delta establish the route to Salt Lake City, but in adding other flights, increasing the frequency of flights and in reducing air fares.

Further, the merger isn't fully complete, and having someone paying attention to Bismarck-Mandan's concerns makes sense.

Good air service makes a critical difference in promoting North Dakota's business and industry.