The airline plans to offer direct flights from its Salt Lake hub to Narita International Airport in Japan beginning June 3 with connections to 20 more Asian destinations, Delta said Wednesday.

The Salt Lake City-to-Tokyo run was one of 15 new international routes Delta said it will start next spring as it seeks to protect itself from a stumbling U.S. economy. It chose Tokyo after heavy lobbying by local government and private groups who put together a $2 million package of cash and marketing incentives.

"These flights include new nonstop service between Salt Lake City and Tokyo, the first trans-Pacific service offered from Salt Lake and linking the Rocky Mountain region with Delta's Asian hub," Glen Hauenstein, executive vice president of network planning and revenue management, said in conference call with reporters.

Equally important was the success of Delta's route from Salt Lake City to Paris, which launched June 2. Load factors - the percentage of seats occupied by paying passengers - frequently exceed 80 percent.

"We had a very successful start with that last summer. It's done very well," said Bob Cortelyou, Delta's senior vice president for network planning.

Cortelyou held out the possibility of additional overseas routes from Utah, but wasn't specific. But two weeks ago, when Delta executives met with reporters to discuss its completed merger with Northwest Airlines, Delta Chief Financial Officer Ed Bastian suggested that Amsterdam also was a possibility.

Hauenstein said Delta decided Tokyo should be its next route because the new Delta - now the biggest passenger airline in the world - wanted to balance out its overseas flying from Salt Lake City International Airport, where 3,900 employees are stationed, including 600 pilots.

"There are a lot of ways for people in Salt Lake to take Delta and its partners east, but there aren't a lot of ways to take Delta and its partners west. So I think it was our priority to put in what we consider [will be] very unique service from the mountain states," he said.

Hauenstein said another factor was United Airline's service to Asia from its hub at Denver International Airport. United doesn't fly to Narita from Denver, even though the airport, by traffic, "is the largest Asian market by a factor of two," he said.

"We are thrilled and looking forward to this continued international partnership. It means a lot to this region to have this level of international service at this historical moment," said airport spokeswoman Barbara Gann.

Jason Perry, executive director of the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development, said the Tokyo route underscores the shift in Delta's plans for Salt Lake City's airport that began with the Paris route.

"I think [the hub] is going to become increasingly international in nature. They are going to put a lot of resources into the operation in Salt Lake City and they are going to be looking to increase the number of flights coming in and out," Perry said.

Perry's boss, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., said in a statement that the announcement is "proof of the faith and trust the nation's top business leaders have in Utah's strong economic climate and work force." He pointed out that Utah sent $400 million worth of exports to Japan in 2007, making it the state's fourth-largest trading partner. "This new direct flight ties our capital cities together, expanding and strengthening the mutual economic foundations."

Lane Beattie, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber, said "the nonstop flight to Narita Tokyo is another example of Salt Lake City emerging as a world city."

In a memo to employees Wednesday, Hauenstein said Delta's "smart international growth" has positioned the company well during tough international times. Because of the premium it can charge for tickets, which can easily run more than $1,000 round trip. Delta began to boost overseas flying in 2005 shortly after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Back then, 20 percent of its flying capacity operations were international. By next summer, that percentage will be 40 percent.

"This strategy is advanced by new opportunities created by our recent merger with Northwest, including the ability to deploy a more flexible fleet to take advantage of market dynamics around the world," he said.

pbeebe@sltrib.com

* Delta will fly the Tokyo run five times a week with an Airbus 330-200 jet, which can seat more than 250 passengers.

* To expand its east-west passenger pipeline, the airline will increase flying between Salt Lake and Detroit in January. Delta said it will also start new daily service in January from Salt Lake to Memphis, Tenn. Those airports and Narita in Tokyo previously had been Northwest Airlines hubs.