North Dakota will have flights to Salt Lake City beginning June but for now those flights will be taking off out of Bismarck and Fargo and not Minot.

Today Northwest Airlines president Ed Bastian made the announcement while meeting with local and state airport officials.

The meeting is a chance to get answers about the merger and how air service in North Dakota will be affected.

Bastian says the airline has a long relationship with North Dakota and will continue to serve the state .

He says the biggest change you will see is in scheduling.

(Ed Bastian/ President, Northwest Airlines) "There is a lot of demand on Fridays and Sundays...there is not as much demand on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so with the new Delta you will see you might see a little reduction of service on Tuesday and Wednesday but some more service on the weekends when people want to travel."


Minot mayor Curt Zimbelman says he looks forward to working with the delta officials to expand air service in Minot.

Zimbelman says the biggest concern he hears is getting a flight to the west.

(Curt Zimbelman/ Mayor of Minot) "Its a nice chunk of money and it gives some type of guarantee to the airline that is willing to go west out of Minot."


Zimbelman says about fifteen to twenty percent of air travelers in or near Minot actually drive to Bismarck to fly.

He says ticket prices and more options are the biggest reasons people choose not to fly out of Minot. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list