Skiing, hiking, dramatic scenery, sites of historic and religious interest — in many respects, Salt Lake City is already an international destination. As soon as next summer, that status could be boosted by the city's first nonstop flight to Europe.

Delta Air Lines and officials from Salt Lake City International Airport have been talking for years about such a flight, and the airport's executive director, Roy Williams, now says he has his fingers crossed for an announcement in the coming months and flights starting in summer 2007.

Williams said the most likely flight would be to Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, though there also has been talk of flying to London's Heathrow.

The optimism isn't just coming from Williams. Delta officials agree it's possible.

"We would like to have it there in the summer, but the window in terms of pulling that off is tight," Delta spokesman Anthony Black said. He said plans would need to be worked out in the next couple of months.

Black said the key to finalizing plans for the trans-Atlantic flight will be cooperation between the airline and local officials.

"We're not going to be able to accomplish this without the help of the city," he said. "The partnership is the important thing."

What the Atlanta-based airline is looking for, specifically, would be an incentives package that would include marketing assistance and other assurances that the flight would be a money-maker, including possible landing-fee waivers or other breaks.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s economic development adviser, Chris Roybal, said his office has been studying the business and tourism demand for a nonstop flight to Europe and hopes to help Delta evaluate whether it would be profitable.

Joseph Wirthlin Jr. of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Materials Management Department said church officials also have been working with Huntsman's office to try to make such a flight a reality. Wirthlin said the nonstop flights would increase travel options for church missionaries and officials.

Williams believes Salt Lake City would be an optimal hub for international flights because the skiing industry would keep visitors coming even after the summer travel period. And it's not just Utahns hoping to visit Europe or Europeans coming here that the flight would benefit, he said.

"We're not just interested in Paris-to-Salt Lake customers," Williams said. "We're interested in Budapest-to-Eugene customers."

Both he and Black see Salt Lake as a prime location for West Coast travelers headed to Europe — or other international destinations, such as in Asia or Africa, that are served by the Paris airport.

"Salt Lake is in a unique position as a directional hub," Black said.

Williams sees another benefit in a direct flight to Paris. "The reason we want the Europe service," he said, "is that it cements the future of the Delta hub here in Salt Lake."

Black said that if plans don't come together in time for a launch in 2007, that's not the end of it: Delta plans a direct-to-Europe flight from Salt Lake eventually, if not immediately.

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E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com