The Lincoln Airport got a couple of good omens Thursday, the first day of new Delta Air Lines service to Atlanta and Salt Lake City.

At a news conference to kick off the service, Mayor Chris Beutler said he was issuing an executive order to city employees requiring them to fly out of the Lincoln airport on city business as long as the fare is less than $100 more than from an alternative airport.

"I believe flying from our home airport whenever possible is an investment in the community," Beutler said, encouraging private businesses to adopt a similar policy.

Shortly after Beutler's remarks, the first Delta plane landed in Lincoln - 15 minutes early.

The airport can use any help it can get, as it seeks to get and keep new air service to help reverse a years-long trend of declining passenger counts.

Thursday's passenger numbers certainly weren't a first-day home run - the Atlanta flight was two-thirds full and the Salt Lake City flight was half full - but Executive Director John Wood said he'll take those numbers.

"We're pretty excited about that, and we hope it continues to grow as we go along," he said.

One of the passengers for the inaugural Atlanta flight was Derek Deger of Lincoln, who was traveling with his two-year-old son, Drake, to see his mother in Nashville.

Deger said the trip would actually take about an hour longer going through Atlanta than if he flew through Minneapolis or Chicago, but the fare was cheaper.

He said as long as the fare is lower, he'll continue to fly to Nashville through Atlanta.

Fares are less important to business travelers, who will probably be the deciding factor as to whether the new once-daily flights are successful or not.

Chamber of Commerce President Wendy Birdsall called the new flights "a tremendous opportunity" for economic development.

"Atlanta's huge, because it opens up a whole new segment of the country with one stop that we didn't have before," she said.

She also pointed out that Salt Lake City gives Lincoln another westbound option besides Denver, something it hasn't had for several years.

In numerous chamber surveys, businesses have requested a southern air destination from Lincoln, although the last time they got one - Northwest flights to Memphis in 2005 - the service failed miserably and ended after only eight months.

Local officials don't want to see that happen again.

"This really is a 'use it or lose it' proposition," Birdsall said.

Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.