Jul. 6--Deutsche Lufthansa will end nonstop flights between Portland and Frankfurt, Germany, as the airline slashes costs worldwide amid slumping demand.

A spokesman for the German airline, which has operated the flights since 2003, confirmed it has canceled PDX-Frankfurt service following final flights scheduled Sept. 12.

"It was really not an easy decision for us," said Martin Riecken, Lufthansa corporate communications director. The airline will consider reinstating the service next year, but for now the flights lose money, he said.

Managers of the Port of Portland, which operates Portland International Airport, are so eager to retain remaining international links that they propose an unprecedented deal to pay Delta Air Lines $3.5 million for continuing its nonstop Portland-Tokyo service.

Under the agreement, Delta -- which also operates nonstop Portland-Amsterdam flights -- would keep Portland's Asian link alive during the slow months this winter, Bill Wyatt, the Port's executive director, confirmed today.

Port managers expect Delta would then continue the Portland-Tokyo flights through next summer's busy season, by which time they hope the economy will have improved enough to make the service profitable again. Port commissioners are scheduled to vote Wednesday on the deal.

"It's been a particularly challenging time" for airlines, Wyatt said. "We're proposing this after fairly intense negotiations with Delta, and in return they guarantee to maintain a schedule this winter seven days a week."

The Port would use no tax revenues in the deal, Wyatt said. International air service pumps millions of dollars into Oregon's economy and keeps Portland on the world map for business and leisure travel, as well as cargo.

The loss of Lufthansa flights will be a blow to the Port, travel agents and Oregon's international companies, but will likely boost revenues for Delta on its Portland-Amsterdam route. Delta inherited those flights when it acquired Northwest Airlines last year.

-- Richard Read; richread@aol.com

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