While in the process of deciding on new routes to cities in Latin America, Delta Air Lines Inc. also is studying the travel patterns of Latinos visiting the U.S. in order to better serve them, according to James W. Sarvis, director of Delta's Latin America and Caribbean business unit. During a telephone interview with GlobalAtlanta last week, Mr. Sarvis said that Delta offers hourly service from Atlanta to Washington in response to the travel demands of the many Salvadorans that pass through Atlanta. “Atlanta is usually their first choice, but Washington is their second,” he said. “We are trying to sell the airport as a gateway and the city of Atlanta,” he said. He also said that Delta's surveys found many of the Latino visitors are interested in the variety of Atlanta's shopping venues and tourist sites such as the Martin Luther King Center. Delta supports Atlanta's bid to host the secretariat of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, but Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and the city's attractions are selling points already in place bringing Latinos here, he added. The U.S. Department of Transportation has approved nonstop service between Atlanta and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, beginning in October. Last December, it re-established nonstop flight between Atlanta and Buenos Aires, Argentina, and also has added a second nonstop direct flight between Atlanta and Sao Paulo, Brazil. For more information, call Liza Caceras by email at liza.caceres@delta.com