Closing the gap left by JAL’s pullout

Editor’s Note: The Marianas Visitors Authority is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, with the theme “Celebrating Tourism Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.” This article is part of a series that the agency is putting out to mark the occasion.

The CNMI’s tourism industry is heavily dependant on air services provided by the airlines servicing the islands. With Northwest Airlines’ recent addition of three more flights a week to Saipan from its Tokyo hub, increasing from seven to 10 flights per week, the CNMI’s road to recovery seems to have improved quite a bit following the effects of the Japan Airlines pullout.

“As a longstanding and committed provider of convenient air service between Japan and the Northern Mariana Islands, we were pleased to expand our schedule and meet the needs of travelers between these important destinations in our Asia/Pacific network,” said Richard Parsons, manager of Northwest Airlines- Guam and Saipan.

The additional Northwest Airlines flights to the CNMI began on April 24, 2006. The airline now provides an additional 546 seats per week aboard the airline’s Boeing 757 aircraft. This will change on June 1 when the airline begins using Boeing 747 aircraft on the flights, providing an additional 1,290 seats per week.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, Marianas Visitors Authority board chair Jerry Tan and MVA board vice chair Marian Aldan-Pierce, together with the MVA representative office in Japan, negotiated this deal with Northwest Airlines several months ago, prompting the need for additional air seats into the CNMI.

“Tourism in the CNMI is dependant upon airlift services. The more air seats, the more opportunities we have as an agency to expand our tourism industry. However, bringing in additional air seats means the need to induce more promotions and PR activities in the market to stimulate demand,” said Tan.

Fitial and Northwest Airlines executive signed a memorandum of understanding indicating financial support to bring in these additional flights for a six months period.

A $400,000 commitment was made by the CNMI to Northwest Airlines to market these flights aggressively in Japan. These programs consist of television tie-ups, internet/website marketing, and trade support programs and activities.

“With these additional seats, the MVA sees an economic impact of approximately $27 million into the CNMI,” added Tan.

Currently, Northwest Airlines operate 10 flights from Tokyo to Saipan each week, and daily services from Osaka and Nagoya, Japan.

“We are pleased that Northwest Airlines continues to be a major industry partner for the CNMI. The MVA will continue to provide the needed support to sustain these flights as we rebuild our industry in wake of the JAL pullout,” said Aldan-Pierce. (PR)