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Kilili: Chasing away Cape Air will be bad for CNMI
Sablan
“We have to be careful about chasing away Cape Air and United [Airlines]. Because Rota is in the United Airlines’ reservation system, passengers anywhere in the world can see that Rota is a destination and can book a flight. If Rota lost Cape Air and United, Rota would literally disappear. Potential tourists would not see it as a possible place to visit; and, even if they know about Rota, they would find it much more difficult to buy a ticket online and that would be a blow to Rota’s economy,” Sablan said.
However, he said his office is not taking Cape Air’s recent cancelled flights lightly and in fact has put officials of the airlines to task a couple of times during meetings.
“As for the Cape Air cancellations, I can tell you that I have met with high-level executives from United Airlines in Washington on three separate occasions. I have let them know how very very unhappy their customers are here in the Northern Marianas,” he said.
Sablan, however, believes that the frustration is not confined to CNMI passengers flying the Guam-CNMI route.
“I don’t think that United or Cape Air is very happy either, because they are losing money when they can’t fly. But they have to make safety their priority, so if a plane has a mechanical issue it’s grounded.”
The CNMI non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives also said he is in favor of Star Marianas launching its own CNMI-Guam service.
“One positive development is the decision by Star Marianas to fill in the gap. I just flew with them myself last week. This is what happens when one company stops providing good service: another company steps in. That’s competition. That’s healthy. And that should result in improved service,” he said.
Tinian-based Star Marianas is currently waiting on the Guam International Airport Authority’s go-ahead to start competing against Cape Air in the route. It originally wanted to begin operating the CNMI-Guam last Sept. 15.
