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Delta to reduce flights this winter
As the Japanese market continues to go down, Delta Air Lines will further reduce its flights to Saipan this winter.
In a statement from its corporate communications office, Delta said that since six B747-400s will be retired by the end of 2015, their overall seat capacity on the resort markets next year would be reduced from winter 2015.
Delta said they will also reduce frequencies on the flights to Honolulu and Saipan during the winter due to “continued yen devaluation and average fare decline with lower fuel surcharge.”
Flights to Guam and Palau remain unchanged, the airline said.
According to the Marianas Visitors Authority’s latest arrival numbers, March saw a 51-percent decrease in air seat supply from Japan to the CNMI. Japan arrivals fell 34 percent to 8,808 visitors.
MVA said seasonal suspension by Asiana Airlines of its flights from Osaka to the CNMI for January to March impacted the Japan market heavily.
MVA said Delta Air Lines also flew a reduced schedule of 12 flights a week in March from Narita to Saipan. As a result, load factors on all Japan flights to the CNMI exceeded 95 percent on average for all Japan flights during the month of March, with 8,808 Japanese able to secure one of just 9,222 seats available.
In February, arrivals from Japan fell 24 percent to 8,485 visitors as a result of Asiana Airlines’ suspension of Saipan services from Osaka for January to March.
According to MVA, this impacted the Japan market very heavily, resulting in a 43.2-percent decrease in air seat supply in February.
On top of this, major Japanese travel agencies were unable to secure hotel rooms over the Lunar New Year period due to the rapid increase in Chinese arrivals.
According to MVA, they were hesitant to launch promotions during the February period given the lack of hotel rooms.
