CPA criticized for increasing airport fees

A top official of Japan Airlines yesterday warned the CNMI government against imposing additional fees at Saipan International Airport to prevent aircraft carriers from transferring to neighboring island Guam.

Yukiharu Enomoto, district manager of JAL, said the CNMI should consider implementing incentives to lure more airlines into the Northern Marianas just like Honolulu and Guam airports which both earlier waived landing fees for a certain period.

Speaking before the Saipan Chamber of Commerce monthly meeting, the JAL executive criticized the recent 65 percent increase in aircraft landing fee and 38 percent hike in passenger facility charge carried out by the Commonwealth Ports Authority in March 2000 at this time when airlines are having difficulty to survive due to the slowdown in the island’s tourism economy.

CPA adjusted its airport and landing fees on March 1, 2000 based on the recommendation of a 1998 study to allow the ports authority obtain a bond rating for its airport bonds and meet its debt service.

He noted that Kansai Airport in Japan which was built in September 1994, had to impose very high facility charges, the second highest in the world, to maintain debt service for the huge loans it had secured for the construction of the airport.

As a result, airlines and tenants have started leaving Kansai Airport and transferred to other airports which have reasonable rates.
In a move to save the situation, the Ministry of Transportation in Japan has pledged to assist Kansai Airport financially and urged airport executives to reduce the facility charges so as not to lose the airlines and entice new carriers to come in.

Expenses on the improvements in Tinian and Rota airports should not be passed on to the airlines since these projects must be considered as part of the CNMI government’s overall tourism plan.

Mr. Enomoto recommended that government agencies coordinate efforts involving tourism-related projects that will help revive the island’s main economy. The JAL executive hailed the recent announcement of Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio that no new taxes will be imposed to help businesses cope with the current economic recession.

Although Saipan only offers a small market for JAL, Mr. Enomoto said he will continue to assist the CNMI in promoting the Northern Marianas to Japan through JAL and its group of companies.

In Fiscal Year 1999, JAL carried out 99 flights in addition to its daily Tokyo and Kansai flights, as well as brought in more than 200,000 passengers. Ironically, this was JAL’s best record since it inaugurated its flight services in the CNMI in October 1997.

In the year 2000, Mr. Enomoto said more than 100,000 passengers had already been ferried by the airline to the Northern Marianaas from January 2000 to end of June.

But the CNMI has to catch up with the arrivals record of Japanese in Guam and South Korea. In 1999, total Japanese arrivals in the Northern Marianas was 380,473; Guam was 957,738, while Korea recorded the highest with 2,184,121.

The main reason for the growing popularity of South Korea is the increase in female travelers who are looking for cheap prices in terms of shopping, food, and massage.