Resumption of Korean Air service still uncertain

An official of Korea’s Civil Aviation Bureau has informed Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio that the resumption of Korean Air’s service to Saipan will depend on the results of the investigation on the airline’s 1997 tragic crash in Guam.

According to Sung-Ho Yang, director general for international affairs of CAB of the Ministry of Construction and Transportation, the outcome of the probe conducted by the U.S. Transportation and Safety Board will be made public next month.

Yang noted that Asiana Airlines has steadily increased its commitment to Saipan, providing daily direct service to Saipan using a B737 alternately with a B767 with a seating capacity of 260. At the same time, Asiana will now carry out Pusan-Seoul chartered flights twice a week beginning October 12 until end of December 1999.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has earlier sent a letter to Korean officials seeking their help in reviving the CNMI’s ailing tourism economy. While Asiana Airlines is currently providing Seoul-Saipan direct flights six times a week, Tenorio said he believes that the CNMI must be serviced by an additional carrier so that the travel demands can be met and the Northern Marianas can regain its lost market share.

Asiana raised the possibility of having a regular Pusan-Saipan flight in the middle of next year. The airline will use a B-737 with a seating capacity of 145 in its Pusan-Saipan charter flights. Pusan, located in the southern part of Korea, is considered a big source of the honeymoon market.

Visitor arrivals from Korea jumped 112 percent in August compared to the same period in 1998.

The Marianas Visitors Authority has expressed appreciation on the efforts of Asiana to boost traffic and increase visitor arrivals as tourism officials have been trying hard to revive the slumping tourism industry.

MVA Board Chairman Dave M. Sablan and Deputy Managing Director Vicky Benavente recently met with officials of Korea’s Ministry of Construction and Transportation Sablan had met with Korean Air vice president for passenger and sales J.V. Lee to lobby for the application of Korean Air for Seoul-Saipan service.

As a result of the daily Seoul-Saipan flights, MVA is planning to increase its promotional campaign in Korea. Currently, MVA has only set aside some $125,000 to promote the CNMI in Korea.

Korea used to be the CNMI’s second biggest source of tourists. Korean Air used to ferry an average of 12,000 passengers a month. Since early this year, there has been a steady increase in the number of visitors from Korea primarily due to the improvement in the Korean economy.