JAL pledges more flights to Saipan

Two senators who were part of the CNMI delegation to a tourism and travel fair in Japan expressed hope yesterday that the island may see an increase in the number of direct flights to bring more Japanese tourists to offset downscaling of service by Continental Airline to Saipan.

Sen. Juan P. Tenorio disclosed that Japan Airlines have pledged to local officials that it will add charter flights between February and April on top of the carrier’s regular service to carry more passengers during the peak season.

“We were a little bit too focused on the reduction of flight by Continental, but at the same time we should be a little bit more appreciative and acknowledge that [JAL] is making tremendous effort to fill in the void,” he told reporters during a break in the Senate session.

Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes likewise underscored the need to maintain the direct service between key Japanese cities and Saipan as he welcomed JAL’s move to replace the seats left by Continental’s decision to drop direct flights to the island.

Continental, the largest carrier in Micronesia, has made Guam its hub with Japanese travelers to the CNMI making a stopover on the neighboring island first before flying to Saipan.

While airline officials maintain the number of seats to Saipan will increase by next year, local leaders have cast doubts that tourists will continue their trip to the island by waiting a few hours for connecting flight at the Guam airport.

“The notion that tourists coming from Japan prefer to stop by Guam as transit is just ridiculous,” said Mr. Reyes.

He added that during their trip last week to participate in the event organized by Japan Association of Travel Agents or JATA the delegation was able to meet with JAL officials to ask for their commitment.

“The trip we had was to try to encourage JAL to make [those charter flights] permanent… so that there will be more direct flights,” said the senator.

Reports presented at JATA, a biennial event considered the largest gathering of tour operators and travel agents in Japan and attended by over a hundred countries, have buoyed hopes by CNMI officials of surge in tourist arrivals here.

They cited prediction of growth in Japanese overseas travels in the next few years amid the recovery of the world’s second largest economy.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio, who led the delegation of Marianas Visitors Authority officials, lawmakers and private sector representative, considered the island’s participation a success, noting they were able to meet with key airline officials and travel agents.

Japan is the biggest source of tourists for the CNMI, making up about 80 percent of the total arrivals in recent years. The local tourism industry, NMI’s main economic backbone, has suffered heavily in the past two years in the wake of the currency crunch that hit Japan and East Asia in 1997.