Australian carrier offers to fly Sydney-Saipan

Shortly after a trade agreement was reached between Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino and the Mandarin Airlines, a Sydney-based airline company has offered to provide air transport services between Australia and the Northern Marianas.

Documents obtained from the Commonwealth Ports Authority disclosed that Micronesian Air Australia Ltd. has signified intentions to ferry passengers between the continent Down Under and Saipan on a regular basis.

The development came as a welcome news to the CNMI government, which even created the Aviation Task Force to specifically lure foreign carriers into providing air transport services between the Northern Marianas and other destinations.

Micronesian Air Australia is planning to utilize 727 aircraft to carry cargo and passengers between the country and the CNMI in its proposed flight services to Saipan from Sydney.

CPA Executive Director Carlos H. Salas said the Australian carrier’s proposal to fly between Sydney and Saipan came at the most appropriate time when the Commonwealth is in bad need for direct flights to the island.

No data relating to the date of the commencement of its service to Saipan was immediately available.

However, CPA Board Chair Roman S. Palacios said the carrier’s plan to fly between Australia and Saipan will not only mean additional revenue for the ports authority but will also spur visitor arrivals into the CNMI due to the anticipated entry of Australian tourists.

The Marianas Visitors Authority noted a significant drop in the arrival of visitors to the CNMI since early 1998 or a few months after major Asian currencies tumbled against the American greenback.

Arrival figures spiraled down to 490,200 in 1998 from the previous year’s 694,900. In 1996, more than 730,000 visitors from Japan, Korea and other countries took a trip to the islands.

While arrival statistics improved last year to 501,800 visitors, business analysts said the increase was not significant enough to reach the cash registers of department and duty-free stores around the island.

Officials pointed out that while Japanese and Korean tourists have started taking overseas trips again, consumer confidence in most parts of Asia has remained weak and is not likely to improve within the year.

Industry players are concerned about the spending behavior of younger travelers, particularly women, who are no longer taking overseas trips as much as they did in the past.

At the same time, aircraft landing from foreign destinations to Saipan declined by 19 percent during the first month of the year from the January 1999 level.

The decision of the Continental Micronesia to downsize its CNMI operations has affected inbound traffic to the Saipan International Airport, which dropped by 24 percent in November last year compared with landing statistics during the same period in 1998.

A financial report prepared by the ports authority disclosed a sharp decline in the number of inbound international flights at the Saipan airport, to only 260 last year from 342 in November 1998.

However, deplanement increased by a whooping 25 percent from 30,520 two years ago to 38,209 last year, while enplanement grew by eight percent from 40,329 to 43,450.