Continental to resume Saipan-Osaka direct flight?

In what could be a boost to CNMI’s ailing tourism industry, Continental Micronesia is weighing the possibility of temporarily resuming its Saipan-Osaka direct service by late January until March next year to test the market.

This was relayed by Walter Dias, staff vice president of Continental to Marianas Visitors Authority Managing Director Perry J. Tenorio and board member Marian Aldan-Pierce in a recent meeting in Guam.

If the market can support the temporary service during the period, the airline may just schedule a regular Saipan-Osaka direct service.

“Everything is still sketchy on what Continental really plans to do. I am hopeful that all these unsubstantiated reports will come true for the benefit of the industry. In the absence of an official notice, I would say all of these are just rumors,” said MVA Board Chair Dave M. Sablan.

During a recent MVA meeting, board director Mark Murai informed the board that an official announcement was already made by the general manager of Continental in Osaka regarding the plan to continue the Osaka-Saipan direct service four times a week starting October of this year.

Earlier, Continental has denied reports that the Nagoya-Saipan direct service will resume in October this year after the MVA Nagoya Office was informed of such plan by Tim Nara, staff vice president of Continental Airlines in Japan.

The CNMI government has already protested Continental Micronesia’s treatment of Saipan and Guam as co-terminals in a letter to the United States Department of Transportation since it has worked to the disadvantaged of the CNMI tourism industry.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has supported the Commonwealth Ports Authority’s application to continue flying Route 171, unless the carrier institutes direct air service from Sapporo-Sendai in Japan to Saipan within a reasonable period of time.

Continental Micronesia, the region’s flag carrier, is seeking to renew its five weekly Saipan-Guam-Sapporo flights and daily Saipan-Guam-Sendai air transport service.

While Continental Micronesia expresses intention to operate five weekly Sapporo and daily Sendai flights in its renewal application, CPA officials said this does not mean there will be direct flights between Saipan and Sapporo or Saipan and Sendai. This is so because the carrier’s renewal application continues to treat Guam and Saipan as co-terminals.