Carriers get $181K from CPA’s airline incentive program

The Commonwealth Ports Authority has granted CNMI signatory airlines close to $200,000 in total incentives under a program that gives substantial discount in airport charges to carriers that are able to increase their average monthly traffic count.

CPA Comptroller Dave S. Demapan disclosed that implementation of the ports authority’s Airline Incentive Program has translated to about $149,000 in total savings to foreign carriers during the period that stretches between October 1, 1999 to July 31, 2000.

Between May and September 1999, international airline companies servicing the Northern Marianas received an aggregated amount of $23,000 in total discount from the incentive program.

Overall incentives granted by the ports authority to foreign carriers that are able to increase their average monthly passenger count totaled $173,000 since the program’s implementation in May of last year.

On the commuter side, Mr. Demapan disclosed the ports authority has given domestic carriers a total of $9,000 in discount from airport charges from May 1999 to July 31, 2000.

The figure represents about five percent of the overall incentives granted by CPA to all foreign and domestic carriers in the Northern Marianas, according to the comptroller.

The Airline Incentive Program grants CNMI signatory airlines 50 percent off on landing and departure fees, which expires in October of this year.

CPA earlier looked at the possibility of extending the program beyond October 2000 although this would largely depend on the three-year passenger haul projections by United States and foreign airline companies.

Executive Director Carlos H. Salas in previous interview said projections on international traffic into the Northern Marianas would clear the road for additional air transport services between Guam and Saipan, as well as between major international destinations in Asia and the CNMI.

Mr. Salas pointed out that the move to obtain conservative passenger haul projections from airline companies is a major part of the Commonwealth government’s efforts to explore alternative ways that will facilitate improvement in visitor traffic figures.

The ports authority started giving perks to airline companies servicing the Northern Marianas in May 1999 that are able to bring up their arrival figures by 15 percent more than their current traffic load.

Primarily spurred by the Airline Incentive Program, total number of passenger arrivals at the Saipan International Airport soared 30 percent , from 33,093 in April 1999 to 42,999 this year.

From the beginning of the Fiscal Year 2000 up until April, CPA records showed the number of international passengers arriving at and leaving Saipan’s air transport facility exceeded the level registered during the previous fiscal year.

This, even as aircraft landings from international destinations that includes Guam dropped seven percent from 277 in April of FY-1999 to only 258 landings this year.

Total number of enplanement between October 1999 and April 2000 was registered at 301,920, up seven percent from the previous year of the same period’s 283,032.