Australian carrier eyes Sydney-Saipan flight • Aussie company begins work to secure permit from DOT

An Australia-based airline company has started concrete efforts to secure a permit from the United States Department of Transportation that will allow the carrier to deploy direct flights between Sydney and Saipan.

Board Chair Roman S. Palacios disclosed Oceania Air Incorporated has been in constant communication with the Commonwealth Ports Authority since early this year, when the airline company expressed intentions to fly between Sydney and Saipan.

Mr. Palacios said Oceania Air is also planning to launch direct cargo service between Saipan and Australia, adding that company president Rex Banks has informed CPA that the carrier just recently acquired two 727-200 aircraft.

“CPA fully supports direct flight from Australia to Saipan,” Mr. Palacios said in a letter to Mr. Banks. “We wish you success in implementing your business plan for such services.”

The carrier’s proposal to fly direct to Saipan 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.

Oceania Air 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.

Mr. 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.

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 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.