Air Saipan gets B757 jets

Air Saipan Ltd. has acquired two Boeing 757 aircraft and made an initial investment of $3 million, as the company forges ahead with plans to become a full-fledged airline that will serve as Saipan’s flag carrier.

Air Saipan’s Dave Raybould disclosed that the company’s initial investment would rise in the coming weeks as it hopes to pick up passenger traffic from Japan to the CNMI.

“Initially, we wanted to cover the shortfall in JAL’s pullout by operating charter flights to the CNMI from Japan. Someone needed to offer more flights, as the Japanese still wish to travel to Saipan. But talking to local businesses has led us to try to take it a few steps further,” disclosed Raybould.

Tourist traffic from Japan has slowed down following the pullout of Japan Airlines’ regular flights to Saipan last October.

Raybould said the company initially wanted to meet travel demand to Saipan via charter flights. Once the necessary permits are obtained from the government, it will be ready to provide charter services.

“But as our costs are a lot less than the big carriers and combining our feeling that Saipan as a destination has been under-marketed in the international marketplace—there was understandably little need with the amount of regular Japanese tourists—we feel there is more to be gained with a long-term approach,” added Raybould.

“Hence, we will initially operate as a simple charter service while at the same time applying for our Air Operating Certificate to become a full-fledged carrier,” he said.

The company chose the name Air Saipan to enhance the destination’s international image. Besides Raybould, who takes charge of the company’s Asia-Pacific operations, other company stakeholders include Dean Mills, chairman and majority shareholder; and Craig Champion, who takes charge of sales and marketing.

Raybould said he and his business partners have wanted to come up with the Air Saipan project since they heard about the pullout of JAL’s regular flights to Saipan.

JAL’s pullout instantly resulted in a significant drop in Japanese arrivals to the CNMI, hurting the islands’ tourism industry. With only 21,893 Japanese visiting the islands in November, total tourist arrivals for the month reached only 35,267, declining by 19.65 percent—or 8,623 tourists—from November 2004’s 43,890. Japanese tourists, the CNMI’s top market, totaled 30,454 in November 2004 and dived by 28 percent this year.

Local tourism industry players have expressed concern that JAL’s pullout would result in a loss of nearly a third of the CNMI’s Japanese market, which is equivalent to over a hundred thousand Japanese tourists yearly, even as Northwest Airlines added one flight daily from Osaka, Japan. Northwest now provides 21 flights weekly from Japan—one flight daily from each of Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya.

Raybould stressed that the core of Air Saipan’s business objective is to pick up travel demand from Japan.

“We are very optimistic, to the extent that we have enlarged our original operational plan. The island is beautiful, the people are warm and welcoming, the history is staggering, the beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world, internationally recognized diving, top golf courses—all the ingredients are already here,” he said.

“We do need to see how we can make the island a little more accessible to certain overseas markets. Overall we’re confident that we can deliver the number of tourists Saipan expects,” he added.

Besides planning to tap the Japanese market, Air Saipan is also looking at other Asian markets such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

The company has also been eyeing Australian travelers as a new market for Saipan. Raybould disclosed that the company has been meeting with several travel agents in Australia, which it believes could become an alternative source of travelers for the CNMI.

“Australians love to travel and they have lost confidence in Bali due to the unfortunate events there recently,” he said.

Commonwealth Ports Authority executive director Lee Cabrera confirmed Tuesday that Air Saipan has been in communication with his office to meet the government’s requirements for its flight services.