Chamber to form position on open-sky policy

Amid the downtrend in tourist arrivals, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce said it is poised to come up with a position on the possibility of opening the CNMI skies to foreign airlines.

“The chamber has not taken a position on it yet. We want to learn some more,” said Chamber president Charles V. Cepeda in an interview.

He said this was why the chamber had invited John Salas of the University of Guam to speak during the group’s monthly meeting last week.

“He was to speak on tourism and open-sky,” said Cepeda.

Salas was unable to attend the Saipan meeting as he was reportedly sick.

Cepeda said the Chamber needs to weigh the pros and cons in supporting the open-sky policy, especially when the organization has two or three airline members right now: Northwest, Continental Micronesia, and Cape Air.

“The idea of open-sky is basically to open the CNMI to other carriers. We’d be very careful in our action since we also want to protect our members but we are also mindful of the competition which is good for our economy,” said Cepeda.

The departure of Japan Airlines in October last year has so far resulted in a 29-percent decline in tourist arrivals from Japan.

At the same time, the local economy has been severely impacted by the recent closure of garment factories and the downsizing of others in the wake of the worldwide lifting of trade quota.

The Commonwealth Ports Authority strongly favors the liberalization of air transportation in the CNMI.

The CPA is in the process of submitting a petition to the U.S. Department of Transportation to grant the CNMI blanket exemption authority to allow foreign carriers to freely fly to and from the CNMI.

CPA is pushing for “expanded air service to the CNMI from Asia and the Pacific region.”

To do that, CPA wants certain operational and marketing restrictions for foreign air carries eliminated.

CPA documents showed that the agency will petition the U.S. DOT to grant the CNMI “blanket exemption authority to all foreign air carriers in expanded passenger and cargo transfer activities in the CNMI—Saipan, Rota, Tinian—between points in Asia/Pacific and the U.S.”

CPA said that opening the CNMI skies to non-U.S. carriers would result in air service competition and would boost the CNMI as a tourist destination.

CPA is currently working with a Washington D.C.-based aviation law firm on the petition.

Washington Rep. Pedro A. Tenorio, in a Feb. 24, 2006 letter to CPA consultant Carlos Salas, said Hogan & Hartson, a premier law firm specializing on aviation and surface transportation issues, had shown interest in the CNMI’s proposed open sky petition with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The firm reportedly represents clients such as China Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, Delta, JAL Air, Air Canada, Air Jamaica, and Austrian Airlines.