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No taker yet of airline incentive program
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Posted on Oct 18 2006
Any airlines interested yet in the CNMI government’s 100 percent airport incentive program? So far, none yet. Or maybe it is too early to tell.
According to Commonwealth Ports Authority executive director Clyde Norita, no airlines have come forward with a plan to avail themselves of the program.
Norita could only recall one—Northwest Airlines—that availed of the previous year’s 50 percent incentive program.
“We had Northwest for the Osaka flights,” said Norita.
Yet, the Osaka route which was designed to take on the traffic abandoned by Japan Airlines in October 2005, will end later this month, or exactly one year after it was launched. Northwest will reportedly use the Osaka route for Guam.
The reported additional flights of Asiana Airlines beginning December may not qualify for the 100 percent incentive since it would not introduce a new route.
Asiana said that it will add three more flights a week from Seoul beginning Dec. 26. Right now, Asiana flies daily from Seoul to Saipan.
“I believe that the incentive is for a new route. Asiana flights are coming from the same origin,” said Norita.
Norita could not comment yet on the anticipated chartered flights from Beijing in December.
Commonwealth Ports Authority board chair Rex I. Palacios earlier said that the 100 percent airport incentive program is only for airlines that will launch new and additional scheduled flights.
“They will get 100 percent for first six months when they bring in additional flights or when they bring in flights from a new point of origin,” said the chairman.
Otherwise, the incentive would only be a 50-percent discount, which is the current program.
As for airlines with new or additional flights, the 100 percent incentive would be reduced to 50 percent after the first six months.
The newly adopted incentive program started on Oct. 1, 2006 and will remain effective throughout fiscal year 2007 or up to Sept. 30, 2007.
The CPA board said it decided to increase the current 50 percent incentive to 100 percent for the first six months because “we feel that the current incentive is not enough.”
The incentive applies to airport fees: landing fees, passenger departure fee, and passenger arrival fees.
