NWA to double daily Tokyo flights

In what Gov. Benigno R. Fitial describes as a “rebirth of our tourism industry,” Northwest Airlines yesterday said it will introduce a new second daily nonstop service between Tokyo’s Narita Airport and Saipan.

The new service from Tokyo, which begins on July 1, 2008, will operate a second Airbus A330 jet from Narita on a daily basis. The flight will carry 264 economy and 34 business class passengers, for a total of 298 seats.

This is expected to bring in over 60,000 additional Japanese passengers to the CNMI during the course of the year.

It also complements existing daily non-stop services to Saipan from three cities in Japan—Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya.

Last summer, the CNMI had only 14 weekly flights from Japan. Beginning July, it will have 28 weekly flights—double the number last year.

According to Fitial the decision follows months of discussions between the CNMI government, senior Northwest Airlines executives, and key Japan travel agents.

“This is the most important single step forward for the rebirth of our tourism industry since Northwest Airlines agreed to re-launch daily flights from Osaka last December. …[This] is the best proof of Northwest’s incredible commitment to our islands.”

Northwest’s Japan managing director Jeffrey S. Bernier said the carrier is looking forward to the second daily flight to the Commonwealth. “We are pleased to offer our customers more convenient choices to enjoy the beauty of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.”

The company’s Guam and Saipan general manager Richard A. Parsons echoed Bernier when he said, “We appreciate the support of the CNMI community and are pleased to be adding…daily services between Saipan and Tokyo. Northwest Airlines will contribute to the community by bringing more travelers from our Tokyo hub.”

Marianas Visitors Authority’s board of directors chair Jerry Tan said this will be the first time in CNMI history that an airline partner flies two daily services to the CNMI from the key Tokyo market. “It’s truly a testament to the tremendous commitment that Northwest Airlines has shown to build traffic to our islands out of Japan,” he said.

Tan said this new flight alone represents 30 percent of total Japan arrivals last year, “and is a massive boost to our tourism industry.”

Tan said the CNMI is looking at the new flight bringing in over $80 million in the next 12 months, based on an average spending of $1,332 per Japanese tourist.

“[This] will have a huge positive impact on our MVA members, on the government’s revenue base, and on the entire community. The MVA has invested steadily to market our islands in Japan as an ideal destination for Japanese tourists. Today this investment will be paid back many, many times over,” said Tan.

Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands chair Lynn A. Knight congratulated Northwest and the Fitial administration for this development, saying it augurs well for the islands’ tourism industry.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that the fastest impact to help improve our economy is to have a second daily flight from Japan, as this will bring in much-needed tourist numbers and the dollars they will spend on our islands. We believe the demand is there and we’ve been simply struggling with the lack of transportation to bring in more tourists from Japan. On behalf of HANMI, I want to offer our congratulations and sincere appreciation to Northwest Airlines on this major announcement,” she said.

MVA director Yoichi Matsumura is elated. “The new second daily service from Tokyo is really wonderful and good news! I am very happy indeed with this good news and would like to support this with full and all-out cooperation. Since it is a night flight, it is important to solicit the continued support from all sectors. This is really good news for all of us,” he said.

Aqua Resort Club general manager Hiro Sugie seconded Matsumara, describing the second flight as “absolutely very helpful.” He added that it will go a long way in strengthening the CNMI’s tourism industry and encouraged all tourism players to work hard in keeping the existing daily flights from Narita.

Ken Kaku, Hyatt Regency Saipan Director for Marketing & Sales, said the CNMI needs to thank Northwest Airlines “a million times for their great effort and support even though under a difficult moment right after two large companies merged,” he said, alluding the recent merger of Northwest and Delta Airlines.

Kaku said his hotel has launched special promotions for the Japanese market and hopes that Northwest will send the message to consumers about the new flights.