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New direct flights from Korea arrive
TanHoldings vice president Ivan Quichocho, leftmost, Eastar Jet president and chief executive officer Kim Jung Shik, center, and Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Chris Concepcion, second from right, have their picture taken after the inaugural flight of Eastar Jet yesterday at the Francisco C. Ada International Airport. (Erwin Encinares)
An Eastar Jet Boeing 737-800 plane touched down at the Francisco C. Ada-Saipan International Airport yesterday, marking the inaugural flight of the low-cost Korean airline’s regular service to the CNMI.
After launching their first flight in 2009, the Korean airline would be adding Saipan to their list of routes, which includes 26 routes.
Eastar Jet would be offering flights from Incheon, South Korea, to Saipan and vice versa once a day.
Eastar Jet chief executive officer and president Kim Jung Shik was one of the passengers of the inaugural flight to Saipan and was happy to finally debut the service to the island.
“This is our first flight to Saipan, and we are very happy to be here. Korea and Saipan has had a very long and rich tourism history, and we are very proud to be part of that history. We hope to be serving even more flights to Saipan,” said Kim.
Eastar Jet would be using the Boeing 737-800, an extended airliner that could comfortably sit 189 passengers.
“We didn’t do that much marketing, so we didn’t have that much passengers. We have 112 to be exact, which does not include us. Including the crew, there are about 124,” he added.
The passengers were tourists, most of whom are first-time visitors to Saipan, including the Korean CEO.
After relating the hurdles the Korean airline company had to go through, Kim touted the economic benefits they could possibly bring to the CNMI.
“We’ve always wanted to come to Saipan but it has always been very difficult. There are Transportation Security Administration regulations [and more] that make it a little bit more difficult to fly here compared to other Southeast Asian countries,” he said.
“We’ll fly approximately 5 million passengers a year. It took us eight years to get to Saipan, but we’re finally here,” he added.
Eastar Jet claims that it is looking into a long-term relationship with Saipan.
“We’re flying daily, and the thing that might be a little different compared to other airlines that fly here is that most of them do night flights, so they arrive on Saipan in the evening,” said Kim.
