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HK Airlines remains
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Posted on Apr 23 2019
File photo shows a Hong Kong Airlines plane. (Contributed Photo)
A total of 242 passengers arrived at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport on Monday, marking the inaugural flight of Hong Kong Airlines under its new management.
Following the departure of the carrier’s previous operator, tourism conglomerate UTour Group Co., Ltd. and its affiliates took over operations of the direct charter flight between Hong Kong and Saipan.
Top Development Inc. is the sole land operator of the charter.
The handover of HKA to a CNMI-based operation marks a key milestone for Top Development Inc., a mainstay in the CNMI travel and tourism industry for 30 years. Just last year, TDI partnered with UTour on a joint venture, aptly named U-Top Investment (Saipan), Inc.
“The additional charter is part of our 10-year plan to strengthen the tourism value chain. With our local and offshore industry partners, travel agents consortia, and expansive sales network, we remain committed to boosting the travel and tourism industry here in the CNMI,” said TDI president Alfred Ho.
TDI recently procured three new TEMSA buses from the U.S. to service the T Galleria route, bringing its total fleet to 13 buses. TDI also operates the Hangzhou-Saipan charter through Beijing Capital Airlines, providing 500 seats weekly to the CNMI. Hong Kong Airlines brings in an additional 600 seats. Its sister airline, Hong Kong Express, brings in an additional 180 seats four times a week.
As one of China’s largest outbound travel operator, UTour has invested and carried out various marketing and teaming agreements with airlines, including United Airlines, Emirates, Air China, ANA, Korean Air, Qatar, etc.
Over the last few years, the conglomerate has also accelerated its thrust into the independent travel and online tourism sectors with investments in online independent travel platforms and travel e-commerce aggregators providing global and user-generated content in Asia’s outbound tourism market.
It has been six months since Super Typhoon Yutu tore through the CNMI. Since then, tourism has rebounded and the CNMI is seeing visitor arrivals steadily increasing. (PR)
