PIA takes to skies in final flight today

Pacific Islands Aviation will take off for its last flight today after 16 years of serving the Marianas, leaving about 60 employees out of work.

Employees say they were notified about PIA’s closure only two days before the airline made the big announcement on Jan. 25. One said he cried after hearing the news, while another said she started looking for a job the following day. Most of them, however, are just plain sad about the prospect of rejoining the job market.

“It was really sad. PIA has been a very good employer. I didn’t expect this would happen,” said accountant Justin Santos, who has worked for PIA for almost four years.

He said he regrets to lose, more than anything else, the travel benefits offered by the airline to its employees.

According to Santos, PIA employees pay only 25 percent of the ticket price when they take Continental Airlines flights to any destination, and 5 percent of the ticket price when they fly via Northwest Airlines.

Santos said he plans to take at least a month-long break and try his luck on business before he will start applying for a new job.

Arnold Reyes, a PIA accountant for almost two years, said he has started looking for a job. “I’m a breadwinner and I can’t afford to be out of works. I actually cried when I learned that PIA is closing,” said Reyes, whose contract was up for renewal on Feb. 26.

Facing greater uncertainty is Jun Real, who has worked as a computer programmer for PIA since 1997.

“Jobs in my field are just hard to come by. I’ve been reading job postings and very few companies here, if at all, are looking for computer programmers,” Real said.

Also hanging in balance, he added, is the job of his wife, who works at PIA’s ticketing office. No announcement has been made as to whether the travel agency will continue operations after PIA closes today.

Among PIA employees, Maria Cristina Bansil is one of the relatively lucky ones. With 10 years of experience from PIA, Bansil said she has received an offer from a company that wants to hire her as accountant.

PIA announced its plan to cease flight operations on Jan. 25, citing stiff competition in the market and high operation costs as the major reasons for its decision.

In a news statement, PIA maintained that there are too many airlines currently competing for a limited number of customers available in the market. Also servicing the Saipan-Rota-Guam route are Freedom Air and Cape Air.

“With Continental introducing Cape Air’s service (which is similar to the service being provided by PIA), there is too much capacity in the market to justify the costs associated with both companies’ need to service overhead cost,” the airline said.

About 60 employees stand to lose their jobs when PIA suspends flight operations, said PIA vice president Jim Stowell.

He said some of the current employees will be retained to help PIA refurbish the aircraft. The carrier is now exploring opportunities in other travel markets, he said.

“We are looking for places where we can more effectively compete, where capacity is needed, and where we can put our aircraft, people, and certificate to use,” he said.