Other airlines urged to fill in gap for JAL

Other airlines serving the Northern Marianas were urged yesterday to consider operating flights from the markets that would be left unserved if Japan Airlines suspends its flights to Saipan.

Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Vicky I. Benavente said that MVA had started informal talks with airlines to encourage them to fill the gap that would be created by JAL’s planned pullout.

“Not to put JAL in a bad light, but we don’t want to just sit back and wait. We need to take proactive steps to prepare for the possible pullout,” said Benavente.

She stressed, however, that efforts would continue to be made to keep JAL flying to Saipan.

Arrangements are now being made for a CNMI delegation, to be led by Gov. Juan N. Babauta, to meet with JAL officials in Tokyo before the end of this month.

MVA will also proceed with the Japan-Saipan Tourism Summit that is scheduled to be held in Tokyo on June 16-17. A press conference is also set to be conducted in Japan to give the CNMI the opportunity to make public its concerns about JAL’s pullout.

Furthermore, MVA will rally the support of the CNMI business community by asking members of the private sector to flood JAL with letters of support, Benavente said.

“We appreciate the more than 20 years that JAL served our destination, and we want to keep them here. That’s why we are willing to discuss various ways we can assist to keep the flights,” Benavente said.

The Commonwealth, she said, would be amenable to possibilities such as JAL keeping at least one of its two routes to Saipan, reducing flight frequency, or utilizing smaller aircraft, among other options.

Currently, JAL provides seven weekly DC10 flights between Narita and Saipan and seven weekly Boeing 767 flights from Kansai to Saipan.

However, the airline is reportedly planning to cease operations in the CNMI due to high operational costs and the destination’s low profitability.

Benavente said MVA was shocked when it learned about JAL’s plans. She noted that the airline’s Saipan flights have posted a high load factor in 2004, ranging from 69 percent to 86 percent for the Tokyo service, and 78 percent to 94 percent for the Osaka service.

A report by Wing Travel, a tourism publication, corroborated earlier reports regarding JAL’s plan to suspend its entire services to Saipan in October.

According to Wing Travel, JAL has also decided to suspend three routes from Honolulu, and a service on Nagoya-Guam. Further, the airline was reported as planning to significantly cut the operation of leisure routes and international routes from Fukuoka.

Other destinations expected to be affected by JAL’s decision are Hong Kong, Seoul, and Denpansar.

“JAL Group will sell airplanes without allocating them to other routes for those that have become a surplus after the suspension of services. Thus, the capacity on international routes provided by JAL Group will be reduced, affecting heavily the entire overseas travel market,” a portion of the report read.