Teno backs protest against Continental

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has thrown his support to the protest filed by the Commonwealth Ports Authority against Continental Micronesia’s continued treatment of Saipan and Guam as co-terminals that has reportedly worked to the disadvantage of the CNMI tourism industry.

In his draft letter to the United States Department of Transportation, Mr. Tenorio said recent decisions by Continental Micronesia with regards to its connecting flights created difficulty among travelers going to the Northern Marianas.

The CNMI chief executive said is opposed to Continental Micronesia’s application to continue flying Route 171, unless the carrier institutes direct air service from Sapporo-Sendai in Japan to Saipan within a reasonable period of time.

“Otherwise, we find it difficult to support treating Saipan as co-terminal destination with Guam, given Continental Micronesia’s insistence on having travelers bound for the CNMI transit through its Guam hub,” he wrote in a letter.

Mr. Tenorio said Continental Micronesia has clearly assigned a very low priority to Saipan and prefers to market other non-American destinations such as Bali in Indonesia and Cairns in Australia.

He added that other carriers should be asked to consider servicing the CNMI from Japanese cities presently served by Continental Micronesia if the airline company fails to make a commitment in providing air transport service between Sendai-Sapporo and Saipan.

The governor pointed out the airline company has stopped all direct international service to the CNMI shortly after the development of its hub in Guam, virtually crippling easy access by Japanese travelers to the Northern Marianas.

Mr. Tenorio stressed both business and recreational visitors to Saipan on board Continental Micronesia aircraft are now directed to the airline firm’s Guam hub, where they are forced to wait for their connecting flight to the Northern Marianas which results in an intolerable difficulty in traveling to the CNMI.

“As a result, travelers have great difficulty traveling to islands in the Northern Marianas due to the lack of convenient connecting flights and the additional cost involved,” the CNMI chief executive emphasized.

Mr. Tenorio cited as an example the purchase of a non-advance airline ticket on a Guam-Saipan-Guam route costs approximately $200 for a flight which takes about 30 minutes.

He also made a stand that the four connecting flights provided by Continental Micronesia between Guam and Saipan everyday are not enough to meet the need of the Commonwealth’s visitor industry.

“It is not uncommon for a Saipan-bound traveler to spend 3-4 hours in the transit lounge waiting for the short hop to Saipan. As a result, tour operators are very reluctant to book Saipan destination packages and tourism in the Northern Marianas has declined dramatically,” he added.

CPA earlier protested the airline’s persistent treatment of Saipan and Guam as co-terminals which has resulted to the termination of all Continental Micronesia nonstop flights from Sendai and Sapporo to the Northern Marianas.

Passenger haul

Continental Micronesia’s passenger haul dropped 56 percent from 166,245 in Fiscal Year 1996 to only 73,868 in Fiscal Year 1999, according to a report from the ports authority.

“A 56-percent reduction in service is scarcely what CPA would term success. Continental Micronesia’s claim that many of the seats operated nonstop between Saipan and Japan were filled with Guam passengers is not a justification of its decision to unilaterally abandon direct nonstop service to Saipan,” CPA said.

CPA Board Chair Roman S. Palacios and Executive Director Carlos H. Salas previously emphasized Japan Airlines recorded an 18-percent increase in its average monthly arrival figures during the time Continental Micronesia reported a slowdown in market demand.

Ports Authority officials are not convinced that the four daily roundtrip flights deployed by Continental Micronesia between Guam and Saipan provide CNMI with an excellent access to Asia.

At the same time, the senior CPA officials appeared unmoved by the 55 weekly flights between Guam and eight points in Japan, and the 18 weekly flights between Guam and five points in Asia and Australia.

In its response to CPA’s protest, Continental Micronesia said the sharp reduction in tourist arrivals to the CNMI was not caused by the elimination of all nonstop flights to Saipan but by more pressing economic factors.

Continental Micronesia president Bill Meehan said the grave slowdown in the number of Japanese tourists to Saipan has, in fact, necessitated the airline to streamline its operations on the island.

Mr. Meehan pointed out that the Continental Micronesia’s decision to drop all nonstop flights to the CNMI could have been an opportunity for other foreign carriers servicing the islands to expand their operations if there was a demand for more airline seats.

At present, Northwest Airlines and Japan Airlines currently provide nonstop service between Tokyo and Saipan, while JAL regularly flies between Osaka and Saipan.