OIA vows to help CNMI on air transport woes

The U.S. interior department’s Office of Insular Affairs has pledged to continue assisting the Commonwealth government find solution to its air transportation concerns, in fresh efforts to revive the islands’ tourism industry.

Ports Authority Board Chair Roman S. Palacios disclosed Insular Affairs Director Ferdinand Aranza has recently reiterated OIA’s commitment to help beef up the CNMI’s efforts to improve air transport services to and from the Northern Marianas.

In an interview, Mr. Palacios said the OIA chief assured CPA that the issue of improved air access to the Northern Marianas will be consistently monitored through the Inter Agency Group on Insular Affairs.

He said Mr. Aranza’s statement came in the wake of CPA’s concerns on the exclusion of Saipan in the list of destinations for the second, short runway at the Narita Airport in Japan.

Japan’s estimate of departing-flight distance for Narita Airport’s Runway B is 1,500 miles which include Guam, Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai. The list does not include Hong Kong as well.

CPA has brought the islands’ air transport woes to the attention of the Airports Council International-North America, as it asked the group’s help in CNMI efforts to rebuild the islands’ struggling tourism industry, which currently thirsts for additional nonstop international flights.

CPA, along with other U.S. airports administrations, is a participant to the ICA-NA’s International Air Service Program.

ACI-NA has asked CPA and the CNMI government to start approaching carriers about serving the Northern Marianas, in light of new capacity being created at Narita Airport.

However, the Commonwealth’s efforts to encourage more foreign carriers to dispatch air transport services into the Northern Marianas depends largely on the government’s ability to make a strong presentation among airline companies that Saipan could be a profitable route.

“If Saipan can make a case that it could be a profitable route, then it is currently easier for the four incumbent combination carriers – Northwest, United, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airlines – to begin service between any point in Japan and any point in the U.S. including Guam and Saipan as they can operate without any frequency limits,” said Airports Council Senior Vice President for International Affairs Diane I. Peterson.

In a previous letter to Ports Authority Executive Director Carlos H. Salas, Ms. Peterson pointed out that Saipan needs to show that there is enough traffic and potential passengers to make Saipan a productive route for the carriers.

She added that carriers decide on the routes to serve based on the number and kind of passengers, cargo, how well a route fits into an airline company’s system, availability of aircraft, crew slots and how a route stacks up against others in terms of profitability.

At the same time, Ms. Peterson said the CNMI government may also consider some third country carriers as potential prospects that have fifth freedom rights to serve Saipan like Brunei, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan.

She said, however, that even if these countries have the rights from the U.S., they may not have the necessary fifth freedom rights from Japan.

Carriers which already serve Saipan are also the best candidates for trying to obtain expanded and new services, said the ACI-North America official.