HK Airlines chairman may pilot inaugural flight to Saipan
As if it being the first flight back after a two-year hiatus wasn’t special enough, the return of Hong Kong Airlines to Saipan will be made extra special with the possibility of the company’s chairman himself piloting the inaugural flight back to Saipan on April 29.
The CNMI, for months, has been preparing for the long-awaited return of Hong Kong Airlines—which essentially puts the CNMI’s tourism industry on the right track to recovery post-COVID-19 as it opens up a third source market.
However, it seems as though HK Airlines’ return is just as special to the HK Airlines as it is to the CNMI with the company’s chairman himself—Sun Jianfeng Jeff—possibly serving as the captain of the upcoming April 29 flight to Saipan.
In an interview with Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Chris Concepcion, he said MVA is very excited about this recent development and it makes the HK Airlines’ return even more special.
“We were informed by Hong Kong Airlines that the chairman of the company, who is also a licensed pilot, [may] be piloting the inaugural flight. We’re very excited. It’s a big deal to have the chairman of the company [possibly] pilot the flight to Saipan,” he said.
For the CNMI’s part, Concepcion said MVA has arranged for Lt. Gov. David Apatang and Judy Torres, MVA deputy managing director, to represent the CNMI in the festivities HK Airlines will be hosting in honor of their inaugural return to Saipan.
“Hong Kong is making a big deal out of this inaugural flight, there will be a ceremonial launch in Hong Kong and we want to make sure the CNMI is represented,” he said.
In addition, Concepcion shared that HK Airlines’ first flight back will be fully booked (as well as the flights for the first few weeks) which indicates that the flights are already selling well.
“The inaugural flight will be a full flight with the entire 292 capacity, filled. All indications are that the flights are selling very well. We understand that the first few weeks of the flight are already sold out. It’s a good indication that there is a demand. We also understand that there are internal discussions about seeing if there is a possibility of increasing the frequency of these flights which bodes well for the future of the market. This is the first flight back from Hong Kong, basically the China region, since COVID so we’re very excited to take this first step towards opening a third-source market,” he said.
Concepcion noted that Hong Kong, historically, has been a strong market for the CNMI.
“We used to have two airlines flying the route: Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express. Pre-COVID, the demand was pretty good. But we are looking beyond the Hong Kong market because Hong Kong Airlines has a vast route network throughout Asia. They fly to nine different cities in China, four different cities in Japan, they fly to Hong Kong, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, and Saipan is their first entry to the United States,” he said.
MVA board chair Gloria Cavanagh said she looks forward to the return of HK Airlines and hopes that the market will only continue to prosper.
“From my understanding, it looks like the load factors are really good. It looks like the projections of the bookings are very good and so it’s something very positive for the CNMI and we hope it continues for the rest of the year and so on after that. Hopefully HK Airlines will add additional flights weekly. It’s a good thing, it’s a positive thing, and we just hope for much success to the tour agencies that are taking a big bulk of the risk,” she said.
Christopher A. Concepcion
