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Northwest to fly daily from Osaka
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Posted on Jun 20 2005
Northwest Airlines will reportedly launch new direct daily flights to Saipan out of Osaka—in addition to its two current daily flights from Tokyo and Nagoya.
Gov. Juan N. Babauta confirmed yesterday that Northwest relayed to him this decision during a conversation late yesterday afternoon.
“We just talked a little while ago,” he said.
The governor declined to give more details, saying that the NWA would issue a press release on the matter today.
NWA’s decision came shortly after the second CNMI tourism summit in Tokyo, which Babauta led late last week.
Babauta and his delegation left for Japan Thursday afternoon and returned Saturday.
“We met all day long Friday with airline representatives [and other tourism groups],” said the governor.
He said his delegation presented the CNMI tourism incentive program to airline companies and tour agencies.
Before flying to Tokyo, Babauta signed two bills into law: House Bill 14-338, which appropriates $2 million to the Commonwealth Ports Authority “to provide incentives to airlines so that they can remain competitive and defray some of the costs of providing service to the CNMI”; and H.B. 14-109, which allows the Marianas Visitors Authority to use its funds for promotional activities “in major tourism market such as Japan, that sustain the tourism industry in the Commonwealth.”
The new law would permit MVA to give out cash prizes and discount coupons to travel agents.
This came after Japan Airlines disclosed its plan to pull out its flights from the region this year.
During a Cabinet meeting last week, Babauta said that JAL’s pullout is “a major, major issue” which would result in $80 million to $100 million in losses across the community. This was based on a projection of a 45 percent decline in the number of Japanese tourists in case of a JAL pullout.
MVA earlier said that about 400,000 tourists from Japan arrive in the CNMI every year, representing nearly 75 percent of the CNMI’s tourism market.
An average Japanese tourist spends about $500 during his or her stay, which is at least three days.
