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‘Northwest eyeing more flights to NMI’
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Posted on Aug 30 2005
Northwest Airlines is eying to add two to four weekly flights to its existing daily service between Tokyo and Saipan, according to the Commonwealth Ports Authority.
CPA executive director Carlos H. Salas said Northwest was looking to increase its Saipan-Tokyo service to 9 to 11 times weekly, but the airline slots problem at the Narita International Airport was preventing it.
“We’re still working with Northwest in getting the slot to implement two to four additional flights out of Narita,” Salas said.
An airport slot provides a carrier the right to land or take off from an airport.
At least 37 other destinations are currently requesting a slot to operate at the already congested Tokyo airport, Salas said.
Northwest is seeking to replace part of the passenger airlift capacity that will be lost when Japan Airlines ceases its regular scheduled flights to Saipan beginning Oct. 4, 2005.
Currently, JAL provides service from Tokyo and Osaka to Saipan.
Northwest has already announced a plan to replace the Osaka service in October.
The new flight, which will provide direct daily access from the Kansai International Airport, will be serviced by 182-seat aircraft—a downsize from the 240-seater Boeing 767 currently used by JAL.
Annually, the Northwest flight represents 66,430 seats, a 24-percent drop from JAL’s current capacity of 87,360 seats per year.
JAL’s Tokyo-Saipan flight operates daily using DC 10 aircraft, with 260 passenger seats. The service provides the CNMI a capacity of 94,640 seats.
