Satoshi Yoshii, who operates Marshall Islands Tours and a Pohnpei-based scuba dive operation, said negotiations with Continental Micronesia are expected to produce several charter flights later this year. Yoshii played a key role in bringing JAL to Majuro, but dive wholesalers in Japan had difficulty filling the 230 seat Boeing-767s that JAL used for the route.
Yoshii said he is optimistic about the Continental plan, in part because Continental will use Boeing-737 planes, which are smaller than the Boeing-767 used by JAL.
He said negotiations are in the final stage for several flights to happen later this year. He indicated that he hopes by next month an agreement will be finalized for Continental Micronesia charter flights.
“The aim is to bring 120 passengers per flight,” Yoshii said.
He is also talking with Continental officials about a two-stop package that would bring visitors to both Pohnpei and Majuro on the same trip. “Once combined, there will be more demand from non-dive market visitors,” he said, noting that Majuro attracts mostly divers, while Pohnpei’s land activities bring tourists with varying interests.
His aim is to see about eight charter flights this year. “Since the last JAL charter was 18 months ago, we have to show what we can do,” he said.
Yoshii said there is strong demand from Japanese to come to Majuro.
“On our Web site, the top Google search words are ‘Majuro direct 2010,’” he said. At a Marine Dive Fair in Tokyo late last year, many of the 45,000 visitors asked when flights to Majuro will start again, he said.
The goal with Continental Micronesia is for more frequent flights with a smaller number of passengers on each, he said.
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