Fly Guam flies to Guam, Palau, Nagoya, and Taipei. It recently stopped flights to Hong Kong.
Bordallo also denied that Fly Guam is canceling all its flights. “We are still running certain flights.”
She said they would still be running Koror, Taipei and Nagoya flights.
She added, “We are not stopping operations. Saipan flights will stop until the end of the month.”
Asked if they are under new management, Bordallo told Variety, “We are reorganizing a bit.”
At their ticketing office on Saipan, Variety learned yesterday that all flights have been suspended until Dec. 1.
According to Fly Guam reservation agent Gina Duenas, the last flight of Fly Guam from Saipan to Guam “leaves tonight [Sunday].”
She said, “The $99 promo ends tonight [Sunday].”
She told Variety they had already rebooked those with Monday tickets for the Sunday flight.
She also said yesterday that the Fly Guam Boeing 737 plane would arrive around 9:55 p.m. at the Saipan International Airport with about 56 passengers.
As of 3 p.m. yesterday, there were 96 passengers booked for the Saipan-Guam flight that was scheduled to leave at 10:55 p.m.
She, however, disclosed to Variety that there might be a possibility of flights on Thanksgiving.
Based on their records, a total of 113 passengers are booked on the Nov. 23 flight to Guam while majority of them, 97 passengers, are supposed to fly back on Nov. 27.
Variety received phone calls from passengers who expressed concern with the instability of flights to and from Guam.
As early as the last week of October, Variety had received information from passengers that Fly Guam may be scaling back its operations and was told that it could be canceling its Hong Kong and Nagoya flights.
In an earlier e-mail to Variety responding to whether fly Guam was canceling flights to Hong Kong and Nagoya, Bordallo wrote, “I have not received a confirmed schedule yet, but we may lighten the frequency of some routes in November simply due to demand.”
Variety has yet to confirm a tip from a Guam businessman who requested anonymity that Scott Holland of Aviation Capital Partners is taking over the helm of the operations.
It was not too long ago when Fly Guam made its maiden voyage to Saipan on March 5.
There were a total of 117 passengers including Fly Guam crew and Sky King Inc. personnel on board welcomed by Marianas Visitors Authority and Commonwealth Ports Authority at Gate 5 of the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport.
The new carrier’s maiden flight to Saipan was not without glitches.
The March 4 flight to Saipan was delayed due to the sticker that peeled off of the plane’s tail.
Just as it was en route to Hong Kong on the morning of March 4, the plane encountered a mechanical problem and had to return to Saipan 15 minutes after it had taken off.
As soon as they had landed on Saipan March 5, Fly Guam pilot William Legg confirmed to Variety, they needed to fly back as soon as they found a problem. “We had a mechanical problem with the brake and we had to fix it.”
Paul J. Sottosanti, quality control auditor, Sky King Inc., corroborated this with Variety. “[It’s] just a couple of normal mechanical delays that we have with the airplane. Other than that, the flight went perfect,” Sottosanti said.
According to Sottosanti, Fly Guam had to fly back to Saipan because a light came on in the cockpit. “A light came on that they needed to look at, and see what it was. We played it safe. We made sure we were safe.”
Last month, the CPA-ARFF responded to an emergency landing made by Fly Guam due to failure to remove the nose gear locking pin prior to taking off.
Other than these glitches, the carrier was poised to provide cheaper flights to Micronesian and some Asian destinations.
In August, Fly Micronesia LLC dba Fly Guam made its maiden flights to Palau, Nagoya and Taipei.
A Guam-based company, Fly Guam operates public charter flights run by Sky King Inc.
For inquiries, call Fly Guam Saipan office at 288-2359 or Fly Guam at the Guam airport at 1-671-588-2359.
