THE first Marianas Southern Airways flight — from Saipan to Tinian — took to the skies on Friday morning.
MSA President and Chief Executive Officer Keith J. Stewart extended his appreciation to the CNMI community for welcoming the new interisland airline.
“We really appreciate it. You know that MSA is only going to be successful based on how the community goes and accepts us,” he said at the airlines’ launch party on Thursday evening.
“When you try to bring in a [U.S.] company such as Southern Airways, it really raises the bar and it really requires a level of attention that we really received, so I just want to say thank you so much,” he said.
“What we really wanted to try to do is go and really connect with the community, so we really appreciate everyone’s support on it…. We really appreciate every one of you. We want to really focus and make sure that we’re part of this community, that we’re here to be able to serve,” Stewart said.
Southern Airways Chief of Staff Keith Sisson said: “We certainly had no dream of being here. This is a dream come true that we didn’t even know that we had. I can tell you that today, Southern Airways flights are stretched all the way from Nantucket to Honolulu, and now we are so proud that that footprint is expanding even further.”
He added, “To help launch this operation, we have brought in team members from Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, California, Colorado, and multiple people from Hawaii that have all been here in the last couple of days to help launch this operation. We already, through our operation in Hawaii, have a good bit of experience with operating island to island, about 120 flights a day in the state of Hawaii. I think we can do something like that here.”
“We’re very, very excited about it,” Sisson said. “But let me tell me what we’re most excited about – America’s day begins right here. The very first flight in America, each day will be a Marianas Southern Airways flight — each morning, that flight from Saipan to Tinian. The very last flight of the American flight day will be our flight at Mokulele airlines in Hawaii when the Mokulele plane lands at midnight in Honolulu. So, America’s flight day will begin and end with Southern airways. I think that’s a really cool thing,” said Sisson.
“We very much look forward to serving you. We have servants’ hearts; we’re going to be here for the long haul. This is going to be a great partnership. It’s been a pleasure working with all of you, and we’re looking forward to the first flights.”
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, Secretary of Finance David DLG Atalig, and Commonwealth Ports Authority Board Chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds on Friday morning thanked MSA for investing in the CNMI and providing much-needed interisland travel that will also help boost the local economy.
King-Hinds, who hails from Tinian, said she was personally grateful for what this means to the people of Tinian and Rota who will now have more access to basic services on Saipan and Guam, especially in terms of healthcare.
“There’s a clear understanding that reliable, affordable transportation is very critical to not just the economy but also the safety and wellbeing of the people who live in those communities,” she said.
For more information on MSA, visit iflymarianas.com/.
The first Marianas Southern Airways flight prepares to take off on Friday morning.
The airlines’ first passengers — who include Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, Secretary of Finance, and 2021 Miss Marianas Savannah Delos Santos — pose for a photo before take-off.
2021 Miss Marianas Savannah Delos Santos is the first passenger to board Marianas Southern Airways’s inaugural flight.
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and Marianas Southern Airways President/CEO Keith J. Stewart pose for a photo at the airlines’ launch party on Thursday evening at Paradiso Hotel & Spa in As Lito.
Marianas Southern Airway President/CEO Keith J. Stewart poses for a photo.
Marianas Southern Airways President/CEO Keith J. Stewart gives brief remarks prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
