Marianas Visitors Authority marketing manager Bruce Bateman said the flights will be cancelled starting June 6.
“I can’t speak for Asiana Airlines. All I can say is that they have subsidized those flights over a long period of time and we are extremely grateful that they did so,” Bateman told the Variety in an interview yesterday.
Statistics from MVA showed that arrivals from South Korea plunged by 14 percent last month to 7,068 compared to 8,165 in March 2010.
Busan, formerly known as Pusan, is the second biggest metropolis in South Korea and is considered as the fifth largest port in the world.
Last month, 748 passengers from Busan traveled to Saipan, up by 12 percent.
Seoul, however, where Asiana has daily flights to Saipan, posted a negative growth of 20 percent in March to 3,625.
Other Koreans traveling to the CNMI came from Taego, Inchon and other unspecified areas.
When fiscal year 2011 began in October, arrivals from Korea grew by 80 percent or from 4,813 to 8,681.
The growth continued through February this year.
By March, the growth turned negative 14 percent after Japan was struck by the powerful magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami.
“Low profit to the bottom-line,” said Bateman when asked about the specific reason Asiana gave MVA for its decision to cancel the Busan flight.
“Whether that was full flights at too low a cost or whether flights are not full enough to warrant continuation, I couldn’t tell.”
Bateman said the cancellation is not good for the CNMI, but MVA remains optimistic that Kumho Asiana, the parent company of Asiana Airlines, will resume this service once the market stabilizes.
“We haven’t given up hope that Kumho Asiana will bring those flights again,” he said.
In 2003, Asiana also pulled out the Busan flights bound for Saipan due to low profit margin but resumed it after a market analysis showed the route could generate revenues.
Asiana is the only international airline that provides a direct flight service between South Korea and Saipan.
