GREATER Bay Airlines has applied for a U.S. foreign air carrier permit from the Department of Transportation to operate flights to Saipan and Guam.
In its application, Greater Bay stated that it intends to commence a Hong Kong–Saipan route by the end of 2025, with two weekly flights utilizing Boeing 737-800 aircraft with a capacity of 189 passengers.
Flights to Guam are planned to start in 2026, contingent on the delivery of the airline’s delayed Boeing 737-9 aircraft.
Greater Bay Airlines Company Limited is wholly owned by East Pacific (Holdings) Limited and incorporated in Hong Kong.
The airline filed its permit application on June 12 and is expected to receive a decision from the U.S. Department of Transportation within the next three months.
Aviation industry observers noted that Greater Bay’s entrance into the U.S. market signifies a strategic move and could reshape the dynamics of air travel in the region.
Asked about the development and its potential impact on tourism arrivals, Marianas Visitors Authority Managing Director Jamika Taijeron declined to comment, stating that the agency had not yet heard from the airline or its representatives.
According to MVA, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection last month abruptly stopped processing travelers’ applications under the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program or EVS-TAP. The CNMI EVS-TAP is a restricted sub-program of the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, which allows prescreened nationals of the People’s Republic of China to travel to the CNMI without a visa under specified conditions.
This development resulted in Hong Kong Airlines suspending its two weekly flights to Saipan.
Prior to the pandemic, China was the CNMI’s second largest tourism market after South Korea.
