THE CNMI government is sending a three-man team to Manila this week to begin negotiations with Philippine Airlines, which has expressed willingness to again serve the Saipan route.
According to Commonwealth Ports Authority Executive Director Carlos H. Salas, Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente and acting Marianas Visitors Authority Managing Director Vicky I. Benavente would join him in the negotiations.
They are scheduled to meet with David Lim, senior sales and marketing manager of PAL, on Monday.
They would also meet with key officials of Northwest Airlines which is currently based in Manila. Northwest currently flies seven times a week between Saipan and Japan.
Salas said Lim and other PAL officials flew to Saipan in February and indicated their willingness to serve the route “if the profitability of the area could be established.”
“They…are seriously looking at serving the route. We will make a presentation to them about the enplanement statistics and also the discounts that CPA would be offering them,” Salas said.
With close to 20,000 Filipinos currently based in the CNMI, Salas said there is a strong market for PAL on the island.
Other foreign workers who rely on connecting flights to China, Bangladesh and Thailand would also welcome PAL’s re-entry, he added. More airlines servicing the route could mean cheaper air fare, Salas said.
In the early 1990s, PAL provided flight service to Saipan, which it later canceled.
