Airports - March April 2015

FEATURE
SAIPAN
afternoon and the other during the night.
The carrier’s Nagoya connection runs
on Saturday nights. Asiana Airlines is
cleared to fly to Japan as second operator
and runs a night-time link to Osaka/
Kansai using either an A321 or a 767;
it also flies to Hiroshima on Saturdays
using an A321. The carrier’s connections
from Seoul/Incheon are provided by a
nightly A330-300 or 767-300ER, and by
thrice-weekly afternoon A321 flights.
Asiana also flies a twice-weekly link from
the South Korean city of Busan. South
Korea’s Jeju Air introduced budget 737-
800 flights from Seoul/Incheon last
October. An interesting competitor on the
Seoul/Incheon-Saipan route is Dynamic
Airways, using a pair of 767-200 that are
often parked at SPN; the charter airline
has also served Hong Kong, Tianjin,
Wuhan and Hangzhou in China.
China Eastern Airlines flies from Beijing
six times a week using A330-300s,
again arriving during the night and from
Shanghai/Pudong Airport. Sichuan Airlines
offers connections from Guangzhou.
Orenair 737-800 services began in 2008
from Khabarovsk and Vladivostok and
have proved increasingly popular – there
are now six a week. Regular cargo services
are provided by 727-200Fs of Asia Pacific
Airlines, based in Guam.
The airport’s strategic location in
the western Pacific makes it a popular
refuelling stop for aircraft delivery flights,
notably for Boeing products heading to
Asian customers.
Future
A recent First Hawaiian Bank report
showed increasing visitor numbers to
the islands. The combined market share
Asia Pacific
Airlines Boeing
727-212F N86425
(c/n 21459), prior
to departure on
another cargo flight.
Small General
Aviation types are
a common sight,
scuttling between
the various islands.
Star Marianas
passengers checkin
for an interisland
flight at the
domestic terminal.
from countries such as China, South Korea
and Japan is about 90%. However, it
is the number of Chinese visitors that
is increasing, while those from Japan
are declining. The first upturn in annual
passenger numbers for several years came
in 2012, when a 17% increase over the
previous year was recorded (see table
on p27).
The passing of a law in March 2014 to
permit gambling has attracted
considerable interest from investors and
future projections add up to a possible
requirement for 2,000 additional hotel
rooms. The first development phase is
planned for 2017-2020 with 401 new
rooms and a casino to be built. At the
same time the release of further licences
for new casinos is planned for Tinian. All
of this bodes well for Saipan International
– more flights and more passengers.
www.airportsworld.com 29