Greater Bay Airlines to fly NMI and Guam in late 2025-2026
Hong Kong based carrier, Greater Bay Airlines, has filed for a U.S. Foreign Air Carrier Permit to start scheduling flights to Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
According to its June 12 filing, the airline plans to begin two weekly flights from Hong Kong to Saipan between late 2025 to early 2026 using its Boeing 737-800 aircraft. GBA said the aircraft has a capacity of 189 passengers.
A Boeing 737-800 operated by Greater Bay Airlines. Photo courtesy GBA
Flights to Guam planned to start in 2026 with the addition of new Boeing 737-9’s to its fleet.
GBA expects the new planes “between 2025 to 2027.”
According to ch-aviation.com, the airline has 15 B737-9s on order from Boeing. It currently operates approximately eight aircraft and 18 routes across Asia.
The Guam International Airport Authority told the Journal that it is aware of the media reports of the GBA filing, however it has not received a request for landing permits and other requirements to operate at the GIAA.
GBA's filing follows a 36% drop in arrival numbers in the NMI versus May 2024 according to the Marianas Visitors Authority.
According to its June 19 report, South Korean arrivals are the MVA’s priority. Like Guam, South Korean tourism makes up the majority of the NMI’s arrivals.
However, factors like the strength of the U.S. dollar and reduction of airline flights from South Korea to the NMI have caused arrivals to drop from 13,378 in May 2024 to 9,181 in 2025.
Prior to 2020, China led NMI tourism with the MVA reporting that it comprised more than 48% of arrivals, with direct flights from multiple cities.
Now, the MVA said that arrivals from China fell by 91% from 2024. It said that the decrease began in April when the U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped processing travelers’ applications under the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program.
It allowed prescreened nationals from the People’s Republic of China to travel to the NMI under specific conditions.
MVA said that the issue has been raised with the Office of the Governor, the NMI’s Congressional delegate, Kimberlyn King-Hinds, Saipan Chamber of Commerce, and the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands. mbj
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