UNITED Airlines offers residents of Guam and the CNMI “access to a resident fare of $302 roundtrip for basic economy and $402 roundtrip for standard economy, excluding taxes and fees,” an airline official said.
In a letter to Senate President Edith Deleon Guerrero and Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez, United Airlines Inc. Managing Director for Global Government and Regulatory Affairs Dan Weiss said he felt compelled to write to them, “having seen the media reports about your discussion, and no mentioning of United resident fares.”
Weiss said it has been reported in the media “that the legislative discussions focused on United ticket prices in the rage of $580 to $600 round-trip.”
He then provided the following information regarding United’s pricing for the Guam-CNMI route:
1) United offers an economy cabin, roundtrip ticket price of $580 (this price includes fare, taxes, and fees). The baseline fare is $556 excluding taxes and fees. This fare is fully refundable, providing the traveler with flexibility to cancel and receive a full refund should travel plans change. With this fare category, travelers can also avail themselves of amenities like one checked bag, one carry-on bag, and the ability to reschedule without being assessed carrier-imposed fees.
2) United provides higher priced fares than what appears to be have been discussed by the Legislature but which come with additional amenities such as booking into United’s economy plus seating (additional economy cabin legroom) and/or United business class cabin.
3) United provides fares much lower than what appears to have been discussed by the CNMI Legislature. United offers residents of the CNMI and Guam access to a “resident” fare of $302 round-trip for basic economy and $402 round-trip for standard economy, both fares excluding taxes and fees. These fares are made available only to local residents and require the traveler to input their island location on the United website or app prior to starting a flight search. While these fares have some restrictions on checked bags, advanced seat assignment, and could only be canceled for future travel credits (i.e., non-refundable), these fares offer residents in the islands a fare that is $254 below what the CNMI Legislature appears to have discussed. With these lower fares, if the traveler does not want/need to check a bag, there is no charge. If the traveler is not concerned about specific seating in the aircraft, there is no charge.
A Saipan resident, Jesse Torres, has complained about United’s ticket price, saying “it is cheaper to fly from Saipan to Korea on Jeju airlines for $300 roundtrip than it is to fly from Saipan to Guam.”