A new airliner will be taking to the skies in the next year. Northern Pacific Airways says its ready to start routes to Australia, Korea, and Japan originating from Saipan. Its first plane in their fleet touched down on Saipan on Wednesday.

There's now more competition in the friendly skies. Gov. Ralph Torres said, "Yesterday was a monumental day for the Marianas. We have the Northern Marianas Airway. 757, close to 200 passengers on the plane. Guys, we have a flagship airline."

And the CNMI's chif executive says he is all in. "We need to give them 100% support in any and every way. Whether it is tax exemption, CPA, whatever that they can give, I know they are regulated to certain things, but whater they can give incentive, we should help these folks."

The airline is giving public tours of their plane this week. Marianas Southern Airways, who recently launched inter island flights this year, is working with Alaska based Northern Pacific Airways to take off as early as next March.

Keith Stewart, President, Marianas Southern Airways, said, "What we are doing is creating airline that is hubbed and based here in the CNMI, opening service first to Sidney and Brisbane. We are first looking at five flights a week coming from those two location."

Their goal is stay locally rooted. They say they are prepared to commit 100 million dollars in assets to the market. It's a plan they've been working on for three years.

"We are looking at having controlling ownership and decision making controlled here in the CNMI where in the last decades all the air service coming in to the Marianas..has really been airlines from other countries," he said.

He tells us, somebody has to do it.