Categorized | Business

DOT announces four routes to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport

MEDIA RELEASE

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded four routes to Tokyo’s downtown Haneda Airport to American Airlines at New York, Delta Air Lines at Los Angeles and Detroit, and Hawaiian Airlines at Honolulu, with service to begin when the airport’s fourth runway becomes operational later this year.

The action makes final the tentative decision of May 7.

The opportunities were negotiated in connection with the U.S.-Japan Open-Skies agreement which was concluded last December. They permit U.S. carriers to introduce a total of four daily round-trip services at Haneda. Previously, U.S. carriers serving Tokyo have been limited to using Narita Airport, which is considerably farther from the city.

“These new flights will provide travelers with more convenient access to Tokyo,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The department granted one opportunity to Hawaiian for service from Honolulu, two opportunities to Delta for service from Los Angeles and from Detroit, and one opportunity to American for service from New York’s JFK Airport. Also applying for Haneda slots were Continental Airlines, Continental Micronesia and United Airlines.

In its final decision, the Department said selecting Hawaiian Airlines, which currently does not serve Japan, will add a new competitor to the U.S.-Tokyo market.

“Earning final approval to launch our new Tokyo service represents a huge step forward for the future of Hawaiian Airlines and is terrific news for Hawaii’s tourism industry,” said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian’s president and CEO. “Hawaiian will bring much-needed competition to Tokyo, and we will offer superior service that allows our customers to start their Hawaii experience the moment they board our flights.”

Delta’s flight from Los Angeles would serve the largest west coast and mainland U.S. market to Tokyo. Delta’s flight from its Detroit hub will provide Haneda access to a broad area in the central and eastern United States.

American’s New York flight will serve the second largest mainland U.S.- Tokyo market and will also promote competition among several major airline alliances.

The selected carriers will be required to begin Haneda operations by Jan. 29, 2011.

The final and tentative decisions, carrier filings and other documents in the case are available on at www.regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2010-0018.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RSS Weather Alerts

  • An error has occurred, which probably means the feed is down. Try again later.

 

Quantcast