Continental and United Airlines have failed in their quest to get access to Tokyo Haneda airport.
Through an open skies agreement negotiated between Japan and the USA last year four daily slots became available to US carriers at close in Haneda.
Along with Continental and United, Delta, American and Hawaiian sought slots, and Delta asked to receive all the slots available in the pool.
Today the US Department of Transportation proposed awarding Delta two of the four slots for service from Los Angeles and Detroit, one slot to American for service from New York and a single slot to Hawaiian for a Haneda-Honolulu routing
DOT reasons its selection of Hawaiian, which currently does not serve Japan, would create a new competitor in the US-Tokyo market and American's flights from New York would promote competition among several major airline alliances.
Delta's flights from Los Angeles cover the largest west coast and US mainland market to Tokyo while its service from Detroit "would provide Haneda access to a broad area in the central and eastern United States", says DOT.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
