American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines have applied for 1.5-times the six available frequencies at Tokyo Haneda International airport.
American wants two frequencies at the close-in Tokyo airport for service from Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles, Delta three for service from Atlanta, Los Angeles and Minneapolis/St Paul, Hawaiian two for service from Honolulu and Kona, and United two for service from Newark and San Francisco.
There are five daytime frequencies and one nighttime frequency at Haneda available to US carriers under the framework agreed to by Japanese and US officials in February. The regime replaces the four nighttime frequencies that were created in 2010.
Fort Worth-based American seeks two daytime frequencies for a new daily Dallas/Fort Worth flight with a 247-seat Boeing 777-200 and to continue its daily Los Angeles flight with a 226-seat Boeing 787-8, it says in its application to the DOT.
“Our customers have repeatedly asked for convenient access to downtown Tokyo during the day,” says Andrew Nocella, the chief marketing officer of American, in a statement. “American’s proposed service provides daytime access to Haneda from our West Coast gateway in Los Angeles and our largest and most centrally located hub in Dallas/Fort Worth.”
Atlanta-based Delta wants three daytime frequencies to continue its service to Haneda from Los Angeles and for new service from Atlanta and Minneapolis/St Paul, its application shows. It would operate 777-200s on all three routes.
The carrier prefers daytime frequencies for service from both Los Angeles and Minneapolis if it does not receive all three, it says. Its third choice is a daytime frequency for just the Los Angeles route.
Delta makes minimal mention of its Asia gateway at Seattle Tacoma International airport in the application.
Hawaiian is seeking two daytime frequencies to continue its existing flight to Honolulu and add a new daily service that would operate four-days-a-week to Honolulu and three-days-a-week to Kona, it says in its application. It would operate 278-seat Airbus A330-200s on both flights.
The airline would accept the one available nighttime authority for its proposed Honolulu and Kona flight, it adds.
Hawaiian prefers a daytime frequency for Honolulu service if it does not get frequencies for both flights.
Chicago-based United is seeking two daytime frequencies for new service from Newark Liberty International airport on a 268-seat 777-200 and to continue its daily service from San Francisco on a 252-seat 787-9, its filing states.
“United’s proposed service will connect two centres of global commerce and culture with Tokyo’s close-in airport and offer customers more options for travel between the US and Japan,” says Steve Morrissey, vice-president of regulatory and policy at United, in a statement.
United prefers to continue San Francisco service if it does not receive both frequencies.
Earlier in April, the DOT ruled that US carriers would have to apply for all six of frequencies at Tokyo Haneda, saying the shift to daytime from nighttime hours represented a “fundamental shift” in the route rights.
American, Hawaiian and United had opposed reapplying for the frequencies they already held while Delta supported the new application process.
American, Delta, Hawaiian and United each hold one nighttime frequency.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
