A recent airline scramble for a limited number of new slots at Tokyo's Haneda Airport has served to underline Japan's growing problem of trying to liberalise its air-transport industry in the face on an already over- extended infrastructure.
The proliferation in new start-up and subsidiary carriers follows moves by the Ministry of Transport to liberalise Japan's over-regulated airline industry. Recent initiatives have given airlines the flexibility to cut or raise baseline air fares by up to 25% and offer discounts of up to an additional 50%. At the same time, double and triple traffic thresholds have been raised to encourage greater competition.
Japanese travel agency HIS has unveiled plans for Skymark Airlines, while a group of Hokkaido-based chicken farmers have announced their intention to establish Hokkaido International Airlines. A third consortium from the southern island of Okinawa has also decided to set up on its own as an-as-yet unnamed airline.
To compete with these new low-cost start-ups, Japan Airlines (JAL ) and Japan Air System (JAS) have announced plans to establish low-cost subsidiaries. Japan's second largest airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) has its own domestic subsidiary, Air Nippon (ANK) (Flight International, 22-28 January).
A battle has developed before any of these airlines have even become airborne. The fight is for 40 new slots being made available in April with the opening of a second re-aligned runway at Haneda. Skymark has asked for nine of the slots, Hokkaido 12 and the group from Okinawa five.
ANA/ANK, however, is determined to preserve its dominant position at Haneda and has asked for 35 of the new slots. It already controls 236 of the 580 existing daily slots. JAS is the second largest user, with 162 slots, and has asked for 33 more. JAL, which now has 114 slots, is pushing for a more equal share of airport movements.
The Japanese Government has established a committee to decide on how to share out the new slots and it is expected to issue a report this month. The matter is not likely to rest there. Many observers are predicting similar tussles at Tokyo's Narita Airport, once a second 2,500m (8,200ft) runway is completed, and again at Haneda, when its third runway is re-aligned in early 2000.
Source: Flight International
