The US Department of Transportation (DoT) has tentatively awarded six US airlines 106 new weekly flights to Japan from 13 cities in the USA as a result of the liberalised air services agreement signed by the two countries on 14 March.
The route awards are expected to become permanent after a short comment period allowing rivals to file objections.
US carriers gaining new rights are American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Trans World Airlines. US cities receiving new services to Japan are Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, Maui (Hawaii), Los Angeles, Newark, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco and St Louis. American, Continental and Delta alone plan to initiate 64 new weekly flights to Japan this year.
TWA and Hawaiian are the new carriers in the market, with each gaining the seven weekly flights requested. In addition, the DoT granted 28 weekly flights for US-Japan codeshare services divided equally between TWA/Delta and Continental/Northwest. The pact allows for widespread codesharing between US carriers and between US and Japanese carriers.
The Clinton Administration also finalised its award of new codeshare services beyond Japan. It granted 21 weekly flights to Continental/Northwest for services beyond Japan to Bangkok, Seoul (or Taipei) and Singapore.
TWA will connect St Louis with Tokyo, with flights planned to begin in June 1999. The carrier's codeshare with Delta allows TWA to buy seats on Delta Boeing MD-11s flying between Portland, Oregon, and Osaka, Fukuoka and Nagoya, and from Los Angeles to Tokyo.
Source: Flight International
