Delta Air Lines Seeks to Compete at Tokyo's Haneda Airport
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) today filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation to offer customers nonstop service between Tokyo's Haneda Airport and Seattle, Detroit, Los Angeles and Honolulu.
Delta is seeking to compete at Tokyo's centrally located Haneda airport, which is slated to be re-opened to U.S. carriers for the first time since 1978 under a proposed new aviation treaty with Japan.
The importance of Delta's application is underscored by the fact that Delta's SkyTeam alliance is the only global network without the ability to compete at Haneda. The two other major alliances serving Tokyo-Haneda - Star and oneworld - have Japanese partners that dominate service at the airport, with large hubs and extensive networks across Asia. Awarding Delta new slots to Haneda would add a third major airline alliance flying between the airport and the U.S., increasing competition and benefits to consumers.
"Enabling Delta to enter Haneda is critical to advancing airline competition in Tokyo, particularly considering the strong presence that the Star and oneworld alliance carriers already enjoy at this important and tightly controlled airport," said Glen Hauenstein, Delta's executive vice president - Network and Revenue Management. "No U.S. airline has invested more in Tokyo, and more customers and communities stand to gain from new Delta service at Haneda than can be served by competing applications."
Delta's application proposes new nonstop service, beginning Oct. 31, 2010, between Haneda and four U.S. cities:
