American Airlines Triumphs Over United For Prime Tokyo Haneda Airport Slot, Adds New York Service
American Airlines has bested United Airlines in a fiercely fought battle for a coveted takeoff and landing slot at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, which became available when Delta determined it couldn’t make its Portland to Tokyo flight work.
Haneda is where you want to fly when going to Tokyo. When you land at Tokyo Haneda airport you’re a 20 minute drive from your hotel without traffic. You hop in a cab and go. At Narita airport a cab can run nearly $300. So you take a 70 minute ride on the Narita Express and then have to take a cab to your hotel. Or you cram into a bus that stops at several hotels. This can take hours in traffic.
Narita Express Train
Tokyo’s Haneda airport is where people want to fly in and out of if they’re traveling to Tokyo. Rights to fly there are strictly controlled. A limited number of slots are allocated to U.S. airlines and those are handed out by the Department of Transportation based on ‘public benefit’.
Delta Air Lines got the most slots to Haneda airport because it doesn’t have a joint venture partner there. American partners with Japan Airlines, and United partners with All Nippon Airways. However Delta decided it no longer wanted to operate its Portland – Tokyo flight.
They asked the Department of Transportation to treat it as a property right and let them fly it from another airport. DOT said that isn’t how this works. Each airline proposes a route, and DOT decides what is in the public interest. Delta gave back the slot, and didn’t try to rebid for it. That left two contenders:
- American Airlines proposed to fly New York JFK to Tokyo Haneda. Their joint venture partner Japan Airlines already does.
- United proposed to fly Houston to Tokyo Haneda. Their joint venture partner Japan Airlines already does. And United planned to stop flying Houston to Tokyo Narita. There would be no net add of Tokyo service for the Houston market.
American Airlines New York JFK Terminal 8
United argued that since the government beat back American’s partnership with JetBlue, they wouldn’t have a lot of connecting traffic. That was a silly argument. Connections can go through Dallas on American rather than through United and Houston, and there was no connecting traffic to speak of on Delta’s Portland flight.
After the third quarter American Airlines earnings call, I reported exclusively that the airline was telling employees it expected to win these slots. Last week I shared that American was recruiting flight attendants who speak Japanese for New York. They were pretty sure.
And they were right. The Department of Transportation has awarded the Tokyo Haneda slot to American Airlines pending any appeals. Detailed scheduled haven’t been announced. Currently American operations Boeing 777 widebodies from New York.
Boeing 777-200 Concept D Business Class
These airlines are now allowed to serve Tokyo Haneda airport from:
- American Airlines: Dallas-Fort Worth; Los Angeles; New York JFK
- Delta Air Lines: Seattle; Detroit; Atlanta; Honolulu; Los Angeles; Minneapolis
- Hawaiian Airlines: Honolulu
- United Airlines: Newark; Chicago O’Hare; Washington-Dulles; Los Angeles; San Francisco
Tokyo Skyline at Night
I’m genuinely excited every time I touch down in Tokyo, and of course it’s one of the best food cities in the world.
Takashi Ono at Jiro Roppongi
If American Airlines, with a hub at Miami, had proposed to give Miami an Asia non-stop that would have been even more compelling to DOT. Delta also could have tried Miami. They are growing in the market in conjunction with having poached LATAM away from American Airlines as a close partner. Either would have given Miami its only Asia flight. However I’m thrilled to see another Tokyo Haneda flight on American and out of New York.
