The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has tentatively declared that Delta Air Lines can keep a slot at Tokyo's Haneda Airport if it flies there from Seattle daily. DOT claims that Delta's Seattle-Haneda route benefited the traveling public by providing one-stop service to Haneda from several western cities and by promoting a diversity of US gateways.
DOT has stated however that American’s Los Angeles-Haneda service could be a tentative backup if Delta does not meet additional flying conditions. Delta has committed to resuming daily service from yesterday.
Hawaiian Airlines was also hoping for the slot. The decision prompted Mark Dunkerley, President and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, to issue a statement describing the DOT’s decision as “tremendously disappointing”. He added: “Hawaiian is the only airline to have operated Haneda service continuously and successfully since the slot rights were granted. Our proposal provided more seats and would have resulted in more travelers flying between Japan and the United States than either Delta's or American's proposal. Kona is the largest unserved market in this proceeding, and Hawaiian's proposed route would have generated more economic benefit than that offered by either Delta or American. None of these facts are in dispute by the DOT.
“Sadly, by dismissing Hawaiian's proposed Kona route as just simply being additive to the routes already serving Hawaii, the DOT has once more failed to appreciate the geography of the 50th state. Kona and Honolulu are separate markets, separate communities and indeed are located on separate islands. The tentative ruling also reveals a long-held institutional bias among decision makers favoring the interests of US business travelers over those of US travel-related businesses and travelers in general.”
Dunkerley ended that the airline would be considering its next steps in this proceeding in the coming days.