The Transportation Department has put U.S. airlines on notice that it wants to quickly allocate new route rights to serve Tokyo’s Haneda Airport under the new U.S.-Japan air agreement.
The DOT is asking carriers to file route applications by Feb. 10.
Under the new open-skies pact, Japan agreed to allow limited Haneda access for U.S. carriers, for up to four daily roundtrips, when a new runway becomes operational in October.
The Japanese government stipulated that all departures and arrivals must be scheduled for the hours between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. local time, and that departures to the 48 contiguous states must be after midnight.
Even with those restrictions, several U.S. carriers are expected to show interest because the ability to expand service at Tokyo has been severely limited in recent years due to slot constraints at Narita, Tokyo’s main intercontinental airport.
In inviting applications for the new services, the DOT noted that the U.S.-Japan agreement allows the slots to be awarded to either one or several carriers.
Also, the Haneda rights are available to incumbents and carriers that do not currently serve Japan, meaning there is a possibility of new entry.
