US Carriers Apply For New Tokyo Haneda Slots

American, Delta and United airlines are bidding for slots at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport after the US and Japan agreed new slot availability.

The agreement, as Japan ramps up travel options prior to the 2020 Olympic Games, adds 12 slot pairs for US carriers at Haneda.

American is seeking four slot pairs for services from Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, with daily flights from LAX and McCarran, and double daily from DFW.

“Tokyo is an important hub for our Pacific Joint Business with Japan Airlines,” American's president Robert Isom said. “Enhanced service at Haneda would give our customers better access to downtown Tokyo and open up JAL’s domestic network with flights to destinations like Osaka, Sapporo and Fukuoka.”

American would operate the Los Angeles and Las Vegas flights with Boeing 787-8s and the Dallas-Fort Worth services with 777-200s.

Delta has applied for six slot pairs, with service proposed from Atlanta, Detroit, Seattle, Honolulu and Portland, Oregon. The Honolulu-Haneda service would be operated double daily, the others daily.

Delta would use Boeing 777-200ERs from Atlanta, Airbus A350-900s from Detroit, Seattle would get A330-900neos, Honolulu Boeing 767-300ERs, and Portland A330-200s.

If awarded the new routes, Delta would launch for the summer 2020 schedule.

United also wants six of the slot pairs, with proposed daily service from Chicago O'Hare, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark and Washington Dulles.

United said its proposed new flights to Haneda would allow US customers to make connections to 37 points in Japan on ANA domestic services from 112 US airports.

If awarded the slots, United also expects to launch services by the summer of 2020.

Japanese carriers will also get 12 additional Haneda slot pairs for flights to the US. The slots are expected to be split between ANA and Japan Airlines.