Delta, American, United, Continental, Hawaiian apply for slots at Tokyo Haneda airport

5 US airlines apply for slots at Tokyo’s Haneda

MINNEAPOLIS — The four biggest U.S. airlines and a small Hawaiian carrier applied on Tuesday for coveted slots at Tokyo’s downtown airport, two months after a landmark agreement was reached between the U.S. and Japan to relax restrictions on flights between the two countries.

U.S. carriers are seeking to increase their presence in Asia because they can charge a premium price for those flights. International business travelers tend to spend more than leisure fliers because they fly more, and often at the last minute.

Several U.S. airlines currently fly to Narita Airport outside Tokyo, but the close-in Haneda Airport has been off-limits to them since 1978.

The new U.S.-Japan open-skies treaty reached in December seeks to relax that arrangement. The agreement still needs to be finalized by both governments.

Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Continental Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines all said Tuesday that they had applied to the U.S. government to serve Haneda Airport. Delta, based in Atlanta, and United, whose parent is based in Chicago, are the two biggest U.S. carriers serving Japan. American, whose parent is based in Fort Worth, Texas, and Continental, based in Houston, have been looking to increase their presence in Japan.

Hawaiian, based in Honolulu, is much smaller by comparison, but is throwing its hat into the ring, hoping to land one of the slots so it can fly from Honolulu to Haneda.

A slot is an interval of time during which an aircraft can takeoff or land at an airport.

United said it expects the U.S. Transportation Department to award four pairs of daily slots from the U.S. to Haneda. It’s asking for one of them, for a flight from San Francisco.

Delta said it applied for flights from Seattle, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Honolulu. Continental’s flights would be from Newark, N.J. and Guam. It currently flies to Narita from Newark and Houston, as well as Guam.

American asked for two slots pairs, from John F. Kennedy airport in New York and from Los Angeles International.

The various airline alliances are likely to play a role in how the Transportation Department divvies up the slots.

United is part of the Star Alliance, along with All Nippon Airways, which already serves Haneda. American is part of the oneworld alliance, along with Japan Airlines, which also serves Haneda. Delta claimed that giving it the routes would be the only way to increase competition for flights to Haneda since American and Continental already have partners serving that airport.

Delta and its SkyTeam alliance currently control 30 percent of U.S.-Japan market share. The Star alliance has 31 percent of U.S.-Japan market share.

Harry R. Weber reported from Atlanta.