Airlines for America salutes agreement on Tokyo Haneda slots
Thursday, 19 Feb, 2016
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Trade group Airlines for America (A4A) has lauded the agreement between the US and Japan to offer more convenient slots at Tokyo’s downtown Haneda Airport.
"Japan is one of the most important global markets for U.S. carriers.US airlines and their passengers will for the first time benefit from five daytime flights to Haneda and one additional night time flight. Today’s announcement builds on the 2010 U.S.-Japan Open Skies agreement," said A4A CEO Nicholas E. Calio.
"The US government’s effort to strengthen our agreement with Japan reflects the critical role aviation plays as a driver of jobs and economic growth in the U.S. and throughout the world.
"We applaud the Administration for their long-standing commitment to further liberalize our skies, bolster travel and tourism and enable open and fair competition."
Landing slots at Haneda had until now been both insufficient and at mostly inconvenient times for US carriers.
The decision has been a long time coming due in part to objections by Delta Air Lines, suspecting rivals United and American Airlines will benefit most.
Delta operates flights to Japan via Tokyo’s Narita Airport which is much farther out of the city than Haneda.
"Tokyo Haneda will remain a severely restricted airport with limited competition. Delta is committed to doing our best to maintain the viability of our current Asian route structure and our Narita hub for as long as possible, recognizing that commercial impacts are imminent," a Delta statement said.
Rival American Airlines had a much more positive outlook.
"It’s important for our customers to have convenient access to downtown Tokyo during the day, and this agreement also allows for desirable arrival and departure times in the US for Haneda service," said American’s president Scott Kirby.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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