Summary
- United Airlines dominates the US-Japan market with the largest market share and seeks to expand further by requesting unused slots from Delta and Hawaiian Airlines.
- Delta Air Lines operates solely to Haneda and will launch a new Honolulu route next month.
- Hawaiian Airlines and American Airlines have smaller market shares and fewer routes to Japan, utilizing only a portion of their allocated slots.
The market between the United States and Japan is massive. It could grow before the end of the year if the United States Department of Transportation approves United’s request to take over unused slots that belonged to Delta Air Lines and Hawaiian Airlines. United hopes to take those unused slots and fly from Guam and Houston to Haneda International Airport in Tokyo.
United Airlines
In October, 1,856 flights are scheduled between the US and Japan by American airlines. United Airlines has the largest market share by far. The Chicago-based carrier has 1,037 flights, nearly triple the amount of Delta Air Lines. More than half of the available seats to Japan are on United aircraft. Still, United wants to expand. In its request to the DOT, United said,
“Awarding these unused frequencies to United will ensure that these underutilized Haneda slot pairs are finally put to their highest and best use.”
The unused frequencies mentioned above were Delta’s recently given up slots at Haneda, for which the airline initially planned to operate flights from Portland International Airport, and Hawaiian Airlines’ unused slots from Kona/Honolulu.
Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying
In an article yesterday, Simple Flying shared that United’s busiest Tokyo route is from its hub at Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport in Guam to Narita International Airport. Not only is that United’s busiest Tokyo route, but also the busiest Japanese route, which sees up to four daily flights. United will fly to Haneda from San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington-Dulles, and Newark. Narita is served from seven cities: Saipan, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Guam, Newark, and Denver. Nagoya and Osaka also see United service from Guam and San Francisco and Guam, respectively.
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines has the second-largest market share, with 317 flights. All of Delta’s operations to Japan are to Haneda, as it pulled out of Narita in 2019. The 317 flights are operated on six routes, including the recently announced Honolulu flight, which will launch on October 28.
“As travel demand gradually recovers in Japan, we decided to add the new Honolulu service to our HND network. Our commitment to both markets remains strong. Customers will enjoy more options and destinations from Haneda, with Delta’s unparalleled premium experience on the ground and in the air.” – Victor Osumi, Managing Director and President – Japan, Delta Air Lines
Delta will fly daily to Haneda from Seattle, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis in October, offering 91,722 seats on its routes.
Hawaiian Airlines and American Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines operates a few routes to Japan, but as mentioned above, it is not using all the slots allocated by the DOT. The Hawaiian carrier has 254 flights scheduled to four Japanese airports: Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita, Fukuoka, and Osaka.
Photo: Boeing
American Airlines has the smallest market share of the American carriers and has three Japanese routes, two from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and one from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). American flies to Haneda and Narita from DFW and from Los Angeles to Haneda.