Summary
- United Airlines believes it is best positioned to offer top-notch service on the Houston to Tokyo route, citing its robust network of flights to the Asia/Pacific region and unrivaled commitment to Tokyo among US airlines.
- The City of Houston strongly supports United’s request for the slots, arguing that United is committed to initiating service within 60 days, while American Airlines would take four and a half months to do so.
- American Airlines argues that its proposed JFK to Tokyo Haneda service would provide significant public benefits, enhance competition, and break United’s stranglehold on US air carrier service to Haneda from the New York City metropolitan area.
United Airlines said to the Department of Transportation (DOT) it is best positioned to offer a top-notch service on the route between Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) over American Airlines’ proposed New York John F. Kennedy (JFK) to Tokyo Haneda service. Meanwhile, American Airlines believes its service would break United’s “stranglehold on the US air carrier service to Haneda from the New York City metropolitan area.” Both companies compete to obtain a Delta Air Lines relinquished daily slot to fly to the Japanese hub.
Better positioned in the Asia/Pacific region
Earlier this month, the DOT instituted a comparative selection procedure to select which airline –United Airlines or American Airlines– to allocate the daily slot in Tokyo Haneda given up by Delta Air Lines.
In a filing, the DOT said the objective of the proceeding was to maximize public benefits, considering which proposal would most likely result in a service that best meets the needs of the traveling and shipping public.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.
In a supplement to its application, United Airlines said that it has established and grown a robust network of flights to the Asia/Pacific region, and it is “best positioned to optimize and sustain service and maximize the public benefits of this slot pair.” The airline added its commitment to Tokyo is unrivaled among US airlines.
According to data from Cirium, United Airlines offers 133 weekly flights from the United States to Japan (98 of them to the Tokyo region). Overall, it offers 31,164 seats or 27.3% of the seat share (the most among all carriers competing in the market).
Houston wants direct connectivity to Tokyo Haneda
The City of Houston also filed a document strongly supporting United’s request and urging the DOT to grant the airline the slots so that United can initiate IAH-HND services as quickly as possible.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.
Houston said United is committed to inaugurating service within 60 days of the final order, while American if awarded the slots, “has no interest in doing so until four and a half months from now.”
If United launches the route, it would be the first time Houston and Tokyo Haneda are directly connected. United currently flies from Houston to Tokyo Narita, the city’s second airport. The service to Tokyo’s Haneda airport has long been one of Houston’s top international air service goals, the city argued.
United’s new route would mean closing the service to Narita
In a filing, American Airlines said United Airlines’ plan is to drop its daily service to Tokyo Narita in favor of the proposed Houston-Tokyo Haneda route. American argued, “United will not provide net flights to Tokyo, whereas American’s JFK-HND service will be overwhelmingly additive and provide superior public and competitive benefits.” In the end, Houston would still have two daily nonstop services to Tokyo (one by United Airlines and one by All Nippon Airways), just as the city has today, said American.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.
In contrast, American’s proposed service from JFK is “overwhelmingly additive, providing significant public benefits, and enhancing inter-carrier, inter-alliance, and inter-gateway competition.”
As of November 2023, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways both fly twice daily from Haneda to JFK. United Airlines operates a daily service from Newark to Tokyo Haneda and one to Tokyo Narita. Overall, Tokyo and New York have six daily round flights.
In this regard, American Airlines said its proposed service would break United’s stranglehold on US air carrier service to Haneda from the New York City metropolitan area and the broader northeast United States.
Who would you prefer to see obtaining Delta’s daily slot at Tokyo Haneda, United Airlines, or American Airlines? Let us know in the comments below.