With new flights slots opening up at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, the US-based airlines are wasting no time declaring its intentions for additional flights from the US to Haneda.

American Airlines

In a statement, the airline announced its submission for non-stop flights from Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas to Haneda, using its partnership with Japan Airlines (JAL) for connections in Japan and Asia.

“Tokyo is an important hub for our Pacific Joint Business with Japan Airlines,” said American Airlines President Robert Isom. “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 currently operates 1 daily flight between Haneda and Los Angeles, and should it be successful will open up new air links to American’s main hub at Dallas and Las Vegas – where the airline sees a large unserved market for Japanese visitors. The airline announced that Boeing 777 aircraft will be used for flights to Dallas, while the Las Vegas service will see 787 service.

United

Not to be outdone, Chicago-based United filed an application for 6 additional flights to its hubs in Newark, Chicago, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Houston and Guam.

United has stated the cities it will cover are the largest markets for travel between in the east and central US and Tokyo, as well as the tourist market on the US territory of Guam.

“If awarded by the DOT, these new nonstop flights would expand United’s best-in-class Japan route network to better meet demand from U.S. consumers and businesses,” said United Airlines President Scott Kirby. “Tokyo is a hub of 21st century global commerce and innovation and one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. Today’s filing demonstrates United’s unparalleled commitment to helping more Americans travel between our nation and Japan’s capital city. Our proposed flights to Tokyo Haneda will offer an unrivaled experience and maximize choice and convenience for our customers traveling between the United States and Tokyo for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and beyond.”

United’s statement also highlighted its partnership with All Nippon Airways, with the new flights offering new connecting options to 37 destinations in Japan. United currently operates daily flights from Haneda to San Francisco.

Delta

Finally, Atlanta-based Delta – which operates a small hub at Tokyo-Narita – is looking to add to its existing flights from Haneda with new flights to Seattle, Honolulu, Detroit, Atlanta, and Portland.

Each flight will be served once daily except for the flights to Honolulu, which will run twice a day. In its application, Delta also proposed that it would provide additional flights to cities with the Haneda flight for additional connection options.

All Routes Subject to Approval

With the new race for flights to Haneda, they will all be subject to government approval and won’t start until the summer of 2020. In addition to its press release, United has also opened a new website dedicated to its bid.

At present, Delta operates two flights to Haneda, while United and American operate one apiece. In addition to the US Big 3 carriers, Hawaiian Airlines operates daily services to the airport in central Tokyo.

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