HONOLULU – Hawaiian Airlines received a preliminary decision from the U.S. Department of Transportations to allocate a new slot to the airline for expanded service to Haneda Airport.
HONOLULU – Hawaiian Airlines received a preliminary decision from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s to allocate a new slot to the airline for expanded service to Haneda Airport.
This is a critical step toward gaining rights to provide additional service between Honolulu and Tokyo before the start of the 2020 Olympic Summer games, according to a press release from Hawaiian Air. The allocation is contingent upon the successful conclusion of consultations by the government of Japan with affected local governments and communities.
“Although we are disappointed that the tentative award does not grant our full request for three new routes, Hawaiian looks forward to the opportunity to expand its service between Tokyo Haneda and Honolulu,’’ said Peter Ingram, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines. “With this new service we will be able to better serve the needs of guest traveling between Honolulu and Haneda as well as those connecting beyond these gateway cities.”
The U.S. DOT’s Order to Show Cause issued today invites comments on the DOT’s preliminary decision within two weeks and Hawaiian Airlines will continue to press for additional slots during this time.
In its Feb. 21, 2019 application, Hawaiian noted that it has been flying to Haneda since 2010, longer than any other U.S. airline, and has since grown the market by providing consistent and uninterrupted service.
The tentative approval of one new slot is expected to allow Hawaiian to arrive and depart Haneda earlier, thereby allowing substantially more connections to banks of flights departing and arriving from points throughout Japan.
