Cindy Elllen Russell
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The possibility of Hawaiian Airlines bringing back a Kona-Tokyo nonstop flight moved a step closer to reality this week.
Hawaiian, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines had been competing for a coveted slot from Haneda International Airport in Tokyo.
Delta’s request to prevent its Haneda-Seattle slot from being reopened for other bidders was rejected Thursday by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Hawaiian has argued that Delta reduced the frequency of the Haneda-Seattle flight this winter from daily to seasonal and that the slot would be better used by Hawaiian. American has made a similar argument and is proposing a Haneda-Los Angeles route.
The DOT said that "in light of Delta’s extensive winter-season cutbacks … the public interest requires a fresh examination of whether the best use of the Seattle-Haneda opportunity" is to allow Delta to continue operating it or to reallocate the Haneda slot to another U.S. carrier.
That means Delta still could retain the slot, but the DOT is now open to other possibilities.
If Hawaiian lands the Haneda-Kona route, it would represent Hawaii island’s first scheduled flights from Japan since Japan Airlines ended service Oct. 29, 2010, from Narita Airport outside Tokyo. Hawaiian said in its application that it anticipates service would begin on or about June 1 using 294-seat A330-200 aircraft. The departure and arrival times will vary depending on time of year.
Hawaiian already flies a daily route between Haneda and Honolulu that began in November 2010.