Hawaiian Airlines filed a motion Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Transportation requesting that it be immediately awarded the nighttime Haneda International Airport slot in Tokyo so it can begin three times weekly Kona-Haneda service and four times weekly Honolulu-Haneda service as early as October.
The state’s largest carrier pointed out in its motion that it was the the only carrier to submit an application for the single available nighttime Haneda frequency.
In February, the U.S. and Japanese governments finalized an aviation agreement for expanded access to Haneda that will make travel more convenient for passengers by allowing U.S. carriers to fly into and out of Haneda during daytime hours. Two more routes were allocated to the four already in existence with the stipulation that five of the six pairs of flights will be permitted to operate during the daytime.
The DOT also said that carriers operating the four existing routes would have to reapply to retain those routes. Hawaiian has reapplied to retain its current Honolulu-Haneda route and switch it from nighttime to daytime. Hawaiian began that route in November 2010.
“Hawaiian requests that the department grant its uncontested application to serve the Kona/Honolulu-Haneda route in time for Hawaiian to participate in the slot allocation process for the forthcoming winter season,” Hawaiian wrote in its latest motion.
The winter traffic season begins Oct. 30.
But Hawaiian stressed in bold-letter type that it doesn’t want to jeopardize its existing route.
“To be clear, Hawaiian’s first priority is and remains the permanent award of authority to serve Honolulu daily during daytime operating hours, and nothing in this motion implies implicitly or otherwise that Hawaiian’s needs are met with the award of this nighttime authority,” Hawaiian wrote.
Hawaiian proposes to initiate the four-times-per-week Honolulu-Haneda service on or about Oct. 30, and because Hawaiian is proposing to reintroduce international service to Kona, Hawaiian proposes to initiate its three-times-per-week Kona service on or about Oct. 30, or “90 days following the department’s grant of authority, whichever is later.”
Hawaii island has not had scheduled flights from Japan since Japan Airlines ended service Oct. 29, 2010, from Narita International Airport outside Tokyo.