Hawaiian Airlines is now virtually guaranteed two daily routes between Hawaii and Haneda International Airport in Tokyo.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday tentatively granted Hawaiian one of five available daytime slots for U.S.-Haneda service after awarding Hawaiian the lone available nighttime slot in May.

Hawaiian was allowed to retain the existing nighttime daily Honolulu-Haneda route it has been flying since November 2010 and switch it to daytime. In May, Hawaiian was awarded a split nighttime flight from Haneda that will fly to Kona three times a week and Honolulu four times a week. The first flight from Kona will begin on Dec. 20. Hawaiian was the only applicant for the nighttime slot.

“We commend the U.S. DOT for recognizing both the success of our existing Haneda service and the immense value that Hawaiian provides to travelers and to our state’s economy,” Mark Dunkerley, president and CEO of Hawaiian, said in a statement. “We believe that allowing us to arrive and depart earlier in the day will enhance our already popular Honolulu route. Combined with the additional capacity between Honolulu and Kona, we will be able to fulfill the demand for a Hawaii vacation from travelers coming from Japan’s most populous city while giving back to our community and all local businesses through increased tourism to Hawaii.”

Since beginning Honolulu-Haneda service six years ago, Hawaiian said it has added at least $941 million to the U.S. gross domestic product, which is the broadest measure of economic output, generated $564 million in direct spending and led to the creation of 2,337 new jobs.

Earlier this year, an agreement between the U.S. and Japanese governments opened up five daytime slots and one nighttime slot at Haneda. Previously there were only four slots allocated to U.S. carriers, who were restricted to nighttime departures and arrivals at Haneda, which is located near the core area of Tokyo. The four airlines with existing routes were required by the U.S. DOT to reapply for their slots as part of a reallocation process.

Other airlines tentatively granted daytime slots were American Airlines (Los Angeles-Haneda), Delta Air Lines (Los Angeles-Haneda and Minneapolis-Haneda) and United Airlines (San Francisco-Haneda). All three airlines kept their current routes with Delta adding Minneapolis as a new service.

The DOT said in its order that Hawaiian, in its application, characterized its existing Honolulu-Haneda service as “overwhelmingly successful,” that it had flourished as a new entrant carrier in the U.S.-Japan market, and that its proposal brings the unique benefit of increased tourism.

“(Hawaiian) also repeatedly stresses the high load factors it is currently achieving using nighttime slots, with the assumption that a daytime slot pair will perform even better,” the DOT wrote.

Haneda is a more desirable destination — yet generally more expensive — for many travelers than Narita International Airport, which is about 40 miles from the center of Tokyo.

Hawaiian, which reports its second-quarter earnings today, begins daily service between Honolulu and Narita on Friday as part of a renewed expansion into Japan.

The Honolulu-Narita route represents the airline’s fourth nonstop destination to Japan. Besides Haneda, Hawaiian began flying to Osaka in July 2011 and Sapporo in October 2012.

Hawaiian previously had routes serving Sendai and Fukuoka but canceled them due to low demand.

Hawaiian’s new daytime route will begin Oct. 29 with Flight 457 leaving Honolulu at 2:45 p.m. and arriving the following day at Haneda at 6:55 p.m.

The return leg, which will begin with the new times on Oct. 30, will leave Haneda at 9:30 p.m. and arrive in Honolulu the same day at 9:45 a.m.

Hawaiian’s current Haneda flights land in Tokyo at 10:05 p.m. and depart there at 11:55 p.m.

Objections to the DOT’s decision are due by Aug. 1.