Hawaiian Airlines has received a temporary daytime slot by the U.S. Department of Transportation for travel this winter between Honolulu and Haneda International Airport in Tokyo. Hawaiian currently has less-desirable late-night arrival and departure times because of a 2010 U.S.-Japan Open Skies agreement that limited U.S. flights to between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. local time.

Other incumbent Haneda carriers — American Airlines (flying from Los Angeles), Delta Air Lines (Los Angeles) and United Airlines (San Francisco) — also received similar daytime slots.

The change to daytime stems from a new aviation agreement last month between the U.S. and Japan that paves the way for two additional flights to Haneda in addition to the four current flights. Five of the six flights will be allowed to take place in the daytime. Hawaiian has until May 19 in the U.S. (May 20 in Japan) to file an application with Japanese authorities for takeoff and landing slot times at Haneda for the winter season that begins Oct. 30, according to a DOT order issued Tuesday.

The DOT has not awarded the other two slots yet and said it also plans to take “a completely fresh look” at the four existing slots to determine which allocations would best serve the public interest.

“Daytime access to Haneda has the potential to significantly expand the number of U.S. cities that can support commercially viable Haneda service, in contrast to what is economically viable with nighttime slots,” the DOT said.

The DOT said it is issuing temporary daytime slots to preserve an ongoing U.S. carrier presence in Haneda and because it does not anticipate reaching a final decision by the May 19 Japanese filing deadline for winter traffic season airport slots.

Separately, Hawaiian said Tuesday it plans to restructure its commercial business in Japan as it prepares to expand service with previously announced daily nonstop flights between Honolulu and Narita International Airport in Tokyo.

The state’s largest carrier said that by the end of June it will hire 14 employees based out of in its Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo gateway cities to focus on the full complement of commercial activities. Hawaiian began flying to Japan in November 2010, when it initiated service between Honolulu and Haneda.

The new in-house team will focus on sales, account management, business development, distribution, and partnerships and promotions. Global Service Agency, the airline’s general sales agent partner, will continue to play a key role under Hawaiian’s redefined business model with the provision of reservations, ticketing, administrative and regulatory support.