Haneda slots may hinge on alliances

The dominant U.S. carrier in Asia is using its lack of a Japanese alliance partner as a bargaining chip in the high-stakes bidding for slots at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, reports Terry Maxon of The Dallas Morning News.

Delta Air Lines, which already operates a thriving Asian hub at Narita, has told the Transportation Department it deserves all four available slot pairs at Haneda, essentially freezing out its competitors at Tokyo’s most convenient airport. Delta says it needs to offer direct service from Seattle, Detroit, L.A. and Honolulu in order to “promote effective three-way alliance competition between Delta and the Star (United/Continental/ANA) and Oneworld (American/JAL) alliance carriers.”

Delta’s we’re-on-our-own argument is not restricted to official government filings. In an op-ed for the Detroit News, a company executive points out that “Delta’s alliance, SkyTeam, does not have a Japanese partner.” Adding SkyTeam to the mix at Haneda — in the form of four daily flights by Delta — would help to increase competition and lower prices, she argues.

Naturally, the other airlines in question insist they are the real underdogs in the all-important Tokyo market, and that their alliance connections merely help to “even the playing field that has long been the province of Delta/Northwest,” in the words of American’s filing with the DOT. “Delta’s extraordinary bid to gain a monopoly U.S. flag position at Haneda by citing American’s prospective immunity with JAL does not withstand scrutiny.”