BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

____________________________________

)

Motion and Answer of )

)

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, INC. )

) Docket DOT-OST-2010-0018

)

in the matter of 2010 U.S.-Haneda )

Combination Services )

Allocation Proceeding )

____________________________________)

Hawaiian Airlines’ Motion to Reopen Order 2013-2-4 and Answer to the Motion and 

Application of American Airlines

Communications with respect to this document should be addressed to:

Mark B. Dunkerley

President & Chief Executive Officer 

Hoyt H. Zia

Senior Vice President, General Counsel & 

Corporate Secretary

Hoyt.Zia@hawaiianair.com

Mark K. Arimoto

Deputy General Counsel

Mark.Arimoto@hawaiianair.com

Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.

P.O. Box 30008

Honolulu, HI 96820-0008

Jonathan B. Hill

J. Parker Erkmann

Benjamin Berlin

Cooley LLP

1299 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

Suite 700

Washington, DC 20004

(202) 842-7800

(202) 842-7899 (fax)

jhill@cooley.com

perkmann@cooley.com

bberlin@cooley.com 

Counsel for Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.
DOT-OST-2010-0018

Motion and Answer of Hawaiian Airlines

1

BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

____________________________________

)

Motion and Answer of )

)

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, INC. )

) Docket DOT-OST-2010-0018

)

in the matter of 2010 U.S.-Haneda )

Combination Services )

Allocation Proceeding )

____________________________________)

Hawaiian Airlines’ Motion to Reopen Order 2013-2-4 and Answer to the Motion and 

Application of American Airlines

Delta Air Line’s (“Delta”) approach to route cases can be summed up with the old 

proverb “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Having repeatedly made promises to the 

Department of Transportation (“Department” or “DOT”) that it has failed to deliver, Delta 

continues to undermine the Department’s goal of expanding U.S. air carrier access to Tokyo’s 

Haneda Airport (“Haneda”). By converting, without DOT approval, its recently-awarded 

frequency between Haneda and Seattle to a seasonal route and flying just the minimum number 

of flights to avoid triggering the 90-day dormancy condition, Delta has demonstrated that it is not 

committed to Haneda service but to warehousing frequencies and protecting its hub at Narita 

International Airport from the diversion of passengers through Haneda. 

To avoid the warehousing of this valuable Haneda frequency, Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.

(“Hawaiian”) files this pleading to: (1) request that the Department reopen the grant of authority 

in Order 2013-2-4 (the “Order”), which approved Delta’s request to move its Detroit-Haneda 

frequency to Seattle, and modify the dormancy condition to require meaningful year-round 

service; (2) support the motion of American Airlines, Inc. (“American”) to withdraw Delta’s 

Haneda slot pair awarded in the Order; (3) oppose the Application of American Airlines to start 

its own service from Los Angeles to Haneda; (4) request that the Department notice a new 

proceeding to develop the factual record before reallocating Delta’s Seattle-Haneda frequency; 

and (5) inform the Department that, in the event the Department elects to initiate a reallocation 

proceeding, Hawaiian will submit an application to provide year-round service in full utilization 

of the allocated frequency.

1. Delta has Abused the Department’s Procedures for Allocating Haneda Slots.

Delta’s recent scheduling sleight of hand is just the latest indignity that Delta has heaped 

upon the Department’s policy of expanding Haneda access for U.S. carriers. In the initial 
DOT-OST-2010-0018

Motion and Answer of Hawaiian Airlines

2

Haneda allocation proceeding, Delta assured the Department that its proposed Detroit service 

was an absolute winner.

1

 That didn’t work very well. Despite promising to accept the 

Department’s startup condition for any slot award,2 Delta requested, and received, a 30-day 

startup extension.3 After a little more than a year of starting up the Detroit service and after 

receiving a waiver of the dormancy condition,4 Delta abandoned Detroit and requested that the 

Department transfer the frequency to Seattle.5 

Next, Delta told the Department and the competing applicants that Seattle would be a 

great market for Haneda service.

6

 These assurances of success were given even though others, 

including Hawaiian, pointed out that Seattle was the smallest market proposed in the proceeding

and warned that it would not succeed: 

The Seattle market is ... simply not large enough to support Delta’s proposed 

Haneda service . . . and [the proposed Seattle] service, like Detroit, will not be 

rescued by connecting service from Delta, Alaska or anyone else. 

Consolidated Answer of Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., 2010 U.S.-Haneda Combination Services 

Proceeding, DOT-OST-2010-0018 (July 30, 2011), at 29. Delta’s sleight of hand stands in stark

 1 Answer of Delta Air Lines, Inc., 2010 U.S.-Haneda Combination Services Proceeding, DOTOST-2010-0018 (March 1, 2010), at 11, D112 (“Delta’s Detroit hub is the largest and most 

effective U.S. airline hub for service to Asia, and will provide nonstop-to nonstop Haneda 

service for 106 U.S. points. In addition, Detroit boasts a large local market to Tokyo with 33,000 

annual O&D passengers.”).

2 Application of Delta Air Lines, Inc., 2010 U.S.-Haneda Combination Services Proceeding, 

DOT-OST-2010-0018 (Feb. 16, 2010), at Interrogatory Answer (a) (“Delta will accept a 

condition requiring the institution of service on October 31, 2010, at the start of the IATA winter 

traffic season, or within 120 days of the effective date of the 2009 MOU, whichever is later.”).

3

 Motion of Delta Air Lines, Inc. for a 30 Day Startup Extension, 2010 U.S.-Haneda 

Combination Services Proceeding, DOT-OST-2010-0018 (Sep. 7, 2010). The Department 

approved the motion on September 27, 2010.

4

 Motion of Delta Air Lines, Inc., 2010 U.S.-Haneda Combination Services Proceeding, DOTOST-2010-0018 (June 3, 2011) (requesting waiver of dormancy condition until June 1, 2012); 

Notice of Action Taken, DOT-OST-2010-0018 (issued June 29, 2011) (granting Delta’s motion).

5 Motion of Delta Air Lines, Inc., 2010 U.S.-Haneda Combination Services Proceeding, DOTOST-2010-0018 (July 30, 2011), at 1 (“Based on its actual operating experience, Delta has found 

that Eastern U.S.-Haneda service is underperforming relative to the West Coast-Haneda 

service.”).

6 Consolidated Answer of Delta Air Lines, Inc., 2010 U.S.-Haneda Combination Services 

Proceeding, DOT-OST-2010-0018 (Sep. 6, 2012), at 2 (“The Department can improve marketbased competition at Haneda – and generate important new nonstop and network service benefits 

– by allowing Delta the flexibility to operate from its preferred U.S. mainland gateway at 

Seattle.”).
DOT-OST-2010-0018

Motion and Answer of Hawaiian Airlines

3

contrast to American’s decision to return its Haneda frequency to the Department for reallocation 

once American concluded that continued operations were uneconomic.7

Now, Delta has unilaterally cut its use of this valuable Haneda slot pair without even

acknowledging that Department approval of such a change might be required. Indeed, Delta’s 

public statement about its decision was cavalier: “‘Delta will reduce the level of service between 

Seattle and Tokyo-Haneda beginning in October due to low seasonal demand, a scheduling 

practice that is common for all airlines, including American’. . . .”8

Delta’s public position fails to show an ounce of sensitivity to the context in which the 

Department awarded the Seattle-Haneda frequency. The Department relied upon Delta’s 

statements in the record. Delta presented Seattle as a year round market, never suggesting it was 

a seasonal market.

9

 Before representing that Seattle would be a sure-fire success, Delta had 

represented that Detroit would be a sure-fire success. Neither of these representations proved 

remotely true. By reducing its service to the minimum level to avoid the impact of the dormancy 

condition, Delta’s unilateral action violates the spirit, if not the letter, of Order 2013-2-4 

awarding the Seattle frequency. At some point, the Department needs to call a halt to this 

charade and award this frequency to a carrier, such as Hawaiian, that will use it. Delta’s Haneda 

strategy is not about providing service or competition but playing keep away with valuable air 

service rights – all to protect its Narita hub. The Department should not countenance such 

blatant flaunting of its processes and procedures, especially when the conduct undermines the 

Department’s effort to expand access to Haneda. 

Delta’s conduct is at odds with the Department’s principle objective in awarding Haneda 

slot pairs – maximizing the public benefits by awarding slot pairs to carriers that “will most 

likely offer and maintain service that best meets the needs of the traveling and shipping 

public.”10 Delta’s conduct is also at odds with longstanding Department policy favoring the use 

of operating rights, as the Department stated when initiating a proceeding to reallocate unused 

Brazil combination frequencies:

As we have stated many times before, it has been the Department’s longstanding 

policy not to permit valuable operating rights to remain unused for an extended 

period of time, particularly when another carrier has firm plans to use them, and 

the carrier holding the authority does not.11

 7

 See Letter of Francis Heil to Esta Rosenburg, 2010 U.S.-Haneda Combination Services 

Proceeding, DOT-OST-2010-0018 (Oct. 23, 2013).

8

 Madhu Unnikrishnan, American: Delta “Squandering” Haneda Slots from Seattle, Aviation 

Daily (Oct. 6, 2014) (quoting Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter).

9

 Supplemental Application of Delta Air Lines, Inc., 2010 U.S.-Haneda Combination Services 

Proceeding, DOT-OST-2010-0018 (Aug. 27, 2012), at Exhibits DL-101,102.

10 Order 2010-1-17, at 1-2.

11 Order 2008-10-20, at 3 (opening proceeding to reallocate Brazil combination frequency).
DOT-OST-2010-0018

Motion and Answer of Hawaiian Airlines

4

To maximize the public benefit, valuable air service rights must be awarded to carriers that plan 

to use them.

2. Hawaiian’s Record of Using and Seeking Haneda Authority is 

Unparalleled.

No carrier can match Hawaiian’s record of using the single Haneda frequency awarded in 

the initial 2010 proceeding. Upon receiving authority to operate Haneda-Honolulu service in 

2010, Hawaiian started its service early. When other carriers requested permission to reduce or 

stop service during the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami, Hawaiian continued its service without 

interruption. Indeed, the load factor for Hawaiian’s Haneda service remains higher than that of 

all the other U.S. carriers serving Haneda. 

Not only has Hawaiian consistently used its Haneda authority, it has requested more 

authority from the Department at every single opportunity. In the initial 2010 proceeding, 

Hawaiian requested two Haneda-Honolulu frequencies.12 In the Department’s contested 

proceeding that resulted in the transfer of Delta’s Detroit service to Seattle, Hawaiian applied to 

serve Kona.13 And in the proceeding to reallocate the New York frequency returned to the 

Department by American, Hawaiian again sought an award of Kona service.14 Hawaiian also 

has been consistent in recommending that the U.S. government bargain for any incremental 

Haneda authority available – efforts that Hawaiian understands have been opposed by Delta. 

Instead, Delta has favored U.S. carrier expansion at Haneda only if the unattainably high hurdle 

of moving its Narita hub to Haneda can be obtained.15

3. The Department Should Reopen the Order and Modify its Dormancy Condition.

Delta’s cynical and calculated effort to thumb its nose at the Department and the intent of 

the Order should be rejected. By filing schedules that keep just enough service to comply with 

the Order’s dormancy condition,16 Delta is making a joke of the route proceeding. Delta’s 

winter schedule for HND-SEA provides: (1) no service from October 5 through November 9, 

2014; (2) daily frequencies the week of November 16, 2014; (3) no service from November 23, 

2014 through February 8, 2015; (4) 2 frequencies the week of February 8, 2015 and 5 

frequencies the week of February 15, 2015; and (5) no service until the week of March 29, 2015, 

when it will operate 3 frequencies. That’s 17 planned operations for the entire winter season. 

 12 Application of Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., 2010 U.S.-Haneda Combination Services Proceeding, 

DOT-OST-2010-0018 (Feb. 16, 2010).

13 Application of Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., 2010 U.S.-Haneda Combination Services Proceeding, 

DOT-OST-2010-0018 (Aug. 27, 2012).

14 Request of Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. for Incorporation of Previous Application, 2010 U.S.-

Haneda Combination Services Proceeding, DOT-OST-2010-0018 (Nov. 26, 2013).

15 See Azusa Uchikura, Delta CEO calls for open skies in Japan (July 31, 2013) (available at: 

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/delta-ceo-calls-open-skies-japan).

16 See Order 2013-2-4 (Feb. 5, 2013), at 5.
DOT-OST-2010-0018

Motion and Answer of Hawaiian Airlines

5

Who knows what Delta will offer in the summer season? It’s clear, however, what Delta’s plan 

is. Having resisted the incremental opening of Haneda to U.S. carriers, Delta intends to 

warehouse the frequencies awarded by the Department. This strategy may be beneficial to 

Delta’s Narita hub operation, but it is not in the public interest.17 Nor does it advance the 

Department’s goal of expanding U.S. carrier access to Haneda. 

The Department should reopen the Order and clarify that the recipient is to provide 

consistent year-round service in accordance with the representations made in the proceeding 

leading up to the issuance of the Order. Indeed, Delta itself has argued in this proceeding that 

“the Department has discretion to consider a wide range of public interest factors” in determining 

the conditions upon which the awarded frequencies can be operated.18 In a new proceeding, the 

Department should make plain that it expects the participants’ representations to be fulfilled 

rather than rendered expedient platitudes – only to be later reneged. In the instant case, it is clear 

that Delta’s Seattle service is not sustainable.

19 If the service cannot be provided, Delta should 

return the frequencies as American did with its New York service – or the Department should 

require Delta to do so.

4. Hawaiian Supports American’s Motion but Opposes its Application.

For the reasons stated above, Hawaiian fully supports American’s Motion to withdraw 

Delta’s daily Haneda-US service due to Delta’s failure to utilize the awarded frequency. 

Acceptance of additional Haneda frequencies in the near term has been and continues to be 

Hawaiian’s objective, and Hawaiian firmly believes that the available Haneda frequencies should 

be allocated to carriers that will use them. Hawaiian, however, opposes American’s proposal to 

serve Los Angeles from Haneda. As acknowledged in American’s application, its proposed 

service would be the third frequency between Haneda and LAX. Just as the Seattle market was 

not large enough to support Delta’s service, the Haneda-LAX market is simply not large enough 

to support a third carrier on the route. Given the passage of time and the potential for another 

failed service, Hawaiian believes that the Department must develop, as it has in prior Haneda slot 

allocation proceedings, the necessary evidentiary record before making any reallocation 

decision.20 To develop the record, the Department should follow its past practice of noticing a 

 17 The Department has recognized that the hoarding of slots at capacity-constrained airports in 

the United States is anticompetitive. See, e.g., Department of Transportation, Petition for Waiver 

of the Terms of the Order Limiting Scheduled Operations at LaGuardia Airport, 75 Fed. Reg. 

7306, 7308 (Feb. 18, 2010).

18 Petition for Reconsideration of Order 2013-11-9, 2010 U.S.-Haneda Combination Services 

Proceeding, DOT-OST-2010-0018 (Nov. 19, 2013), at 2.

19 Recent data indicates that Delta experienced load factors of less than 35% in October and 

November of 2013 on the HND-SEA route, resulting in Delta largely cancelling its 2014/15 

winter season. See U.S. DOT, T-100 data.

20 See Order 2012-8-20 (“We have therefore decided to institute a proceeding to develop the 

necessary record and to determine the disposition of the Detroit-Haneda slot pair that would best 

serve the public interest.”).
DOT-OST-2010-0018

Motion and Answer of Hawaiian Airlines

6

proceeding where the competing applications can be evaluated in light of current market 

developments.21 

5. In any Reallocation Proceeding, Hawaiian Will Submit an Application to 

Provide Year-Round Service.

Hawaiian remains as committed as ever to increasing its frequencies to Haneda. Should 

the Department issue a notice commencing a reallocation proceeding, Hawaiian will file an

application to serve Haneda in opposition to American’s Application for Los Angeles service

and any other applications that may be submitted. Hawaiian’s application will be for year-round 

service and full utilization of the available frequency, which is consistent with Hawaiian’s record 

of utilizing its current Haneda-Honolulu frequency. Delta, like all other airlines, would be free 

to reapply for Seattle service.

Conclusion

For the forgoing reasons Hawaiian urges the Department to cease Delta’s warehousing of 

valuable Haneda frequencies and requests the following relief:

1. The Department should reopen its consideration of the Order to clarify that the 

awarded Haneda service is not seasonal and that it must be used on a year-round basis 

to be retained;

2. American’s motion to reallocate the Haneda-Seattle frequency should be granted;

3. The Department should notice a new proceeding, consistent with past practice, to 

develop the evidentiary record necessary to evaluate which of the competing 

applications best serves the public interest; and

 21 See Order 2010-1-7 (initiating initial Haneda allocation proceeding); Order 2012-8-20 

(initiating proceeding to consider applications competing with Delta’s proposal to move its 

service from Detroit to Seattle); Order 2013-11-9 (instituting proceeding to consider competing 

applications for the Haneda-New York frequency returned to the Department by American). 
DOT-OST-2010-0018

Motion and Answer of Hawaiian Airlines

7

4. Consideration of American’s application to serve Los Angeles should be deferred 

until the full evidentiary record has been developed and competing applications have 

been submitted. 

Respectfully submitted,

___________________________

Jonathan B. Hill

J. Parker Erkmann

Benjamin Berlin

Cooley LLP

1299 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

Suite 700

Washington, DC 20004

(202) 776-2000

(202) (fax)

jhill@cooley.com

perkmann@cooley.com

bberlin@cooley.com

Counsel for Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.

 
DOT-OST-2010-0018

Motion and Answer of Hawaiian Airlines

8

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing Motion and Answer of Hawaiian Airlines, 

Inc. was served this 9th day of October 2014 via email transmission on the following:

howard.kass@aa.com

francis.heil@aa.com

abigail.donovan@aa.com

robert.wirick@aa.com

charles.hunnicut@thompsonhine.com

patricia.snyder@thomsponhine.com

sascha.vanderbellen@delta.com

chris.walker@delta.com

dan.weiss@united.com

thomas.bolling@united.com

steve.morrissey@united.com

lhalloway@crowell.com

gmurphy@crowell.com

robert.finamore@dot.gov

brett.kruger@dot.gov

paul.gretch@dot.gov

todd.homan@dot.gov

brian.hedberg@dot.gov

john.s.duncan@faa.gov

englets@state.gov

finstonma@state.gov

cristinasa@state.gov

glindsey@lawa.org

info@airlineinfo.com

_/s/____________________

Benjamin Berlin