Los Arzgr1r.s Worltl Ais/,orts 

March 4. 201 0 

The Honorable Ray H. LaHood 

Secretary of Transportation 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

RE: Support Letter for Docket No. US DOT OST 201 0-001 8 

On behalf of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the owner and operator of Los 

Angeles International Airport (LAX), I strongly urge the United States Department of 

Transportation (USDOT) to award one slot for nonstop service between LAX and 

Tokyo Haneda lnternational Airport (HND) to American Airlines. 

Given the role of HND as Japan's dominant domestic hub and its proximity to the city 

center of Tokyo, I strongly encourage you to award route authority in the current 

proceeding to those U.S. markets that generate the greatest volume of passenger and 

cargo demand to and from Tokyo and the nation of Japan. Los Arlgeles is by far the 

largest U.S. Mainland -Tokyo market measured by both passenger and air service 

demand. Even without a major domestic hub carrier, LAX supports 68% more seat 

capacity to Tokyo than San Francisco, and generates more than 50% greater local 

O&D passengers. 

Nonstop service to HND represents something entirely different: time-saving air service 

to U.S. and Japanese passengers and/or shippers of valuable air-eligible cargo which 

also supports jobs and supplier activity that enable cargo operators. Therefore, the 

optimal allocation of limited slots at HND that will generate the greatest econorr~ic 

benefit to consumers in the U.S., as well as in Japan, is one that will connect HND to 

those U.S. markets with the largest number of passengers and cargo seeking access 

to Tokyo itself and other Japanese destinations with timely connections via HND. 

If the USDOT is, in fact, determined to maximize economic benefits to the U.S. in its 

award of route authority totfrom HND, I am confident that you will agree with me that 

Los Angeles is clearly the most important market in which a U.S. or Japanese carrier 

can offer nonstop access to HND, for several reasons. 

The Los Angeles region generates more origin-destination passenger traffic to 

and from Japan than any other U.S. mainland market, by a significant margin. 

In fact, 700,000 passengers, or more than one of every five traveling between 

the U.S. and Japan, originates in or is destined for Los Angeles The majority of 

these passengers are in the LAX-Tokyo market 
The Honorable Ray H. LaHood 

March 4, 201 0 

Page 2 

Of the 11.6 million passengers who travel between the U.S. and Japan each 

year, more than 11 % do so via LAX, despite the fact that no U.S. airline 

operates a major hub to the AsiaIPacific region at the airport 

Los Angeles is Japan's largest gateway for trade with the U.S. and Japan is Los 

Angeles' second-largest trade partner. In fact, the volume of goods that are 

both exported and imported between the U.S. and Japan via Los Angeles is 

more than double that which passes through New York City, the second largest 

international trade gateway 

Air cargo accounted for more than $4.4 billion of the $1 3.6 billion in 2008 

exports to Japan that were transported from Los Angeles, the nation's largest 

manufacturing center; cargo activity is a key stimulus for numerous supportirlg 

trade businesses 

There are more residents of Japanese ancestry in Los Angeles than in any 

other U.S. city, including Honolulu. There are more than twice as many 

residents of Japanese descent in Los Angeles than in San Francisco, the U.S. 

mainland city with the second-highest total 

More Japanese expatriates live in Los Angeles than in any other U.S. city. In 

fact, 57% more live in Los Angeles than in New York City, the city with the 

second-largest population 

If the USDOT fails to award a slot to American Airlines for LAX-HND nonstop 

service, the largest U.S. mainland market may well remain unserved. 

Given the unmatched opportunity for economic benefit to accrue to the U.S. economy 

by providing for nonstop service between LAX and HND, I strongly encourage you to 

award at least one slot to American Airlines, as it seeks to compete in the most 

important market between the U.S. and Japan. 

Sincerely, 

/$ins Marie Lindsey 

. xecutive Director /