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BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

__________________________________________

)

In the Matter of )

)

2010 U.S. Haneda Combination Services ) Docket DOT-OST-2010-0018

Allocation Proceeding )

__________________________________________)

ANSWER OF ALASKA AIRLINES, INC.

TO MOTION OF DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

Megan Lawrence, Esq.

Managing Director, Government and

Community Relations

Megan.Lawrence@alaskaair.com

ALASKA AIRLINES, INC.

19300 Pacific Highway South

Seattle, WA 98188

Kyle B. Levine, Esq.

Deputy General Counsel &

Managing Director, Legal

Kyle.Levine@alaskaair.com

ALASKA AIRLINES, INC.

19300 Pacific Highway South

Seattle, WA 98188

August 8, 2012
BEFORE THE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

__________________________________________

)

In the Matter of )

)

2010 U.S. Haneda Combination Services ) Docket DOT-OST-2010-0018

Allocation Proceeding )

__________________________________________)

ANSWER OF ALASKA AIRLINES, INC.

TO MOTION OF DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

Alaska supports Delta’s motion to transfer its Detroit-Haneda slots to the Seattle-Haneda

route.1Seattle is a major hub for Alaska and is an ideal gateway for new international service to

Haneda. Seattle has the natural advantage of geography, which supports consumer friendly

Haneda schedules and convenient non-circuitous connections. The Alaska/Delta domestic

marketing alliance will provide effective network feed, extending the benefits of Delta’s

proposed Haneda flight to the Pacific Northwest region, and throughout the United States.

Alaska operates a large network at Seattle, having carried 8 million passengers or 50.3%

of all enplaned Seattle passengers for the twelve months ended June 30, 2012. Through its broad

marketing alliance with Delta, Alaska provides convenient, non-stop connecting service for

trans-Pacific passengers between Seattle and 71 destinations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.2

Delta’s proposed service would benefit local and connecting passengers alike, as Seattle is the

largest U.S.-Tokyo O&D gateway without non-stop Haneda access. Moreover, Seattle is

currently at a disadvantage to the large west coast rival gateways of San Francisco and Los

1 Alaska also supported Delta’s Seattle-Haneda application in the 2010 U.S.-Haneda Proceeding. See Consolidated

Reply of Alaska, dated March 2, 2010.

2 Alaska’s presence at Seattle has grown substantially since the Department denied Delta’s 2010 application to

serve Seattle-Haneda, based in part on the larger catchment area of the Detroit gateway. Order 2010-7-2, at 7.
Angeles, both of which have Haneda flights operated by the Star, oneworld, and/or

Sky Team alliances.

By opening SEA as a new Haneda gateway, the Department will enhance inter-gateway

competition and bring Alaska's large network into play for enhancing serving and competition

for U.S.-Haneda passengers. Alaska and its employees will, in turn, benefit from the increased

taffrc flowing throughout our network from our largest hub.

Alaska therefore respectfully requests that the Department approve Delta's request to

transfer its Detroit-Haneda slots to the Seattle gateway.

Kyle B. Levine

Deputy General Counsel &

Managing Dire ctor, Le gal

a
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

A copy of the foregoing document has been served this 8th day of August, 2012, upon the

following persons via email:

carl.nelson@aa.com

Francis.Heil@aa.com

Robert.Wirick@aa.com

dan.weiss@united.com

thomas.bolling@united.com

howard.kass@usairways.com

benjamin.slocum@usairways.com

jhill@dowlohnes.com

paul.gretch@dot.gov

keith.glatz@dot.gov

esta.rosenberg@dot.gov

todd.homan@dot.gov

urskr@state.gov

eugene_alford@ita.doc.gov

info@airlineinfo.com