Order 2014-1-3

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

 Issued by the Department of Transportation

 on the 7th day of January, 2014

 

 Served: January 7, 2014

 

ORDER ON RECONSIDERATION

Summary

By this order we grant the petition of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (Delta) for reconsideration of Order 

2013-11-9 in the above captioned proceeding. On reconsideration, we deny the relief requested.

Background

Under the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Japan, signed on 

October 25, 2010, four daily slot pairs are available to carriers from each country to provide 

scheduled combination services between the United States and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.1

 As a 

result of two prior carrier selection proceedings, by Orders 2010-7-2 and 2013-2-4, the four slot 

pairs have been allocated as follows: 1) one slot pair to Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. (Hawaiian) for

Honolulu-Haneda service; 2) two slot pairs to Delta Air Lines, Inc. (Delta), one for Los AngelesHaneda and one for Seattle-Haneda services; and 3) one slot pair to American Airlines, Inc. 

(American) for New York (JFK)-Haneda service.

On October 23, 2013, American advised the Department that it would discontinue its New York 

(JFK)-Haneda service on December 1, 2013, and that American was returning to the Department 

the slot pair allocated to it by Order 2010-7-2, effective December 2, 2013. 

United Airlines, Inc. (United), and Hawaiian each filed an application seeking the slot pair. 

United proposes to begin nonstop service between San Francisco, California, and Haneda.

Hawaiian proposes to begin nonstop service between Kona, Hawaii, and Haneda.

 1 The scheduled operations are subject to the following conditions: 1) U.S. operations at Haneda are 

permitted between 2200 and 0700 hours local time; 2) departures from Haneda to a point in the 48 

contiguous U.S. states are not permitted prior to midnight; and 3) extra sections are not permitted.

Petition of

DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

in the matter of 2010 U.S.-Haneda 

Combination Services Allocation Proceeding

 Docket DOT-OST-2010-0018
2

In light of the competing applications and responsive pleadings filed, the Department instituted 

this proceeding by Order 2013-11-9, and invited U.S. carriers to file or supplement applications 

for the one slot pair currently allocated to American for New York (JFK)-Haneda services. We 

received no additional applications besides the two already submitted.

Petition of Delta

On November 19, 2013, Delta filed a petition for reconsideration requesting that the Department 

expand the scope of this proceeding to consider amending the terms and conditions of the 

previously-allocated Haneda slot pairs. Specifically, Delta requests that the Department permit 

U.S. carriers that currently hold U.S.-Haneda slot pairs to use those slot pairs at any U.S. 

gateway, without first obtaining specific Department approval.

In support of its request, Delta states that the U.S.-Japan marketplace is rapidly evolving, making 

it important that U.S. carriers have flexibility to respond to marketplace changes as they occur 

without the need for successive carrier selection proceedings. Delta states that it has no 

immediate plans to change its current services at Los Angeles and Seattle, but that gateway 

flexibility would allow carriers to adapt to the changing competitive environment. Delta states 

that such flexibility would be consistent with the Department’s treatment of U.S.-Brazil 

frequencies, citing Order 2004-6-25 in which the Department allowed all carriers holding Brazil 

frequencies gateway flexibility, instead of limiting such flexibility to only those carriers holding 

unrestricted frequencies.

On November 22, 2013, Hawaiian filed an answer in opposition to Delta’s petition. Hawaiian 

asserts that Delta’s proposal would radically change the basis on which the Department evaluates 

limited entry route proceedings, including the Haneda slot allocations, shifting from a routebased evaluation to a carrier-based evaluation. Hawaiian argues that Delta’s proposal has farreaching policy implications that would require more attention than can be accomplished in this 

proceeding to allocate one slot pair. Hawaiian further argues that reliance on the Brazil 

precedent, cited by Delta, is misguided because there the Department sought to correct an 

imbalance between carriers holding frequencies with U.S. gateway flexibility and carriers 

without such flexibility. Hawaiian states that the only issue before the Department now is the 

allocation of the one slot pair returned by American.

Delta supplemented its petition on November 26, stating that U.S. carriers should be free to use 

their allocated slots to respond to market demands so as to maximize customer and public 

interest benefits. 

Hawaiian filed a surreply on November 29, 2013, maintaining its opposition to Delta’s request. 

Hawaiian further argues that, should the Department grant Delta’s request, then all of the 

existing U.S.-Haneda slot awards should be reviewed and the slot pairs re-allocated under the 

new public interest criteria to be established by the Department.2

 2 Delta and Hawaiian further set forth their positions in additional pleadings filed December 9, 2013, and 

December 16, 2013, respectively.
3

Decision

We have decided to grant Delta’s petition for reconsideration, and on reconsideration, to deny 

the relief requested. 

Granting Delta’s request would involve a fundamental change to the character of the current 

proceeding, requiring new public interest criteria and substantial additional procedures. We see 

no persuasive basis for pursuing such an approach in this proceeding, especially when the 

petitioning party itself cites no immediate need for the change it requests.

Delta cites our Brazil decision as precedent for its request. However, that decision expressly 

states that “we would not necessarily be prepared to follow this same approach in other markets,” 

and that our action regarding Brazil was “limited to the specific circumstances and context 

before us.”3 We do not find that Delta has adequately demonstrated that the current 

circumstances and context as to U.S. carrier Haneda services call for the same actions as we were 

prepared to adopt in Brazil.

Against that background, we do not find that the public interest would be served by granting

Delta’s request.

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We grant Delta Air Lines, Inc. (Delta)’s petition for reconsideration of Order 2013-11-9, and 

upon reconsideration we deny the relief requested; and

2. We will serve this order on all parties to the proceeding.

By:

SUSAN L. KURLAND

Assistant Secretary for Aviation

and International Affairs

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is available on the World Wide Web at

http://www.regulations.gov

 3 Order 2004-6-25, at 2-3.