Order 2013-2-4

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Issued by the Department of Transportation

on the 5th day of February, 2013

 

 Served: February 5, 2013

FINAL ORDER

SUMMARY

By this Order, we make final our tentative findings and conclusions set forth in Order 

2012-11-12, and grant the motion of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (Delta) to move its Detroit-Haneda slot 

pair for scheduled combination services to Seattle-Haneda, rather than select an alternative use 

for that slot pair. 

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

 By 

Order 2010-7-2, issued July 6, 2010, we allocated the four slot pairs as follows: 1) one slot pair 

to Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. (Hawaiian) for Honolulu-Haneda service; 2) two slot pairs to Delta, 

one for Los Angeles-Haneda and one for Detroit-Haneda services; and 3) one slot pair to 

American Airlines, Inc. (American) for New York (JFK)-Haneda service.2

 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. 2 Not selected in that proceeding were American for one slot pair for Los Angeles-Haneda service; Continental 

Airlines, Inc., for one slot pair for Newark-Haneda service; Continental Micronesia, Inc., for one slot pair for GuamHaneda service; Delta for one slot pair for Seattle-Haneda and one slot pair for Honolulu-Haneda services; Hawaiian 

for a second Honolulu-Haneda service; and United Air Lines, Inc. (United) for one slot pair for San FranciscoHaneda service. 

Motion of 

DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

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

Services Allocation Proceeding

 Docket DOT-OST-2010-0018
2

On July 30, 2012, Delta filed a motion requesting authority to move its Detroit-Haneda slot pair 

to the Seattle-Haneda route and asked the Department to institute any necessary proceedings to 

enable Delta to change gateways. By Order 2012-8-20, issued August 17, 2012, the Department 

instituted this proceeding to determine whether it is in the public interest to grant Delta’s motion 

to transfer its Detroit-Haneda slot pair to the Seattle-Haneda route, or whether the public interest 

would be better served by an alternative use of that slot pair. The Order set forth a procedural 

schedule and evidentiary requirements for the establishment of a record for the Department to 

make a decision in this case. 

Four carriers – American, Delta, Hawaiian, and United – filed applications for the slot pair under 

consideration, to provide daily combination services in the U.S.-Tokyo (Haneda) market. 

American proposed daily service from Los Angeles using B-777 aircraft. Delta proposed daily 

service from Seattle using B-767 aircraft. Hawaiian proposed daily service from Kona using 

A-330 aircraft. United proposed daily service from San Francisco using B-777 aircraft. 

Answers and replies were filed by each of the applicant carriers, and a number of civic parties 

filed formal pleadings in support of the various applicant carriers. Alaska Airlines, Inc. (Alaska), 

the Delta Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association (Delta MEC), and the Port 

of Seattle filed answers in support of Delta’s proposal. The Continental Master Executive 

Council of the Air Line Pilots Association, the San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and 

the United Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association filed in support of 

United’s proposal.

TENTATIVE DECISION

After examining the complete record of applications and responsive pleadings, by 

Order 2012-11-12, issued November 15, 2012, we tentatively decided to grant the motion of 

Delta to move its Detroit-Haneda slot pair to provide daily scheduled services between Seattle, 

Washington and Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport, rather than select an alternative use for 

that slot pair. We allowed 10 calendar days for the filing of objections to our tentative decision 

and seven calendar days for answers to objections.

PLEADINGS FOLLOWING THE TENTATIVE DECISION

Delta and American filed comments in response to our tentative decision. United; SFO; and the 

Continental and United Master Executive Councils of the Air Line Pilots Association, 

International (Joint MEC) filed objections to our tentative decision. Delta and the Delta MEC 

filed answers to the objections of United, SFO, and the Joint MEC. United filed an answer to the 

comments of Delta and American. The Port of Seattle also filed an answer in support of the 

Department’s tentative decision.

Delta agrees with the Department’s tentative decision, which it regards as sound and supported 

by the record. It asks only that the Department accord Delta a start-up period of 120 days instead 
3

of the tentative decision’s proposed 90 days. Delta states that this change would help Delta in 

the orderly and efficient introduction of this long-haul international route.3

American states that it does not object to our tentative decision and asserts that the Department 

should grant all U.S. carriers operating to Haneda the flexibility to shift U.S. gateways as market 

conditions warrant. 

United contends that the advantages offered by its San Francisco proposal outweigh the factors 

on which the Department based its tentative decision to grant Delta’s request. United asserts that 

its San Francisco-Haneda proposal would reach nearly three times the number of consumers and 

provide first-time one-stop service to virtually the same number of U.S. points as Delta’s SeattleHaneda service.4

 United further argues that San Francisco is the largest west coast-Tokyo 

market without U.S. flag-operated nonstop service and that Department precedent supports the 

selection of a larger Origin and Destination (O&D) market over the smaller Seattle market. 

United also contends that the Department overestimated the connecting benefits of Delta’s 

proposal at Seattle, asserting that its San-Francisco-Haneda service would reach 600,000 more 

consumers than would Delta at Seattle, even when considering Delta’s partnership with Alaska.5

United further argues that selecting Delta’s proposal creates a competitive imbalance because 

Delta already holds the highest west coast-Tokyo capacity share and, with the award of its 

Seattle proposal, Delta is the only U.S. carrier permitted to serve the west coast-Haneda market. 

United further argues that it is the only U.S. carrier serving Japan that is unable to operate at 

Haneda, and that only its San Francisco proposal would enhance intergateway and intragateway 

competition in the U.S.-Haneda market.

United urges the Department to reconsider its tentative decision not to award it backup authority,

should the Department make final its tentative selection of Delta at Seattle. United claims that, 

without awarding backup authority in this proceeding, there would be a significant delay in 

selecting a replacement should Delta seek to abandon its Seattle-Haneda service.

6

 United also 

opposes Delta’s request for a 120-day start-up period instead of the 90-day start-up period 

tentatively proposed by the Department, saying it underscores the serious questions regarding 

Delta’s ability to sustain its proposed Seattle-Haneda service.

7

The Joint MEC raises arguments similar to those of United and urges the Department to award 

the slot pair to United for its proposed San Francisco-Haneda service. SFO argues that the 

Department gave undue weight to the promotion of geographic diversity and the establishment of 

a new U.S. gateway for Haneda services while insufficiently crediting the benefits of enabling 

service at San Francisco where demand is greater.

8

Delta asserts that there is no merit to the objections of United, and that the Department’s 

tentative decision should be made final. Delta also opposes United’s request for backup 

 3 Delta Comments, at 2. 4 United Objection, at 2-4. 5 United Objection, at 4. 6 United Objection, at 8-9. 7 United Answer, at 2. 8 SFO Objection, at 1.
4

authority, stating that a backup award would be inconsistent with Department precedent with 

respect to Haneda slots.

In supporting the Department’s tentative decision, the Delta MEC emphasizes that an award to 

United would merely duplicate existing San Francisco-Haneda service offered by JAL and 

American, and the Port of Seattle points to Seattle’s geographical advantage and its history as a 

proven gateway with strong growth.

DECISION

We have decided to make final our tentative decision to grant the motion of Delta to move its 

Detroit-Haneda slot pair for scheduled combination services to Seattle-Haneda, rather than select 

an alternative use for that slot pair.

As we noted in our tentative decision, we have the benefit of two years of U.S. carrier experience 

operating within the limited arrival/departure-time window at Haneda. We also have the benefit 

of knowing which U.S. gateways Japanese carriers have chosen to serve with their limited slot 

pair allocations – Honolulu and Los Angeles for All Nippon Airways (ANA); and Honolulu and 

San Francisco for Japan Airlines (JAL). 

Against that background, we tentatively concluded that Delta’s proposal would best serve the 

public interest by providing the first nonstop Haneda service on a significant mainland U.S.-

Tokyo route that currently lacks any such service, thereby establishing a new U.S. gateway to 

Haneda. We tentatively found that Delta’s proposed service would provide a number of western 

cities with a first one-stop connecting opportunity to Haneda, and that other cities that now enjoy

one-stop connections over more southerly gateways would gain the option of service over a less 

circuitous northwest gateway. 

We also tentatively determined that an outcome that brings first-time Haneda service and first 

U.S.-flag Haneda service to the sixth-largest O&D market, while also promoting the geographic 

diversity of the U.S.-Haneda gateways, would be consistent with our established approach for the 

award of limited Haneda slot opportunities and would best serve the public interest.

Having reviewed the objections and answers filed by the parties to our tentative decision, we 

have determined that no party has brought to our attention any new argument that warrants a 

different conclusion. 

We recognize, as we tentatively found in the show-cause Order, that United’s proposal would 

offer service in the sizable San Francisco-Haneda market, as well as provide extensive 

connecting opportunities. We have also considered the comparatively smaller size of the SeattleTokyo market. Given the limited number of nonstop Haneda opportunities available to the 

traveling public, however, and the fact that American already offers daily U.S.-flag San 

Francisco-Haneda service through its code share with JAL, we continue to believe that the 

establishment of a wholly new U.S. gateway for nonstop Haneda service, i.e., Seattle, outweighs 

the benefits of adding a second nonstop flight at San Francisco.
5

We are cognizant of the fact that United remains the only carrier serving Japan without access to 

Haneda with its own aircraft. In the circumstances presented in this case, and as noted in our 

tentative decision, however, only Delta’s proposal would open Haneda access to a new region of 

the country and result in a greater number of geographic service options for the traveling public.9 

Regarding United’s assertions as to the sustainability of the Seattle service, in our tentative 

decision we specifically noted support in the record for the viability of Delta’s proposed 

service.

10 Having considered United’s submissions in response to our tentative decision, we are 

not persuaded to reach a different conclusion here.

We are also not persuaded by American that all U.S. carriers holding U.S.-Haneda slot pairs 

should be granted the flexibility to shift U.S. gateways as market conditions warrant. As we said 

in our tentative decision, allowing Delta to move its slot pair to Seattle is limited to the proposal 

and circumstances presented in this proceeding.11 We believe that the public interest continues 

to warrant our fresh examination of Haneda slot pair allocations as opportunities become 

available and we see no compelling reason to change our stated policy.

Having carefully considered the record in this proceeding, we have decided to make final our 

tentative decision to grant the motion of Delta to move one slot pair, currently allocated for 

Detroit-Haneda service, to the Seattle-Haneda route. For the reasons stated, we find that Delta’s 

proposal will offer significant public benefits that outweigh the benefits of the proposals we were 

not able to select. 

TERMS, CONDITIONS, AND LIMITATIONS

We have decided to impose a startup condition for this award. After carefully reviewing the 

comments filed in response to our tentative decision, however, we have decided to grant Delta’s 

request to extend the startup period from 90 days to 120 days. Delta states that the additional 

time would assist Delta in establishing this new long-haul service.12 In the circumstances 

presented we do not regard this short extension as contrary to the public interest. Therefore, we 

will require Delta to institute its proposed services within 120 days after the service date of this 

order. 

In addition, we finalize our decision to subject the slot pair allocated in this proceeding to a 

90-day dormancy condition, wherein if the slot pair is not utilized for a period of 90 days (once 

inaugurated), it will be deemed dormant and revert to the Department.

BACKUP AWARD

We have considered United’s arguments with respect to backup authority; however, we believe 

that the public interest continues to warrant our examination of Haneda slot opportunities on a 

case-by-case basis, with a complete evidentiary record, consistent with the approach taken here. 

Accordingly, we have decided not to award backup authority in this proceeding.

 9 Order 2012-11-12, at 6. 10 Id. 11 Order 2012-11-12, at 7. 12 Delta Comments, at 2.
6

ACCORDINGLY,

1. We make final our tentative findings, conclusions, and decision set forth in Order 

2012-11-12, except as noted with respect to the startup condition, which will now be 120 days 

from the issuance of this final order;

2. We grant the motion of Delta Air Lines, Inc. to move one slot pair, currently allocated for 

Detroit-Haneda services, to the Seattle-Haneda market, rather than select an alternative use for 

that slot pair;

3. The slot pair allocation will remain in effect indefinitely, provided that the holder continues to 

hold the necessary underlying authority to serve the markets authorized; and provided further 

that the slot pair will become dormant and will revert automatically to the Department if it is not 

used for a period of 90 days (once inaugurated); 

4. To the extent not granted, we deny the remaining applications and requests in this proceeding;

5. We will not entertain petitions for reconsideration of this order; and 

6. We will serve this order on the parties to the captioned docket of the order, the Japanese

Ambassador to the United States in Washington, DC, the Federal Aviation Administration, and 

the U.S. Department of State (Office of Aviation Negotiations).

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