US DoT Denies United’s Request for Guam-Tokyo Route and Updates on Houston-Tokyo Slots

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has rejected United Airlines’ request to use Hawaiian Airlines’ nighttime slots for flights between Guam and Tokyo Haneda. Meanwhile, the DOT has also announced a comparative selection procedure for the allocation of Delta Air Lines’ returned slots for flights between Houston and Tokyo Haneda.

United Airlines had applied for both requests in September, hoping to expand its presence in the Tokyo market. However, the DOT dismissed United’s request for the Guam-Tokyo route, stating that Hawaiian Airlines had the right to retain the full use of its nighttime slots for its Kona/Honolulu-Tokyo service.

United Airlines had argued that Hawaiian Airlines had been underusing the slots and that United was ready to use them for the traveling public. However, the DOT warned Hawaiian Airlines that it had to provide proof that it was actually using the slots, as it was not the DOT’s policy to allow valuable operating rights to remain unused.

For the Houston-Tokyo route, United Airlines is competing with American Airlines, which also applied for the same Delta Air Lines slots to start flights between New York JFK and Tokyo Haneda. The DOT said it would decide which proposal would most likely result in service that best meets the needs of the traveling and shipping public.

The DOT will also consider the effects of each proposal on the overall competitive environment, including the market structure and competition in the U.S.-Japan market. The DOT expects to allocate the slots in the next 90 days, following a series of submissions and replies from the applicants.

Currently, United Airlines flies from Guam to Tokyo Narita, which is farther from the city center than Haneda. It operates between three and four daily flights, as well as flights to other Japanese cities. The table below shows the frequency and destination of United’s flights from Guam:

Tokyo Narita, 25 weekly
Fukuoka, 7 weekly
Osaka Kansai, 10 weekly
Nagoya, 11 weekly

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, united.com