Japan Dispute Delays Northwest's Seattle-Jakarta Service

<H1> Japan Dispute Delays Northwest's Seattle-Jakarta Service</H1>By Barbara Cook

<I>Washington, D.C. </I>- Northwest Airlines said it hopes to again try to begin service between Seattle and Jakarta on Nov. 1.

The hold-up for the new route is the Japanese government's refusal to allow the Minneapolis-based carrier to pick up traffic during a midway stop at Osaka's Kansai International Airport.

Northwest, however, said it has informal assurances from Japan that these rights will be forthcoming. The carrier said it already had booked several thousand passengers on these flights. Northwest claims it is permitted traffic rights at Osaka under terms of the existing accord, which was written in 1952.

In addition, airline filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation against Japan under terms of the International Air Transportation Fair Competitive Practices Act, urging the department to cancel JAL's twice-weekly service to S&atilde;o Paulo via Los Angeles. Northwest said denial of JAL's Brazil rights would be a "proportionate" response for Japan's actions. Furthermore, because Northwest has been prevented from operating three flights to Japan per week, the carrier asked DOT also to prohibit JAL from flying its proposed once-weekly service between Hiroshima and Honolulu. United also had proposed inaugurating service to Jakarta via Japan.

JAL, responding to the Northwest complaint, urged DOT to reject the charges and instead resume negotiations with the Japanese government. Japan maintains that the United States abuses its beyond rights from Tokyo to the rest of Asia and also refuses to allow the expansion of service by Japanese carriers to the United States.

For its part, Northwest said it would press for DOT to take action on its complaint if the rights are not forthcoming by November.

Meanwhile, the turbulent state of aviation ties between the United States and Japan took a nose-dive earlier this summer when the United States threatened to restrict the operating rights of Japan Airlines on certain lucrative cargo routes to the United States in retaliation for Japan's refusal to grant similar rights to FedEx.

"On many occasions we have informed Japan that its failure to approve these Federal Express services would be viewed by the United States as a serious matter," said DOT Secretary Federico Pe&ntilde;a. "We will vigorously defend the rights of U.S. carriers abroad and act accordingly when these rights are denied.