Five U.S. carriers are vying for four pairs of daily slots to Japan's Haneda airport, marking the first time a U.S. carrier would serve the downtown Tokyo airport in more than 30 years.
American Airlines, Continental Airlines and its Continental Micronesia subsidiary, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines last month filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation for nonstop service to Haneda International Airport. Applications approved by the department would allow flights to begin in the fall, when Haneda is scheduled to open a new runway.
Although it's one of the world's busiest airports and the closest to downtown Tokyo, Haneda has remained a largely domestic airport and has not offered direct U.S. service since Narita opened in 1978, said Will Ris, senior vice president of government affairs for American Airlines. In December, however, the United States and Japan finalized an Open Skies agreement allowing both countries' carriers unrestricted operations to each other's airports
(BTNonline, Dec. 14, 2009).