Additional daytime services between Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and various destinations in the United States will soon be underway, under an amendment to the U.S.-Japan Open Skies agreement reached between U.S. and Japanese delegations this week.
Under the new arrangement, 12 new arrivals and 12 departures will be daily opened to U.S. air carriers, and 12 of the same pairs provided in turn to Japanese air carriers. This will benefit four U.S. airlines: American Airlines, operating out of Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles; Delta Air Lines, operating out of Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, Honolulu and Portland, Oregon; Hawaiian Airlines, operating out of Honolulu; and United Airlines, operating out of Chicago’s O’Hare, Washington-Dulles, Los Angeles and Newark, New Jersey.
The move was lauded by Airlines for America (A4A), the trade organization representing U.S. airlines.
“Japan is one of the most important global markets for U.S. carriers,” A4A said in a statement. “Enabling all U.S. carriers to compete for access at Haneda – one of the world’s largest and busiest airports – helps to improve international relations with our Japanese partners, while yielding immense benefits for the traveling and shipping public.U.S airlines connect the world like no other industry can, and this new agreement with Japan reflects the critical role aviation plays as a driver of jobs and economic growth in the U.S. and throughout the world.”
The new services are expected to begin around March 29, 2020, in time for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.