Due to low demand, Delta pushes for changes in Tokyo flights

In 2019, Delta Air Lines secured seven slots at Haneda Airport, consolidating its Tokyo operations at that terminal to serve seven U.S. cities from there.

Delta resumes flights between Los Angeles and Tokyo Haneda; new service to Honolulu launched

Four years later, the airline is experiencing significantly different demand patterns and is now petitioning the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to modify its routes without undergoing a new slot allocation procedure.

Delta has proposed the Gate Flexibility Pilot Program, a three-year initiative that would allow any airline serving Haneda to move two of its operations to an alternative. The goal is to enable airlines to respond more nimbly to changing demand in Asia in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. DOT will evaluate the effectiveness of the program in serving the public interest and benefiting consumers through increased service and reduced fares.

Haneda is unique in allowing limited operations between the U.S. and Japan, despite the bilateral open skies relationship between the two countries. In allocating routes, the U.S. Department of Transportation required airlines to specify the airports from which they would operate in the U.S..

Delta argues that airlines need flexibility in determining the optimal U.S. gateways to serve Haneda, a market that remains significantly depressed relative to 2019 volumes. The airline also highlights the flexibility granted during the COVID-19 pandemic, when flights could be suspended without loss for future seasons. However, that policy is unlikely to be renewed, pushing Delta to explore alternative options.

As reported by Seth Miller for Paxex.aero, U.S. demand to Tokyo did not recover as quickly as other markets, reaching just 49% of 2019 levels and with little chance, according to Delta, of growing above 65% as of March 2023. While these numbers are expected to improve with the reopening of Japan, the company is cautious in its expectations.

Delta cites a 2004 policy change in the Brazilian market, when previous limits on routes were removed as it moved to an open skies relationship. There are similarities between the two scenarios, but the Haneda slots were allocated under the same scheme, making them not entirely comparable.