Tokyo Haneda International Airport is about to experience a massive international expansion, and we finally know which travelers and countries will benefit most.
Background On Tokyo Haneda Expansion
For those who haven’t been keeping track, Tokyo’s busiest airport is adding 50 new daily international slots. Located about nine miles from Central Tokyo, Haneda is preferred by many travelers over Narita International Airport (which takes roughly 1 hour by rail).
Tokyo Haneda Airport’s International Terminal. Photo by 梓設計.
The additional frequencies are made possible after negotiations between Japan and the US Air Force resulted in additional airspace opened up above Central Tokyo controlled by Yokota Air Base.
The Tokyo Haneda expansion is expected to result in 7 million additional international passengers every year according to the Nikkei.
Delta Wins Big For The US
Of the 50 new slots in total, 24 were reserved for flights to the US. Half of them (12) were designated for US carriers. The US Department of Transportation controversially finalized allocation several weeks ago.
The lion’s share of those frequencies (five of the six they requested) were given to Delta so they could discontinue flights to Narita.
A Delta Airbus A330 taxis at Narita Airport. Delta will be abandoning flights to the airport as it shifts all of its Tokyo capacity to Haneda Airport. Photo by Kentaro Iemoto.
The Other US Airlines
Meanwhile, American Airlines was awarded two frequencies to start service from Dallas Fort-Worth (DFW) and add a frequency from Los Angeles (LAX). American’s request for slots for a second daily service from DFW was denied along with its request for a slot to begin service from Las Vegas (LAS).
Hawaiian Airlines received one slot to add a frequency from Honolulu (HNL) while being rejected for two additional slots. United received four of six requests for services from Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), Newark (EWR), and Washington (IAD) while requests for slots for service from Houston (IAH) and Guam (GUM) were denied.
The Japanese Airlines
The remaining 12 daily slots to the US are to be split evenly between Japan’s largest carrier, All Nippon Airways (ANA), and flag carrier Japan Airlines (JAL). Neither has indicated what cities will see new Haneda service thanks to the new slots.
Among US carriers, Delta and United are the clear winners here. Delta, on its own, will receive five additional daily flights.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) and the Star Alliance were the clear winners of the latest allocation of Tokyo Haneda slots
The Star Alliance United-ANA joint business will add 10 daily flights between the US and Haneda Airport between them. In contrast, Japan Airlines will add eight daily flights with its Oneworld US-Japan joint business partner American. JAL will also benefit from Hawaiian’s additional flight given their Japan-Hawaii joint business.
Additional Haneda Service for China; New Service for Russia, Australia, India, Italy, Turkey, Finland, and Scandinavia
Now, Japan’s transport ministry has announced what other countries will benefit from increased capacity. According to Japan’s Kyodo News Agency, the remaining 26 slots have been allocated to the following countries (with half of the allocation designated for domestic carriers ANA and JAL):
| Market (slots) | Foreign Carriers | ANA | JAL |
| China (8) | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Russia (4) | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Australia (4) | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| India (2) | 1 | .5 | .5 |
| Italy (2) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Turkey (2) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Finland (2) | 1 | – | 1 |
| Scandinavia (2) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Total (26) | 13 | 7.5 | 5.5 |
ANA adds to its advantage over JAL with these latest allocations receiving 7.5 new slots compared to JAL’s 5.5. Adding six slots each to the US, that leaves ANA with 13.5 new slots and JAL with 11.5.
Despite its ostensible position as the country’s flag carrier, Japan Airlines (JAL) fell further behind its local rival due to the latest allocation of Haneda slot
Each country will choose which of its home-carriers will benefit from the slots in Haneda.
Some are obvious. Turkish Airlines (Star Alliance) will receive Turkey’s slot, Alitalia (SkyTeam) is likely to receive Italy’s slot, Air India (Star Alliance) the India slot, and Finnair (Oneworld) is almost certain to receive Finland’s slot. The slot allocated to Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway, and Denmark) will likely go to SAS (Star Alliance). The rest will be announced later.
Each airline will then be able to determine which city it will launch service to Haneda from.
The Upshot
This is a big boost in capacity for Haneda Airport and great news for travelers to Tokyo ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Nikkei reports that the new flights which start in early 2020 will result in an international capacity increase of 70% at Haneda.
We’ll update this post with the latest as information about which cities will get service becomes available. Do you plan to fly to Tokyo Haneda soon? Let us know 👇🏻
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