United Gets Tentative Approval for San Francisco-Haneda Route
Tokyo’s Haneda Airport
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation gave tentative approval to United Airlines’ application to serve Tokyo’s downtown Haneda Airport from San Francisco, California. The decision followed a proceeding to determine the status of the new route following American Airlines’ decision to end its New York-Haneda service.
Two airlines applied for the Haneda slot. United proposed service from San Francisco, California, while Hawaiian Airlines proposed service from Kona, Hawaii. Under a U.S.-Japan agreement, Haneda airport permits four daily round-trip flights per day, as operations are limited.
United application followed American Airlines’ announcement last year that it would discontinue service to Haneda, saying the route was unprofitable.
Haneda, also known as Tokyo International Airport, is in Tokyo not far from the city’s business districts. The city’s second airport, Narita, is outside the city and it typically takes over an hour to get into the city from the airport.
The two other airlines that have service to Haneda are Delta Air Lines, from Los Angeles and Seattle, and Hawaiian, from Honolulu.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
