U.S. Airlines Applaud News of Open Skies Deal with Japan

The major U.S. airlines serving Japan have uniformly praised U.S. and Japanese government negotiators for reaching an Open Skies agreement on air services between the two countries to replace the existing bilateral agreement that has governed commercial flights between the U.S. and Japan since 1952.

“By their nature, bilateral agreements create a system in which some airlines receive aviation rights while others do not,” says Will Ris, American Airlines’ senior vice president – government affairs. “Open Skies agreements, on the other hand, end discriminatory aviation policies and are in the best interest of American and Japanese people as well as the nations’ airlines.”

According to American, the existing bilateral agreement had provided a competitive advantage on routes to, from and through Japan for “certain carriers” ― Delta (in the form of its merger partner Northwest Airlines), United Airlines, Japan Airlines and, more recently, All Nippon Airways ― for many years.

“American joins the other U.S. air carriers in the market to applaud government negotiators for effectively reaching an agreement to best serve the interests of the traveling public despite the last minute efforts by the dominant carrier in the market, Delta/Northwest Airlines, to derail the talks,” American says in a statement.

“This Open Skies agreement will effectively reset the playing field and enable new working relationships, particularly pro-competitive joint ventures granted anti-trust immunity by the U.S. and Japanese governments,” adds American’s Ris. “Ultimately, the agreement will benefit not only the traveling public, but both countries in terms of tourism, trade and commerce – and traffic between the two nations can grow unimpeded.”

Following next year's opening of the fourth runway at Tokyo Haneda Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world and (because of its near-downtown location) the preferred airport for most people flying to and from Tokyo, Haneda will be opened up much more extensively to international flights throughout Asia. The terms of the new Open Skies agreement between Japan and the United States should also open Haneda to nonstop transpacific flights between the two countries. This photograph shows the check-in concourse at Haneda's huge Terminal 2. Source: Joe Jones, www.flickr.com/photos/redjoe/95704021

Continental Airlines says in a statement: “The U.S. Government has signed an historic open skies agreement that will provide the U.S. industry guaranteed access to Tokyo’s Haneda airport for the first time in the 30-plus years it has been closed to U.S. carriers. In addition, U.S. airline customers, shippers, communities and employees will benefit from aviation liberalization with Japan including a broader choice of airline flights, itineraries, fares and eventually more flights between the two countries.”

Adds Continental: “The carriers are confident that the new U.S.-Japan agreement establishes a fair opportunity for them to compete in all the important markets between the two countries. Continental currently serves eight cities in Japan (Sapporo, Sendai, Niigata, Tokyo, Nagoya, Okayama, Hiroshima and Fukuoka) with more than 70 weekly departures, and will add Osaka on a year round scheduled-service basis from December 23. In October, Continental joined Star Alliance and currently serves Japan in conjunction with alliance partners including United Airlines and ANA. Continental is currently discussing deeper cooperation with these two airlines on trans-Pacific routes, and this cooperation would be facilitated by the new Open Skies agreement.”

“We deeply appreciate the leadership of Secretary of State Clinton and Secretary of Transportation LaHood in this process,” says Continental Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner. “Both the U.S. and Japan negotiating teams deserve credit for achieving this break-through agreement, which will re-define air travel between the two countries for years to come.”

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