ANA beats JAL to new Tokyo slots
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The Japanese government has awarded All Nippon Airways (ANA) more than double the number of new international slots at Tokyo’s Haneda airport than its main rival, Japan Airlines (JAL).
In an announcement made today (2 October 2013), it was revealed that Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism (MLIT) has awarded 11 of the 16 new slots at ANA, with only five going to JAL.
JAL has since issued a statement expressing its disappointment at the decision. The airline said it had requested an equal allocation, “based on the idea that equal distribution among the two airlines operating international flights would lead to the maximisation of both convenience for passengers and benefit to the national interest”.
The ruling however, appears to have been weighted in favour of ANA on the basis that it would establish more new routes from Haneda than JAL. ANA also won more domestic slots than JAL at Haneda last year, taking eight to its rival’s three.
JAL said it now intends to challenge the MILT’s ruling, saying it would “formally seek… a correction of the content of this allocation”.
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