As a result of the “Open Skies” agreement signed by Japan and the U.S. on Oct. 25, Delta Air Lines Inc. is cleared to offer flights from Detroit and Los Angeles to Tokyo‘s Haneda Airport.
The agreement was signed in Tokyo by Japan’s transport minister, Sumio Mabuchi, and U.S. ambassador to Japan, John Ross. A decision from the U.S. Department of Transportation in July allowed Delta to have its first opportunity to offer nonstop flights to Haneda Airport starting February 2011.
Kent Landers, a Delta spokesman, told GlobalAtlanta that the flights from Detroit and Los Angeles will be among the first international flights to Haneda since the 1970s.
Mr. Landers also said that Delta already has 27 departures from its hub at Tokyo-Narita Airport, 22 of which are nonstop flights.
Tokyo-Narita Airport is 36 miles from the downtown Tokyo’s business and financial district.
“Our new service at Tokyo-Haneda will complement the Narita hub with more options for travelers seeking to do business locally in Tokyo,” said Mr. Landers.
The Japan-U.S. agreement is one of many “Open Skies” negotiations between the U.S. and other countries. According to a Department of Transportation news release, Japan is the 95th country with which the U.S. has reached such an agreement.
For more information visit the U.S. Department of the State website at http://www.state.gov/e/eeb/tra/ata/.
Or email Kent Landers at Kent.Landers@delta.com.
