American Airlines has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation to start daily, year-round nonstop service between Los Angeles International Airport and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Under the current U.S.–Japan bilateral agreement, U.S. carriers are limited to four daily round-trip flights at Haneda.
At present, those four U.S. carrier authorizations are used by Delta Air Lines for Los Angeles (LAX) and Seattle (SEA), Hawaiian Airlines for Honolulu (HNL), and United Airlines for San Francisco (SFO). American’s proposal would transfer an existing route authority from Seattle to Los Angeles, allowing the carrier to operate its own nonstop flights between LAX and Haneda from its Los Angeles hub.
Scott Kirby, president of American Airlines, emphasized the competitive importance of the move: “With only four authorized daily flights for U.S. airlines between Haneda and the United States, it is imperative that American be allowed to compete. We are the only U.S. global network carrier without the authority to operate our own aircraft at Haneda. American’s proposed Los Angeles–Haneda service will increase competition in the Haneda market and make the most of underutilized operating rights by giving millions of consumers and shippers a new, viable travel option to Haneda.”
The application aims to expand travel options for passengers and shippers by shifting an existing entitlement rather than creating additional slots, which are constrained by the bilateral limits. If approved, American would join the current U.S. carriers serving Haneda and provide another daily nonstop link between Southern California and central Tokyo, benefiting travelers seeking convenient connections to the greater Los Angeles region and the extensive American network.
Approval by the Department of Transportation would require consideration of the bilateral allocation and the domestic distribution of U.S. carrier rights. The proposed transfer from Seattle to Los Angeles reflects American’s strategic focus on connecting its major West Coast hub to one of Tokyo’s most centrally located airports, which offers closer access to central Tokyo compared with other Tokyo area airports.
For travelers and cargo shippers, a Los Angeles–Haneda nonstop operated by American could mean additional schedule options, improved connectivity across American’s global network, and potentially more competitive fares due to increased carrier choice on the route. The filing begins the regulatory review process that will determine whether American can reassign its existing Haneda entitlement to launch the proposed LAX–HND service.