American Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines Vie For Key Slot at Tokyo Airport

Two U.S. carriers have formally launched their bids in the nick of time for control of a crucial slot in Tokyo's Haneda Airport from the hands of Delta Air Lines.

The two are American Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, which lobbied the U.S. Department of Transportation for months to void Delta's right to land at the said airport using one of the four daily slots alloted to U.S. carriers following an international agreement between the U.S. and Japan.

The agency finally agreed last month to launch a review, giving carriers until Jan. 5 to formally bid for Delta's slot.

Both carriers claim Delta, one of the two leading U.S. carriers in the Asian region, underused the slot, with its winter service barely enough to prevent the slot from being reverted back to the Transportation department.

The two also claim that they will serve Haneda Airport more frequently and provide wider options to U.S. passengers. American Airlines proposed to fly from Los Angeles while Hawaiian Airlines said it would fly from Hawaii's Kona International Airport.

American Airlines Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Nocella was quoted by Reuters in his testimony in the airline's application as saying: "Addressing the lack of any American service at all to Haneda is critical to American's Asia presence, enhancing our network to be competitive with United and Delta, and giving the traveling public meaningful choices."

"Gaining access to Haneda heads the list of American's top international priorities," Nocella also said.

Delta earlier asked the regulator to stop the review, saying it is in "full compliance" with the slot's conditions.

It also argued that the slot was given to it by the agency "indefinitely" without saying the slot can be taken away upon the regulator's decision.

State regulators have yet to announce the release date of their decision.