Some exciting news getting announced this week includes new direct flights to Tokyo-Haneda getting applied for with the U.S. Department of Transportation. This is fairly good news given the differences in flying to Tokyo-Haneda instead of Tokyo-Narita.

Delta is attempting to get approved for direct flights to Tokyo’s Haneda airport from Atlanta, Detroit, Seattle, Portland and Honolulu. There have multiple applications in the past from other airlines as well including American’s request to expand service (see AA flight review from LAX to HND here) and United request from San Francisco.

Back in 2016, Delta won the right to fly from Minneapolis to Haneda. If Delta’s latest applications are approved, would add to Delta’s already existing flights from Los Angeles (LAX) and Minneapolis (MSP) airports.

Direct Tokyo-Haneda Flights Proposed

Direct Tokyo-Haneda 

Delta plans to roll out some nice new planes on these routes should they get approved. Nice to see that the 777 operated on this route would include Delta One Suites. From the Delta news release:

• SEA-HND would be operated using Delta’s newest international widebody aircraft, the Airbus A330-900neo. Delta’s A330-900neo will feature all four branded seat products – Delta One Suites, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin – giving customers more choice than ever before.
• DTW- HND would be operated using Delta’s flagship Airbus A350-900 aircraft, the launch fleet type for Delta’s award-winning Delta One Suite.
• ATL- HND would be flown using Delta’s refreshed Boeing 777-200ER, featuring Delta One Suites, the new Delta Premium Select cabin and the widest Main Cabin seats of Delta’s international fleet.
• PDX- HND would be flown using Delta’s Airbus A330-200 aircraft, which features 34 lie-flat seats with direct-aisle access in Delta One, 32 in Delta Comfort+ and 168 seats in the Main Cabin.
• HNL-HND would be operated twice daily using Delta’s Boeing 767-300ER. This fleet type is currently being retrofitted with a new cabin interior and inflight entertainment system.

Will be great news if several of the routes gets approved – the two routes I’d like to see get approved are Seattle and Atlanta.

The thinking as explained in the DOT document is that the Atlanta route would have the greatest economic impact – via the ABC “No other carrier-gateway combination would produce greater consumer and competitive benefits than Delta at Atlanta, due to the size of Delta’s network, the scope and strength of Delta’s Atlanta hub, and the economic prowess of Atlanta and the southeast region”.

Bottom Line

These routes are interesting and if approved, would be good news for not only Delta flyers but also the cities for the routes that are approved. What’s the route you’d like to see most?

For more reading on the Tokyo-Haneda airport, check out the wiki page.