Hawaiian Airlines has got the nod to operate Honolulu and Kona services from Tokyo Haneda Airport.
The US Department of Transportation granted approval and Hawaiian has until January 29, 2017 to launch the new service.
"Hawaiian, and Hawaiian alone, requested the night time slot pair, and the Department finds that prompt approval of Hawaiian’s request is consistent with the public interest," a DOT statement said.
"Flights between Hawaii and Japan are the most traveled and most beneficial to the U.S. economy, so being able to expand the number that we can offer to Tokyo’s Haneda airport is especially important. We have estimated that the Kona portion alone will generate $35 million in visitor spending and $12.5 million in wages and benefits," said Hawaiian CEO Mark Dunkerley.
The DOT is still mulling over eight other applications from US airlines to serve Haneda.
There are five slots up for grabs.
After agreement between the US and Japanese governments, more highly sought after slots were made available to US airlines at Haneda, which is located closer to downtown Tokyo than sister airport Tokyo Narita.
"Securing the daytime slots for our existing Honolulu-Haneda route will optimize these scarce route rights, since no other application comes close to providing the benefits to the community," Dunkerley added.
