PAL Wants Return to Haneda

15 August 2013

Philippine Airlines (PAL) wants the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to secure from their Japanese counterpart, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) at least a daily daytime slot pairs (6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.) out of Haneda Airport says Carmelo Arcilla, CAB Executive Director.

Arcilla said that negotiations for the expansion of both countries' Air Service Agreement (ASA) is scheduled next month on September 11-13 after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed satisfaction with the safety efforts initiated by the Philippines' Civil Aviation Authority (CAAP).

Arcilla added that the new bilateral aviation talks with Japan could open flights between Haneda Airport and Manila, Cebu and Davao.

PAL discloses that it wants to fly to Haneda after Japan Airlines and ANA manifested its desire to add flights to Tokyo-Haneda aside from existing Tokyo-Narita services. Haneda is the domestic hub of JAL, ANA and most of Japan's airlines and is closer to central Tokyo as compared to Narita.

Following the completion of the fourth runway in 2010, Haneda's operational capacity increased from 285,000 movements to 407,000 movements per year in contrast to Narita's two runway and night landing restrictions. This resulted to increased frequencies on existing routes, as well as bigger capacity for new routes to domestic and international destinations. Tokyo-Haneda Airport offers 60,000 additional slots for overseas flights a year at the end of March 2014 to which the Philippines would like to get at least 1,460 flights from both day and night slots.

The Philippines is eligible to get the daytime international landing slots at Haneda beginning 2014 which is currently reserved for short-haul East Asia destinations only.

Countries with daytime landing agreements to Haneda includes China, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Germany, France and United Kingdom.

Tokyo-bound airlines, including PAL, NWA and JAL, has been using Narita airport since 1978 at the request of the Japanese Government but it can't grow flights there because the airport closes at night. Flights restrictions are currently imposed by Narita Airport between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. due to noise concerns by Chiba Prefecture residents. 

PAL has 34 flights per week to Japan while Cebu Pacific has 11 flights per week out of the 45 weekly frequency allocations under the 2008 ASA. Japanese carriers meanwhile utilizes only 21 flight frequency (14 JAL and 7 ANA) per week to Manila.

In the 2002 ASA, there were 42 weekly frequency allocations, 21 of which was taken by Philippine Carrier while 40 flights was utilized by Japanese carriers.

CAB disclosed that it's not clear yet how many more flights will be granted by Japan considering its previous negotiation history, and the existence of 5th Freedom rights granted by the Philippines to other country's carrier. 

Arcilla is hoping that the additional flight frequencies should be substantial as the agreement between the two countries has been there for almost five years without amendments, while other countries ASA's has been re-negotiated  at least once every two years.

Carriers that enjoy fifth freedom rights include Northwest Airlines (now Delta), Egypt Air, Thai Airways and Jetstar Australia. Only Delta Airlines and Jetstar Australia regularly services the route from Manila today.