Delta Air Lines seeks a Tokyo Haneda base. Skymark a potential partner, to shake up alliances?

When JAL was going through bankruptcy in 2010/11, Delta Air Lines pulled all the levers to establish a JAL/Delta alliance. But JAL was persuaded to remain with its oneworld partners. With ANA staying firmly in the Star Alliance camp and only two major network airlines in Japan, this left Delta as the extra leg. Each of the other alliances has anti-trust immunised trans-Pacific partnerships, a substantial market advantage. Skymark Airlines had meanwhile quietly been establishing as a profitable low cost domestic operator. Next year it receives the first of its six A380s and plans to fly - in all-premium configuration - to New York.

So when Delta seeks greater access to Tokyo Haneda Airport, where Skymark is conveniently based, the prospects for a partnership become real. Delta CEO Richard Anderson is calling on the Japanese Government to let Delta move its main Japanese base from Narita to Haneda, but Delta would probably be satisfied just to receive additional Haneda slots.

The proposal comes as the Japanese yen weakens, hurting Delta's outbound Japanese market. A Haneda base would make Delta flights more attractive and greatly enhance operational cooperation with Skymark. The feelings will have to be reciprocal and so far Skymark has chosen independence, but the weakening yen has partially caused Skymark to post a USD25.1 million loss in 1Q2013 compared to a USD600,000 profit a year earlier. As Skymark prepares to launch its ambitious trans-Pacific A380 services, a Delta partnership could offer much needed US feed for its New York route, where the Skymark brand is unknown.