Japan awards international Tokyo Haneda Airport slots, but Narita Airport remains the main hub

Now that Japan has awarded the allocation of prized daytime international slots at Tokyo Haneda airport, it will soon become evident if airlines will add a service from Haneda or merely transfer an existing Narita service to Haneda. Japanese carriers are more likely to grow, while international carriers are more likely to shift flights to the more convenient geography of Haneda.

ANA emerged strongly from the process, receiving 11 slots to JAL's five. ANA can now have up to 24 daytime Haneda flights to JAL's 18. This uneven distribution repeated the 2012 domestic Haneda slot allocation in which ANA received eight and JAL three. But JAL received almost as many blue-chip destinations as ANA. The difference is in secondary points, which JAL perhaps would have liked - but is not nearly as upset as its rare public outcry suggests. Indeed, JAL's higher operating margin will likely see it achieve a disproportionately higher profit from the slots. Both ANA and JAL could see a boost of around USD100 million.

The focus is on Haneda, prompting some to raise the question of Narita's future. But with ample services left, and a new and growing LCC business, Narita has a place too as Japan fully starts its plan of having dual hubs in Tokyo rather than mainly international flights at Narita and domestic flights at Haneda.