ID :
94669
Sun, 12/13/2009 - 01:02
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https://oananews.org//node/94669
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ANALYSIS: Japan inks landmark aviation pact with U.S. for survival in Asia+
TOKYO, Dec. 12 Kyodo -
Japan finally sealed a long-awaited aviation pact with the United States
following decades of grueling talks to fully liberalize their markets, marking
a sea change from established state policy to protect its domestic carriers
from global competition.
The critical juncture in Japan's aviation policy comes as the government aims
to internationalize its airports to ensure a stronger foothold in the rapidly
growing Asian markets while carriers worldwide struggle to spur travel demand
amid the economic downturn and the spread of the new influenza strain.
''We are going to work to raise the competitiveness of Japan's aviation
industry through a drastic transition,'' Japanese Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism Minister Seiji Maehara earlier said.
In a departure from long-established policy, Maehara has pushed for converting
Haneda airport in Tokyo, long restricted to a limited domestic role, into a
24-hour hub for short and long-distance international flights as part of its
aim to tap into demand in Asia.
Under the ''open skies'' deal, Japan has agreed to grant the United States
landing and departure slots at Haneda for up to four round trips daily after
the Tokyo airport expands its capacity by opening a new runway in October next
year.
While negotiations to fully deregulate the bilateral aviation market had
repeatedly broken down in the past, aviation experts said the two sides were
finally able to clinch an agreement as their interests overlapped over new
opportunities at Haneda to access the lucrative routes to Asia.
''I think Asia and the Pacific will be the largest area of growth in the
future,'' Delta Air Lines Inc. President Edward Bastian said in a recent
interview with Kyodo News, adding recovery of the broader aviation industry
will likely take several years.
Delta is in a battle with American Airlines Inc. to woo cash-strapped Japan
Airlines Corp. to ditch the oneworld grouping and enter the global SkyTeam
alliance which Delta belongs to.
The closely watched decision by JAL on which foreign carrier it will ally with
is expected to be announced soon with the open skies deal, which will help to
lower antitrust barriers on pricing and other joint endeavors between
cross-border airlines.
In the latest talks, Japan was also able to clinch an agreement to reduce U.S.
airlines' share at Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture to 25 percent from the
current 28 percent once slots are expanded next March and to seek additional
decreases in the future.
''Please give us back the slots at Narita airport and reduce the share to below
20 percent,'' Keiji Takiguchi, deputy director general of the transport
ministry's civil aviation bureau, asked his U.S. counterpart John Byerly in
extended negotiations through Friday, according to negotiation sources.
Japanese officials have long called for steps to rectify what they have claimed
as a skewed balance in slots in favor of the United States, dating back to the
period right after World War II.
''This is really epoch-making and significant in the long aviation history
between Japan and the United States,'' a Japanese transport ministry official
told reporters after striking a deal to reduce the share.
But aviation experts cautioned that the current open skies pact may not
necessarily entail the kind of ''historical'' transition government officials
have boasted of, noting the four flights granted to U.S. carriers at Haneda are
only limited flights during late evening and early morning hours.
''It is true that U.S. carriers are now able to freely enter (the Japanese
market), but there is no change to the physical limits at Narita and Haneda,''
Ushio Chujo, a Keio University professor who specializes in air transport,
said.
Despite its convenient location in central Tokyo, Haneda has long been confined
to its main role as a domestic airport, only operating short-distance chartered
international flights, while Narita is closed from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. due to
local opposition to jet noise.
Maehara has indicated making available daytime flights linking Japan with North
America and Europe at Haneda airport, but the latest aviation pact covers only
restricted flights between U.S. cities and Haneda in off-peak hours.
It also remains uncertain if Japanese carriers, which have long been spoon-fed
by the government, will have the management skills necessary to steer through a
fully liberalized market crowded with global airlines all struggling to remain
afloat.
''I'm not sure if companies that have been warmly treated by the government in
the past understand that really tough competition is waiting ahead,'' a senior
transport ministry official who participated in the open skies negotiations
said.
==Kyodo
Japan finally sealed a long-awaited aviation pact with the United States
following decades of grueling talks to fully liberalize their markets, marking
a sea change from established state policy to protect its domestic carriers
from global competition.
The critical juncture in Japan's aviation policy comes as the government aims
to internationalize its airports to ensure a stronger foothold in the rapidly
growing Asian markets while carriers worldwide struggle to spur travel demand
amid the economic downturn and the spread of the new influenza strain.
''We are going to work to raise the competitiveness of Japan's aviation
industry through a drastic transition,'' Japanese Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism Minister Seiji Maehara earlier said.
In a departure from long-established policy, Maehara has pushed for converting
Haneda airport in Tokyo, long restricted to a limited domestic role, into a
24-hour hub for short and long-distance international flights as part of its
aim to tap into demand in Asia.
Under the ''open skies'' deal, Japan has agreed to grant the United States
landing and departure slots at Haneda for up to four round trips daily after
the Tokyo airport expands its capacity by opening a new runway in October next
year.
While negotiations to fully deregulate the bilateral aviation market had
repeatedly broken down in the past, aviation experts said the two sides were
finally able to clinch an agreement as their interests overlapped over new
opportunities at Haneda to access the lucrative routes to Asia.
''I think Asia and the Pacific will be the largest area of growth in the
future,'' Delta Air Lines Inc. President Edward Bastian said in a recent
interview with Kyodo News, adding recovery of the broader aviation industry
will likely take several years.
Delta is in a battle with American Airlines Inc. to woo cash-strapped Japan
Airlines Corp. to ditch the oneworld grouping and enter the global SkyTeam
alliance which Delta belongs to.
The closely watched decision by JAL on which foreign carrier it will ally with
is expected to be announced soon with the open skies deal, which will help to
lower antitrust barriers on pricing and other joint endeavors between
cross-border airlines.
In the latest talks, Japan was also able to clinch an agreement to reduce U.S.
airlines' share at Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture to 25 percent from the
current 28 percent once slots are expanded next March and to seek additional
decreases in the future.
''Please give us back the slots at Narita airport and reduce the share to below
20 percent,'' Keiji Takiguchi, deputy director general of the transport
ministry's civil aviation bureau, asked his U.S. counterpart John Byerly in
extended negotiations through Friday, according to negotiation sources.
Japanese officials have long called for steps to rectify what they have claimed
as a skewed balance in slots in favor of the United States, dating back to the
period right after World War II.
''This is really epoch-making and significant in the long aviation history
between Japan and the United States,'' a Japanese transport ministry official
told reporters after striking a deal to reduce the share.
But aviation experts cautioned that the current open skies pact may not
necessarily entail the kind of ''historical'' transition government officials
have boasted of, noting the four flights granted to U.S. carriers at Haneda are
only limited flights during late evening and early morning hours.
''It is true that U.S. carriers are now able to freely enter (the Japanese
market), but there is no change to the physical limits at Narita and Haneda,''
Ushio Chujo, a Keio University professor who specializes in air transport,
said.
Despite its convenient location in central Tokyo, Haneda has long been confined
to its main role as a domestic airport, only operating short-distance chartered
international flights, while Narita is closed from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. due to
local opposition to jet noise.
Maehara has indicated making available daytime flights linking Japan with North
America and Europe at Haneda airport, but the latest aviation pact covers only
restricted flights between U.S. cities and Haneda in off-peak hours.
It also remains uncertain if Japanese carriers, which have long been spoon-fed
by the government, will have the management skills necessary to steer through a
fully liberalized market crowded with global airlines all struggling to remain
afloat.
''I'm not sure if companies that have been warmly treated by the government in
the past understand that really tough competition is waiting ahead,'' a senior
transport ministry official who participated in the open skies negotiations
said.
==Kyodo
