Originally Posted by
mot29
Isn't NRT pretty severly slot limited?
Yes, but under the new Open Skies agreement, the number of NRT slots will be expanded (after the completion of the runway construction). The percentage of slots held by US carriers will decline, however, from 28% currently to 25% after the expansion.
Originally Posted by
mot29
I recall reading somewhere that NW was distinctive in having so many fifth freedom rights from NRT. Do UA and AA have similar rights at NRT or other Asian airports?
Under the post-war air treaty (1952), both NW and Pan Am were granted fifth freedom rights - UA then bought Pan Am's Japanese rights.
AA has no fifth freedom rights in Japan (or anywhere else in Asia) that I can think of.
The new Open Skies agreement expands grants unlimited fifth freedoms to all airlines (in Japan and the US), so the fifth freedoms of UA and DL just lost some of their value.