Delta has abused their presence at HND. It's a privilege, not a right. They should be grateful for whatever they get and operate the flight in accordance to the rules. What the did with SEA-HND was incredibly disrespectful to the DOT and Japanese authorities. HND is their primary airport serving local traffic in Toyko just as LaGuardia is our primary airport serving local passengers in NYC. Even if the runways at LGA were long enough and we lifted the perimeter rule we still would give priority to US airlines just as Tokyo gives priority to their airlines at HND. If Delta doesn't like the arrival and departure times then they should go back to NRT.

No, it didn't make sense. Those HND slots are supposed to benefit all US citizens. Delta squatting on the slot and running a SEA-HND flight once every 60 days was shameful and the DOT finally had to threaten them. Delta should have given it back and let AA run DFW-HND or give it to Hawaiian Airlines since the have been the most successful at HND.

The point is that NRT, as a hub, is no longer practical due to the ability to economically overfly it to elsewhere in Asia. I don’t think that point is remotely debatable.

The SEA-HND shenanigans were indeed viewed pretty dimly by the DOT. I strongly suspect they will keep that past experience in mind when evaluating this request, and I don’t expect it to be approved.

Delta used to be a great airline. In the past decade or so, I have come to increasingly loathe it. What they did with the HND slots was reprehensible, although not at all surprising to me coming from DL.

Just out of curiosity, when you say that Delta used to be a great airline, which Delta are you talking about? PMNW, pre-merger Delta, or Delta? Delta’s position in NRT was primarily due to the merger with Northwest. What did you like about Delta in the past and what do you loathe about Delta now?

I'm from the PMDL days although I have no problem acknowledging that NWA had their advantages over Delta, such as a better website and better frequent flyer program. I liked Delta because I loved their hubs and I loved their employees. Before the merger ATL wasn't a madhouse and you could actually find a quiet gate to relax at sometimes. And no one could beat the performance numbers of CVG. Those guys managed to get my luggage on the flight when I only had five minutes to catch my connection due to a medical emergency that made our inbound late. And the upgrades were pretty consistent, even as a silver. Overall it was nice having a warm smile and great service from check-in until the flight attendant said goodbye on your last flight. Now it seems Delta is running a media company that just so happens to fly planes.