Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) has reacted angrily to the terms and conditions imposed by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) as a prerequisite for it to retain its Seattle Tacoma International-Tokyo Haneda route authority.

Though American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) and Hawaiian Airlines (HA, Honolulu) successfully petitioned the DOT to open a route case proceeding against Delta following its decision to operate only 17 planned rotations on the route over the period October 1, 2014, to March 28, 2015, the Department ultimately ruled in Delta's favour stating that out of the three proposals put forward, its was still the one most in the public's interest.

In order to ensure its full use, the DOT attached stringent conditions and protective measures designed to ensure Delta operates the route on each and every day of every week (7 days a week, 365 days a year) of the year. The measures include pain of slot-revocation should Delta fail to operate a single flight without a Department-granted waiver. Further to that, Delta must also submit quarterly reports to the DOT detailing its use of its Haneda slot pair - in particular any failure to operate its Seattle-Haneda flights with a detailed explanation to boot. The reports will then allow the DOT to assess Delta's use of the slot and, if necessary, allow for its reallocation to American Airlines whose daily B777-200(ER) Los Angeles International-Tokyo Haneda proposal is to be used as a backup.

However, in a filing lodged with the DOT earlier this month, Delta labelled the conditions as "impermissible, arbitrary and capricious" while warning that they would 'impose serious burdens on Delta and the public interest with no countervailing justification.'

Delta claims the conditions to be seriously disproportionate as the reduction in flights, which it termed a 'single-season cutback', was well within the standard dormancy conditions of the route's authority. In addition, Delta claimed the ruling did not take into account operational, safety and commercial realities as inclement weather or aircraft maintenance could occasionally require cancellation or rescheduling on short notice. Lastly, the carrier claimed that no other operator, American Airlines in particular, had ever been subjected to such requirements on any other Haneda routes on pain of forfeiture.

The carrier then requested the DOT to revise its criteria and instead impose a 'narrowly targeted dormancy condition' covering any outstanding concerns the Department may have.

In its own submission, American welcomed the ruling stating that it accepts the DOT's decision, "provided that the conditions and requirements proposed to be placed on Delta’s retention of the slot pair are imposed in the Final Order and not diminished in any way."