Japan airlines locked in fresh landing slot battle

TOKYO, Feb 15 (AFP): Japan's two biggest airlines were locked in a fresh battle Friday over landing slots at a Tokyo airport, with the civil aviation regulator playing referee between the warring carriers.
The spat erupted again as All Nippon Airways (ANA) lodged a complaint over rival Japan Airlines' (JAL) application to launch a new route to Ho Chi Minh City from downtown Haneda airport, the world's fourth-busiest hub.
The request came several months after Japan's transport ministry awarded twice as many Haneda landing slots to ANA, prompting threats of legal action from its key domestic rival which had earlier received a massive bankruptcy rescue from Tokyo.
On Friday, ANA president Shinichiro Ito said JAL's request was giving the airline a "great sense of crisis", and warned it was falling behind its bailed-out rival.
"We are concerned that the business environment would get further distorted," he told reporters in Tokyo Friday, adding that "we hope the Civil Aviation Bureau will make an appropriate decision".
ANA has tried to cut costs and boost productivity to keep up with its rival, Ito said.
"But there is no way we can catch up if this distorted business environment continues," he added.
A bureau official told AFP that a decision on JAL's bid would made be after considering "all aspects of ensuring that there is an environment of fair competition".
A JAL spokesman said the new route was aimed at rising demand from business passengers, but declined to comment on its rival's objections.
The two carriers are looking to boost their international routes-and lucrative business clientele-as they fight off competition from a fledging budget sector focused mainly on domestic flights.