United Airlines' hopes of establishing direct flights between Guam and Haneda-Tokyo have been dashed as the US Department of Transportation (DOT) denied the airline's application.

In their request, United was hoping to fly 5 times a week between Guam and Haneda, however, it was swiftly denied by DOT. 

Guam Visitors Bureau Board of Directors shared their disappointment over the rejection during a recent meeting.

“We’re disappointed to see that the department of transportation recently did not approve United’s application. At the very last minute, Hawaiian Airlines opened up booking, in the last couple of days to show that they are still active. But Hawaiian[Airlines] must provide proof moving forward to use the slots because DOT transportation is not in the habit of allowing unused slots when another carrier has plans to use them.”

If the request were approved, it would’ve offered Guam a chance to compete with Hawaii for Japanese travelers.

Another GVB Board member shared, “We’re not giving up on Haneda because that’s a huge, huge, huge thing for Guam. We are at a disadvantage with DOT sometimes. Hawaii is a state and has two senators and a voting member of congress. We have a non voting member of congress. So we’re fighting this battle between Guam and Hawaii.”

While our visitor numbers have jumped to 177.8% from the past fiscal year, the Japan market arrivals continued to lag behind.

From Oct. 2022 to Sept. 2022, Guam saw a total of 602,594 visitors.

60% are visitors from Korea, while our visitors from Japan sits at a low 16.2%.