A tentative decision by the U.S. Department of Transportation to allow Delta Air Lines to retain its rights to fly between Seattle and Tokyo Haneda Airport has drawn fire from Hawaiian Airlines, which sought to replace the Delta service with regular flights between Kona, Hawaii, and the congested Japanese gateway. The DOT also chose American Airlines to assume the route if Delta does not uphold its commitment to provide daily uninterrupted service, in a ruling that Hawaiian said unfairly dismissed the value of its proposed service.

American and Hawaiian both tried to wrest control of the highly sought-after route from Delta after the Atlanta-based airline temporarily curbed service during its seasonal winter lull. In order to retain its rights to the route, Delta had to agree to fly between Seattle and Haneda every day of the year.

For its part, Hawaiian expressed “disappointment” that the DOT rejected its plan to fly between Kona and Haneda. “Hawaiian is the only airline to have operated Haneda service continuously and successfully since the slot rights were granted,” said Hawaiian CEO Mark Dunkerly in a written statement. “Out proposal provided more seats and would have resulted in more travelers flying between Japan and the United States than either Delta’s or American’s proposal. Kona is the largest unserved market in this proceeding, and Hawaiian’s proposed route would have generated more economic benefit than that offered by either Delta or American. None of theses facts are in dispute by the DOT.”

The DOT, said Hawaiian, dismissed its proposal primarily because it considered it “additive” to the routes to Haneda it already flies from Honolulu. The airline charged the DOT with perpetuating “institutional bias” that favors the interests of U.S. business travelers over those of travelers in general. In fact, in its order, the DOT said Kona-Haneda service would largely benefit Japanese-originating leisure traffic, which, while important for promoting increased international tourism and economic activity in Hawaii, minimizes Haneda’s advantages to U.S. travelers in general, and U.S. business travelers in particular.

“Hawaiian will be considering its next steps in the proceeding in the coming days,” concluded Dunkerly.