United Airlines has advanced plans to launch a new route to Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) by filing an application with the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) to take over slots being relinquished by Delta Air Lines.

The airline told the department in late September that it hoped to commence flights to the Japanese airport from Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), as well as seeking to take over nighttime slots held by Hawaiian Airlines so it could launch flights to Haneda from Guam.

Although the DOT has since rejected the latter request, the Star Alliance member has now made a full application to begin service from Houston. Flights would be daily using Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

“If awarded by the DOT, this new service will enhance travel options to Tokyo Haneda for consumers across the southern United States, and strengthen the economic partnership between Japan and more than 240 affiliated businesses in the greater Houston area,” says United’s Senior Vice President for Global Network Planning and Alliances Patrick Quayle.

United is vying with American Airlines to secure slots at HND that Delta is relinquishing. This comes after Delta confirmed on Sept. 22 that it does not intend to utilize the daytime slots it holds for flights from Portland.

Earlier this year, Delta asked the DOT to grant airlines flexibility to use the slot pairs to operate to Haneda from any U.S. market, rather than the cities assigned to each airline in the 2019 slot allocation for the service to Haneda. However, the agency rejected the request.

The Houston-Tokyo market is already served by United and fellow Star Alliance member All Nippon Airways (ANA). United offers daily flights between IAH and Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT), while ANA provides daily IAH-HND operations.

If United’s application is successful, the airline plans to switch its existing route from NRT to HND, highlighting that HND’s location is better for downtown Tokyo travel. It also says the move will provide better onward connectivity, including offering access to 35 destinations in Japan served by ANA from HND but not NRT.

In its application to the DOT, United also poured scorn on American’s desire to secure the relinquished Delta slots so it can launch nonstop operations to HND from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport.

“American’s opportunism in swooping in at the 11th hour seeking the only available slot pair … should not be rewarded now with a redundant sixth New York/Newark-Haneda flight at the expense of United’s strong proposal for a second Haneda flight to/from Houston,” the request says.

Aviation Week reported Nov. 8 that United had been denied a request to take over a nighttime slot pair at HND currently awarded to Hawaiian. The airline had hoped to secure permission to open a route to the Japanese capital from Guam, the U.S. island territory in the Western Pacific.