Northwest seeks U.S. help

Northwest seeks U.S. help

WASHINGTON (AFP): U.S. authorities are weighing a request for
retaliation against Japan filed by Northwest Airlines after Tokyo
failed to approve its service to Indonesia from a Japanese
airport, transportation officials said.

A Transportation Department official said Northwest on
Wednesday asked that Japan Airlines be stripped of its
authorization to fly twice a week to Sao Paulo, Brazil via Los
Angeles.

The complaint followed the breakdown of U.S.-Japan aviation
talks here last Friday, during which Japan withheld approval of
Northwest's request to fly on to the Indonesian capital Jakarta
from Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan.

While Northwest, which had hoped to begin service July 1, had
asked for U.S. intervention by Friday, the department decided to
give interested parties until next Thursday a chance to "comment"
on the complaint.

After that, according to a U.S. transportation official, the
department could decide to issue a "show cause" order, asking the
parties to explain why the sanctions should not be approved by a
particular date.