NEW YORK — After winning an aggressive battle with Delta Air Lines Inc. over lucrative trans-Pacific routes, American Airlines Inc. President Tom Horton is enthusiastic about the opening of a new flight from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Tokyo's Haneda airport on Jan. 20.

"We're very excited about the future with Japan Airlines," Horton said in a recent interview at American Airlines headquarters in Dallas. "I think this is going to be great for American Airlines and for JAL.

"Specifically, the JFK to Haneda route is going to be very powerful," Horton, 49, added.