The carriers approved Friday are American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlueAirways, Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines and Sun Country Airlines. Flights will originate in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis/St.
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“It’s really great news”, American Airlines spokesperson Alexis Aran Coello told WLRN Friday.
“It is a good thing to happen because we must all compete on a level playing field because this blockade should have come down years ago; we have been fighting for it for years”.
For more than five decades, only charter flights were allowed between the two nations. Both countries have since re-opened their embassies and reached agreements in various areas, including the re-establishment of direct postal services and cruises to Cuba.
Existing charter flights are not affected and are expected to continue, officials said.
The flights are part of President Obamas new journey with the Cuban people, as part of normalizing relations since relations broke down after the Communist revolution of 1959, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. “There’s a lot to do in Cuba, a lot to do, a lot to experience beyond just Havana”.
Strong demand will come from Cuban-Americans visiting relatives, leisure travelers desiring a once off-limits experience, and executives paying for business-class fares to evaluate commercial opportunities, experts said. The company’s CFO, Jason Bewley, indicated in televised interviews that once the Havana destination receives the final okay, and the airline knows what frequency of flights they will receive, they can begin the process of allocating those flights to destinations that will first include Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. The airlines authorized by DOT still must get approval from the Cuban government and make local arrangements with airports to begin service.
Tourist travel by US citizens to Cuba remains prohibited under USA law, however. In a phone interview, Bewley said Silver’s round trip tickets may cost around $300.
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The nine Cuban cities where flights will now be made to and from are Camagüey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguín, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara and Santiago de Cuba.
