Cuba’s Ambassador to the US, Jose Ramon Cabañas, said after taking part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony with JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes amid a festive atmosphere at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport that the resumption of commercial flights between the two countries was “historic”. The aircraft will fly from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to the city of Santa Clara. Flight 287 would leave Havana at 5:55 p.m., arrive at LAX at 9 p.m., leave LAX at 10:50 p.m. and end in Seattle at 1:28 a.m. the next morning. A band played Cuban music at the gate.
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The approved airlines now need to apply for Cuban government authority to operate the flights. “This will be a great moment for all of us and, I’m pretty sure, for the families of both countries”.
Many aboard the 150-seat Airbus A320 were journalists and JetBlue staff. United tells FlightGlobal it will begin flights sometime in late November or early December, while American says Havana service will go on sale in September before flights launch later this year.
President Obama announced in December 2014 the USA would normalize relations with its Cold War enemy after five decades of restricted trade and travel spurred by America’s efforts to contain communism. The Obama administration has further eased the restrictions.
Americans no longer are required to travel in groups led by US guides working with Cuban government travel companies. This makes any travel requirement unenforceable.
Other carriers like American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines and Sun Country Airlines will begin flights in the coming months to cities such as Holguin, Camaguey, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara and Varadero. JetBlue is offering the purchase of Cuban tourist visas, as well as coverage for the separate health insurance mandated by the Cuban government.
Tourism will likely continue booming, and soon it will be much easier for Americans to fly to Cuba.
She said she appreciated the 200 dollar price and the ability to book online instead of visiting a charter office more than the historic nature of the flight. Beyond that, they would improvise.
“Most carriers look at worldwide markets that have been restricted and are just opening up as an investment”, airline industry consultant Robert Mann told TIME.
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Despite improved relations including Obama’s visit to the Caribbean island six months ago, the US President is still attempting to convince Congress to completely finish the process of lifting the Cuban embargo.
