US, Cuba sign deal on commercial flights

Officials from the US and Cuba met in Havana today to sign an agreement allowing for commercial flights to resume between the two countries.

This gives USA carriers the opportunity to operate up to a total of 110 daily roundtrip flights between the United States and Cuba.

US air carriers, the press release noted, are eager to “take advantage of these new Cuba opportunities”.

There can be little doubt that the pace of the thaw between the United States and Cuba is quickening in President Obama’s previous year in office. The airline operates charter flights to Havana from New York, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Tampa, and flies from Tampa to Santa Clara, Cuba.

“There’s no restriction on aircraft type or aircraft size, and so we expect to see additional analysis on what folks view the overall travel demand and traffic patterns between certain U.S. cities and certain United States regions to Cuba”, said Brandon Belford, deputy assistant secretary for aviation and worldwide affairs at the Transportation Department.

The Transportation Department said it plans to reach a final decision quickly on which carriers will be allowed to serve Cuba.

The arrangement allows only 20 round-trip flights per day between the United States and Havana.

Shortly after the signing, JetBlue Airways, American Airlines and United Airlines issued statements expressing interest in launching new services.

The remainder of the new flights, which could start later this year, would carry travelers to nine other Cuban cities, where there is far less demand than for flights to Havana. The DOT is now accepting applications from USA carriers for those slots, and will consider “which proposals will offer and maintain the best service to the traveling and shipping public”.

American’s Latin America gateway hub at Miami International Airport (MIA) will be included in the company’s application for scheduled service to Cuba.

TravelPulse said the “real windfall” for airlines will come after Congress rescinds the ban on regular tourism to Cuba. One likely applicant – American Airlines. The re-establishment of flights to Cuba comes almost a year after the Obama administration began working to re-established diplomatic ties with Cuba.

On April 11, 2015, Obama and Castro held unprecedented face-to-face talks in Panama to mark the first sit-down between the leaders of the two countries since 1956.