Progress made in relationship with Cuba: Obama

The United States and Cuba governments publicly said they are pleased with the state of diplomatic relations, after, in December 17, 2014, they announced the beginning of a process to normalize the bilateral relations that ended last July, in reopening the respective embassies in Havana and Washington after more than half a century of enmity.

United Airlines issued a brief press release in which the carrier “Congratulates the US and Cuban governments on reaching this historic arrangement, which will strengthen ties and economic development between the two countries”.

“We continue to have differences with the Cuban government, but we raise those issues directly, and we will always stand for human rights and the universal values that we support around the globe”, Obama said in a written statement.

Senators, congressional representatives, lobbyists, diplomats, current and former U.S. officials, business executives, advocates and activists-gathered Wednesday night for a “one year celebration of U.S.-Cuba ties”.

And Southwest released a statement after the commercial flights became official, saying that the airline is excited about the possibility of providing low-fare, high-quality service to Cuba. It was also not yet clear how many US flights will be allowed into Cuba. “We look forward to filing our application with the [U.S. Department of Transportation] and we look forward to starting the service soon thereafter”.

Describing the decades-long embargo on Cuba as a “legacy of a failed policy” Obama added that although the two countries had taken a number of steps “change does not happen overnight, and normalization will be a long journey”.

“In the past year, the two countries have forged agreements on combating narco-trafficking, preserving the environment and reestablishing direct mail”.

Although President Barack Obama relaxed travel restrictions one year ago, booking flights to the island through chartered flights is burdensome.

The return of commercial flights appears certain to create a surge in travel that would place heavy strain on Cuba’s already overstrained tourist infrastructure.

Right now, American and Cuban travelers must fly on charter flights that are expensive and hard to book, forcing travelers to buy paper tickets in Cuba or email documents and payment information back and forth with an agent in the U.S.

“The atmosphere of relaxation makes it easier for Cuba to diversify its economic relations beyond just Venezuela”, its main ally and trade partner, said Jorge Duany, an expert at the Florida International University’s Cuban Research Institute. US carriers are not privy to the economics and customer profiles of charter flights they operate to Cuba.

JetBlue will offer more nonstop flights to Cuba from New York, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. Since then, Cuba has seen a boom in USA citizens visiting the island with a recorded 138,120 Americans arriving over the first 11 months.