American to start flights from LA to Havana in December

American Airlines’ new charter service between Los Angeles and Havana will operate on Saturdays and is set to launch Dec. 12.

In May, Southwest chairman and CEO Gary Kelly said that the Dallas carrier would be interested in flying to Cuba, once the two governments allow scheduled service between the U.S. and the island nation.

A five-decade Cold War freeze of relations between the two countries, separated by a bare 90 miles (150 kilometers) of Caribbean waters, began thawing after US President Barack Obama’s agreement with Cuban President Raul Castro to restore diplomatic relations last year.

He said Washington owes Cuba indemnifications “that rise to numerous millions of dollars” for damage caused by the embargo.

Travel application requirements have been reduced, and Carnival Corp. has been authorized to operate ferry service to Cuba for the first time in more than 50 years. There are 12 acceptable reasons, and they include journalism, visiting relatives or some sort of cultural exchange, such as artist collaborations, education or volunteerism. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control no longer requires special licenses to visit Cuba.

Americans are still banned from tourism on the island even if the US Embassy in Havana, closed in 1961, was officially reopened last Friday by Secretary of State John Kerry who hoisted the American flag outside the building. “And in my judgment, the sooner we can get to our normalization the better”.

“We are interested in providing scheduled service from multiple U.S. cities as soon as legally permitted”, she said.

“Now it is easier to travel to Cuba and we believe the demand will be much greater”, he said.

American’s new Los Angeles charters will be offered in partnership with Cuba Travel Services, a California-based company that arranges travel from New York, Miami and Tampa to Havana, Cienfuegos, Camaguey, Santa Clara and Holguin, Cuba. American has provided charter flights to Cuba since 1991.