Countdown to Cuba, Commercial Flights to Resume to Cuba

The agreement comes on the anniversary of the announcement that the US and Cuba would restore diplomatic relations after decades of hostility.

This deal is the result of months of negotiations between the two countries and paves the way for USA airlines to eventually sell flights to Cuba directly from their websites for greater tourism which is still barred by US law. It’s not clear when the first flights will take off.

Meanwhile, JetBlue also announced that will submit applications for new routes to the Department of Transportation once the carrier has fully reviewed the terms of the agreement.

The US and Cuba have reached an understanding on resuming regular commercial flights between the two countries.

“We hope the next dot on our Caribbean route map will be Havana, and possibly even other destinations in Cuba”, Scott Laurence, senior vice president of airline planning, said in a statement.

Southwest has said before it would like Cuba to be among its 50 new destinations (half launching by the end of 2017) that CEO Gary Kelly announced last spring. “Obviously, the Cuba equation changes significantly once this preliminary agreement is signed”. The terminal at Jose Martí International Airport where the chartered USA planes land is relatively small so there are some physical limitations to the amount of commercial flights that can be scheduled. USA Today noted that the schedule will include 20 flights a day between the U.S. and Havana, and 10 a day between the United States and nine other worldwide airports spread across the island. In the US, they are forced to email documents and payment information back and forth with an agent in the absence of online booking.

During a media call, AA vice president of regulatory affairs Howard Kass said that the airline would file its application with the DOT in early 2016. Charter flights operated by USA carriers already connect the countries. Those flights can run upwards of $500 round-trip for a less than an hour flight from Miami to Havana. “I thought things were going to change”, said Julio Miro, a retired man of 83. The online home-sharing service Airbnb has started operations in Cuba but hasn’t allowed non-Americans to book lodging, making it irrelevant for the majority of travelers from Europe and Canada.

The governments had been speaking about restoring a postal link since President Barack Obama entered office, but those talks stalled when Cuba imprisoned US contractor Alan Gross.