US, Cuba reach deal on restoring commercial flights

Thomas Engle, the deputy assistant secretary for transportation affairs, tells the AP the deal doesn’t anticipate flights to the U.S.by Cuba’s national airline.

American said it will operate about 1,200 charter flights to Cuba this year, which is up 9 percent from those in 2014.

Aircraft landing in the United States must meet American safety standards, so ageing Russian planes in the Cuban fleet will likely only fly domestically within Cuba.

And, of course, there was only one suitable place to hold this soirée: the recently re-opened Embassy of the Republic of Cuba.

He hailed advances the two countries have made since December 17 previous year when he and U.S. president Barack Obama announced they would seek to normalize ties and set aside decades of Cold War-era hostilities.

Kass said he expects the US government will allow airlines to apply for 20 daily flights to Havana and then 10 daily flights at each of the other Cuban global airports.

An official agreement would pave the way for United States airlines to schedule flights to Cuba so that travellers could book directly on the internet. “Congress can support a better life for the Cuban people by lifting an embargo that is a legacy of a failed policy”, Obama said.

United Airlines issued a brief press release in which the carrier “Congratulates the USA and Cuban governments on reaching this historic arrangement, which will strengthen ties and economic development between the two countries”. Among Obama’s regulatory changes this year was one permitting such travel to Cuba without specific Treasury Department permission.

Going as a traveler is still taboo under USA law, yet American explorers overflowed the island this year under 12 classes endorsed by the legislature, including helpful, instructive and individuals to-individuals trips meant to expand correspondence between residents of both nations.

Other airlines – American Airlines Group Inc, Delta Air Lines Inc and United Continental Holdings Inc – have expressed interest in scheduling flights to Cuba.

The deal would allow airlines from both countries to “conclude commercial cooperation agreements such as code sharing and aircrafts leasing agreements between them or with third countries airlines”.

USA companies trying to do business in Cuba say bureaucrats have welcomed their proposals in friendly face-to-face meetings but months later there still is no concrete “yes” or “no”.