WASHINGTON: As the Obama administration eases travel restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba, domestic airlines are gearing up to offer more direct flights to the island.
American Airlines announced that it would begin nonstop service later this year between Los Angeles and Havana, Cuba’s first direct connection to the West Coast in decades. The airline has operated charter flights to Cuba since 1991.
The charter flights will operate on Saturdays beginning Dec. 12 with Boeing 737s. American plans to offer another Saturday charter flight from Miami to Havana.
Last month, JetBlue began direct charter service from New York’s JFK International, building on its existing charter flights from Tampa and Fort Lauderdale.
Bipartisan bills in both chambers of Congress would end the Cuba travel ban put in place in 1963, but the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the White House is seeking a deal to allow regular flights by the end of this year without the approval of lawmakers.
Though there have been no regularly scheduled commercial flights from the U.S. to Cuba in more than 50 years, re-establishing the service wouldn’t be too difficult because of the existing charter flights, according to Tom Reich, director of air service development at AFCO AvPorts Management, an aviation consulting firm in Dulles, Va.
“It’s almost like the airlines have been getting practice serving Cuba so when the day scheduled service could be resumed, the airlines would be ready,” he said.
The only potential hurdle is hiring a ground staff, which could consist of those already handling the charter flights or a company that would act as the airline’s ground staff.
“Neither are show-stoppers considering the current charters to Havana are already being ground-handled by someone,” Reich said.
Art Tomo, American’s senior vice president for international and cargo, said in a statement that the airline would be “ready to offer scheduled service as soon as the United States and Cuba allow commercial flights.”
Tamara Young, a spokeswoman for JetBlue, said the airline’s Cuba flights have been “near capacity” in recent weeks and envisions the island will become an important market.
“We are interested in providing scheduled service from multiple U.S. cities as soon as legally permitted,” she said.
Brad Hawkins, a spokesman for Southwest, said the largest U.S. domestic carrier had no immediate plans to offer service to Cuba, but called it “a good future opportunity.”
