Cuba DESTINATIONS
Spirit says it will offer at least 580 seats a day into this market using an Airbus A319 and offering the lowest prices to often modestly paid Cuban-American families. It can quickly substitute larger Airbus A320 (178 seats) or Airbus A321 (228 seats) equipment to accommodate higher loads based on changing demand, holidays or the reduction or elimination of current travel restrictions. Alaska Airlines is intending to fly
President Obama meets Cuba’s President Castro
11 million population 1.89 million Cubans live in the US Current air links between USA and Cuba
are restricted to Cayman Airways (Havana and Holguin) and Bahamasair (from Miami via Nassau)
Cuba has 2.8 million visitors (39% from Canada)
18,000 Americans visit every year, accounting for 3% of the market
New York JFK, as well as Miami and Orlando – in order to secure the largest percentage of Cuban-Americans. The Atlanta and New York flights will be served by a Boeing 757-200, whereas Miami and Orlando would use a Boeing 737-800. Meanwhile, United Airlines has proposed adding Newark, Houston, Washington and Chicago links to Havana to its network. These four US destinations were chosen, according to the US major, as they are some of the largest US metropolitan areas and home to some of the largest Cuban- American populations. It plans
to serve the Cuban capital, the 35th capital city in its network,
Cuban tourism and travel facts
from its Newark hub on a daily basis but with just weekly flights from the other cities. Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines plans to serve Havana from Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando. In addition to these pairings, Southwest has proposed flights from Fort Lauderdale to Varadero and Santa Clara. Should DOT approve these services, Havana will be served daily from the
three busiest airports in Florida. Southwest believes its low-cost model
is ideal to fulfil the demand for services to Cuba, claiming its one-way flights to Havana would would be “almost certainly” the lowest price, around $45-$50 cheaper than rival services. Meanwhile, ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines is seeking rights to fly between Fort Lauderdale and Havana with an application for two daily flights on the route.
“The airlines in question have requested almost three times as many routes to Havana as the US DOT is allowed to distribute… good news for customers”
to Havana from Los Angeles with two daily non-stop flights. Its focus seems to be on connectivity, as it serves nine destinations in Latin America and large West Coast cities such as Anchorage, Alaska; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington, from the airport. The Havana flights would be served by a 737-900ER, carrying 181 passengers in a two-class configuration. Elsewhere, Sun Country Airlines is seeking rights for an up to four times weekly link between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Havana; twice weekly via Fort Myers; and weekly winter seasonal services between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Santa Clara and Matanzas. It plans to use either 737-800 aircraft or 737-700 equipment on the routes with start dates in November and December 2016.
Full service
Regional carrier Silver Airways is the only applicant to propose service to all 10 Cuban international airports. These include planned links to Havana from Palm Beach, Jacksonville, Key West and Fort Myers as well as flights between Fort Lauderdale and Cuba’s other airports. However, while Cuban airlines can also bid for the slots, it is likely that this entitlement will remain unused for the foreseeable future as the island’s national carrier, Cubana, does not have authority to serve the US market and it could be a long process gaining accreditation. A number of international groups
are looking closely at the option of establishing business ventures in the Cuban market to make use of these traffic rights. Local officials have suggested that informal discussions have taken place between government officials and at least three interested parties. One of these, it was revealed at Routes Americas, is Viva Group, which is currently in the process of establishing new low-cost business units across Latin America. Viva Latin America CEO Joe Mohan
confirmed to Routes News that Cuba could be among those markets under consideration for a future Viva Airlines operation. “We think that Cuba could be a great opportunity for us. It is an interesting place and with no local carrier registered to fly to the US it provides an excellent opportunity to w
routesonline.com ROUTES NEWS 2016 ISSUE 3 49
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