First U.S. Scheduled Flight Lands in Havana

28 November 2016 7:46pm

American Airlines became the first airline to offer a scheduled flight from Miami to Havana, an unprecedented development between both cities in over half a century. Caribbean News Digital was at Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport and talked to Alfred Gonzalez, American Airlines’ Director for the Caribbean, who said that “we are very proud of this day. We’ve been working with the Cuban authorities here, in Havana, to make this happen”.

The executive was pleased to offer the first scheduled service after 25 years of charter flights. “We’ve been working with our compatriots and that’s great —he said—. It’s a huge challenge for us to fly to the Cuban capital. We’ll have five daily flights to Havana, starting on December 4, and one from Charlotte, North Carolina. “All in all, we are going to have 13 daily flights, eight of which will land in other Cuban provinces. We are presently monitoring the traffic in order to outline our future itinerary. The growing number of flights to Havana is a significant development. In Charlotte we have 650 daily flights and we can connect them to Cuba’s capital. American Airlines is set to open the doors from Havana not only to the United States, but also to the world,” he pointed out.

On the other hand, Galo Beltran, American Airlines’ Representative in Cuba, exclusively told Caribbean News Digital that it is a special day for Cuba and American Airlines. “We thank the Cuban people and all the governmental entities that have supported us in this process.”

As for the recent passing of the historic leader of Cuba’s Revolution, Fidel Castro, the executive of the U.S. airline expressed: “We want to send our condolences to the people of Cuba for their loss.”

According to Martha Pantin, Corporate Communication Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, “we were already flying to other Cuban cities, but the capital was a pending destination, the most sought-after place. We are going to be the airline with the highest number of flights between the United States and Cuba,” she underscored.

In the afternoon, also on Nov 28, JetBlue will have its first flight from New York to Havana, a route that is going to have daily service. Starting on Tuesday, JetBlue is scheduled to have daily flights from Orlando, in Florida, and two daily flights –except for Saturdays – from Fort Lauderdale, in Florida, to Havana.

Visit our photo gallery on the first U.S. scheduled flights to Havana

American Airlines Picks Cienfuegos to Start Cuba Flights (+ Video)