Coming soon - American Airlines commercial service to Cuba

Coming soon: American Airlines commercial service to Cuba

American still must get Cuban government approval for the flights
AA's first regularly scheduled flight will fly from Miami to Cienfuegos
Sept. 7
Tickets to go on sale soon
BY MIMI WHITEFIELD
mwhitefield@miamiherald.com

American Airlines' first commercial flight to Cuba is scheduled to take
off from Miami International Airport on the morning of Sept. 7 — pending
Cuban government approval.

American and five other U.S. airlines received U.S. Department of
Transportation approval Friday for the first regularly scheduled flights
to Cuba in more than half a century. The airlines plan to fly to nine
Cuban cities outside the capital of Havana that have international
airports. DOT said it expects to award the competitive Havana routes
some time this summer.

American plans to begin scheduled daily service to both Cienfuegos, a
city of Cuba's southern coast, and Holguín on Sept. 7, but the
Cienfuegos flight gets honors as the historic trip because it leaves
earlier in the day than the Holguín flight. American says it plans to
begin selling tickets for its new Cuba flights at the end of June.

It will be the first-ever scheduled service to Cuba for American. But it
has leased its planes to Cuba charter air companies for the past 25
years and last year 1,200 charter flights to Cuba operated using
American planes.

DOT also approved American's request to operate regularly scheduled
service from Miami International Airport to Camagüey, Santa Clara and
Matanzas where Varadero Beach is located. These flights are also subject
to Cuban government approval.

JetBlue, Southwest, and Silver Airways plan to fly from Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

JetBlue, for example, plans to offer three daily round-trips, beginning
this fall, to Camagüey, Holguín , and Santa Clara and will begin selling
tickets this summer.

"While the Department of Transportation is still considering
applications for routes to Havana, the three cities announced today
cover diverse regions of Cuba — 'the authentic island' — and offer
travelers access to a variety of destinations and activities," JetBlue
said in its blog, Out of the Blue.

Source: American Airlines' first regularly scheduled flight to Cuba is
scheduled to leave from Miami bound for Cienfuegos on Sept. 7. | In Cuba
Today - http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article83509407.html