Several of the top airlines in the United States are pushing efforts to recommence commercial flights to Cuba after more than 50 years since the last, opening up 110 daily trips between the two countries.
Havana is apparently the most popular destination, as most of the carriers requested to serve the capital, leading to some conflicts among the proposed routes. That translates to various companies out of the group competing with one another and presenting their cases, which the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) will have to sort out and pick the best ones.
JetBlue, one of the carriers out to get routes to Havana, says that the USDOT should encourage the competition that came about "rather than continuing the status quo by rewarding legacy carriers and increasing their market share," according to Reuters.
Out of the 110 daily trips, only 20 are allowed to travel to Havana. The remaining 90 are set for nine international airports in Cuba, each one having 10 daily flights. It's expected that the rights for the other destinations will be resolved fairly quickly compared with the routes to Havana.
Needless to say, the carriers will have to gain the approval of aviation authorities in Cuba aside from the U.S. officials before they can begin commercial air services there.
The airlines involved include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.
Alaska Airlines applied for two daily round-trip flights from Los Angeles to Havana.
American Airlines applied for 10 daily round-trip flights from Miami, one from Charlotte, one from Dallas/Fort Worth, one from Los Angeles, one flight from Chicago O'Hare on Saturdays and one from Los Angeles on Sundays to Havana. It also requested for two daily round-trip flights between Miami and Santa Clara, two for Holguin, two for Varadero, one for Camaguey and one for Cienfuegos.
Delta Air Lines applied for two daily round-trip flights from Atlanta, one from New York JFK, one from Miami and one from Orlando to Havana.
Frontier Airlines applied for three daily round-trip flights from Miami and one from Denver to Havana. It also requested for one daily round-trip flight from Miami to Santiago, four to Camaguey per week and three to Santa Clara per week. It's seeking for one round-trip flight from Chicago O'Hare and Philadelphia to Varadero on Saturdays as well.
JetBlue, which has been awarded a seven-star rating in terms of safety, applied for four daily round-trip flights from Fort Lauderdale, two from Tampa, two from Orlando, two from New York JFK, one from Boston and one from Newark to Havana. It also requested for one daily round-trip flight between Camaguey and Fort Lauderdale, one for Holguin and one for Santa Clara.
Silver Airways applied for two daily round-trip flights from West Palm Beach, one from Fort Myers, one from Fort Lauderdale, five from Key West and two from Jacksonville to Havana. It also requested for three flights a week from Fort Lauderdale to Cayo Coco, two to Cienfuegos, five to Camaguey, four to Varadero, three to Manzanillo and one to Cayo Largo. It's seeking for one daily round-trip flight from Fort Lauderdale to Holguin, one to Santiago and one to Santa Clara as well.
Southwest Airlines applied for six daily round-trip flights from Fort Lauderdale, two from Tampa and one from Orlando to Havana. It also requested for two daily round-trip flights from Fort Lauderdale to Varadero and one to Santa Clara.
United Airlines applied for one daily round-trip flight and two on Saturdays from Newark to Havana. It also requested for one round-trip flight on Saturdays from Chicago O'Hare, Houston Bush Intercontinental and Washington Dulles to Havana.
The USDOT will finalize the routes of carriers by March 14.
Two weeks ago, U.S. and Cuban officials reached an agreement to reinstate commercial air flights. U.S. carriers had a deadline to submit their proposals to the USDOT until March 2. This arrangement is believed to be a part of the Obama administration's endeavor to restore relations with Cuba.
It's also worth mentioning that most of the Republican officials in Congress oppose the idea of Barack Obama's decision in the matter, but the U.S. president exercised his authority.
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