US Airlines Will Start Commercial Flights To Cuba Within 60-90 Days

The strange thing here is though that so far, Delta and United have had none of their flights approved, which is interesting.

@ Cameron -- That's because they only wanted to fly to Havana, and those routes haven't yet been granted.

I rather like that these flights are going to cities other than Havana. While I personally would love to see Havana based on what I've seen and heard, I think these flights will force people to experience more of Cuba than they likely would have otherwise. At least that's the silver lining, I guess.

Actually, the routes have to begin within 90 days of their proposed start dates, not 90 days from NOW. Some of the applications that have been approved have start up dates in September. October, November, January 2017, etc. Thus, the flights would need to start within 90 days of these proposed start up dates. That is what the order from the DOT with the decisions actually says.

Since most Cubans live in S. Florida, I imagine that the vast majority of flights and passenger load will pass through Miami. I see that Charlotte (my hometown and a hub for American) has a flight on the board, I suppose it will be more of a connection city than anything. Tourism will certainly be a factor as the country begins to open up, but I cannot imagine the demand will be that high. While ordinary individuals find it almost seamless to go to Cuba now, there is still an economic embargo in place that cannot be lifted by Congress. As such, business investment and the like won't be able to take off just yet. On the flip side, I wonder if and whenever the US will allow Cubana to fly to the US. The majority of the Cubana fleet is of Russian/Soviet origin, which of course will be difficult to accommodate in the US.

@ Lucky oh right, I didn't see that. I went back to check and was kinda confused considering Delta and United's requests were reasonable, and was supprised to not see them here. That explains it.

As a Canadian who's been to Cuba for vacation more than once I've always found the American beef with Cuba to be a source of puzzling amusement. Regardless, I should point out that I've met Americans during these vacations. How? Simple - they live near the border and they come to Toronto to board planes for Cuba where they pay for cheap vacations with cheap Canadian dollars.

Are they still not able to process US CC charges while in Cuba?

@Jeff - the financial stuff is still covered by the official embargo that cannot be lifted except by vote of Congress. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article45458592.html

I wonder if the flights to Havanna will be on bigger planes I.e. AA 777s on downtime at Miami or 767s from other places

"there’s a selection process the DOT has to go through."

Because there is at least one nation involved that hasn't learned the lesson of the failure of socialism. Why is the DOT deciding who gets to fly to HND or HAV? Let the airlines bid on the rights. As if they were in a market economy.

The picture is misleading - it shows Havana flights, so I too thought those were what was approved as well.
I thought tourism is also still embargoed so I don't see the demand. I presume this is just to get the flights first hoping for more tourism later. I know there are many ways around this tourism ban, through tour groups or cruises claiming "cultural exchange".

@Owen, nothing like wearing your political ignorance as a Badge of Honor, huh?!

Enjoy your retirement, now with SOCIAL Security. Maybe you could use it to fly to Scandinavia some day lol!

Socialism, Hooray!

Hopefully these flights will be just the start. I'm dreaming of a Highlights of Socialism organized tour, that starts in Cuba, then goes on to Venezuela, and finishes up in North Korea. 😉

Varadero and Holguin have fine beaches and European-owned resorts, Cienfuegos is a pretty colonial town, and Santa Clara is near the imposing Che Guevara mausoleum... There is much more to Cuba than Havana. I remember visiting as a 20 year old, renting a scooter and zipping around the countryside... I remember the people being kind and helpful, and very proud of their country. I am happy that it will now be easier to go back from the U.S. as well.

Although, you do have some relatively good thoughts in this post, the article really leaves the reader wanting more. You really have no extensive thoughts of your own and the avatar/image of your post is extremely misleading. I was really looking for a more in depth analysis/view of this topic; most interested readers would have seen the stories posted from major broadcasters days ago. Instead of quoting and linking works to those stories, it would be nice to see some original work from you, for once.

I want to travel solo Havana around Christmas and New Years and am concerned the flights will book up quickly once the routes to Havana are granted. Do you have a suggestion on a Charter Company that would accomodate a solo traveler?