The U.S. Department of Transportation approved six airlines
to begin flights to Cuba, though it still has not decided which carriers will
receive the highly sought-after slots to Havana.
American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines,
Frontier Airlines, Silver Airways and Sun Country Airlines all can begin scheduled
service between the United States and Cuba this fall. The carriers will serve
nine Cuban cities from five U.S. cities: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago,
Minneapolis/St. Paul and Philadelphia, according to the department.
American plans to begin flights between Miami and five Cuban
cities—Camagüey, Cienfuegos, Holguín, Santa Clara and Varadero—in
September. JetBlue will operate flights between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood
International Airport and Santa Clara, Camagüey and Holguín
and plans to begin selling tickets this summer. Southwest also plans service
from Fort Lauderdale to Varadero and Santa Clara "later this year,"
according to a statement from the carrier.
The DOT will award 20 daily slots to Havana this summer;
nearly all major U.S. carriers filed
to compete for those slots.
Travel to Cuba from the United States remains restricted to
specific reasons other than tourism, including professional research and
meetings and select export transactions. U.S. hotel companies also have begun
expansion into the nation, which could provide more options for buyers
already managing travel to Cuba.
"It has always been a challenge to manage
it because the government has a lot of involvement in the hotels and all the services,"
Silvia Dreyfus, Ericsson's sourcing category manager in Panama, said during an
education session at an Association of Corporate Travel Executives conference
in April. "We are facing challenges today to book rooms. There are no
rooms available, and the prices have increased 30 percent year over year and
will continue to rise."