DOT: Eight airlines awarded flights to Havana
Eight U.S. airlines have tentatively been awarded flights to Havana, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Thursday.
The decision would give 10 U.S. airports at least one weekly non-stop flight to the Cuban capital. In total, the DOT approved 14 different daily routes to Havana and as well as one route that would get Saturday-only service. At least some of those flights could start as early as this fall.
Regular airline service between the USA and Cuba has been banned for nearly five decades, part of the broader U.S. embargo on Cuba. However, the nations agreed last year to allow up to 110 regularly scheduled airline flights each day as part of President Obama's effort to normalize relations with Cuba.
The DOT already awarded flights to other Cuban cities, announcing approval in June for six U.S. airlines to fly from five U.S. destinations to nine Cuban cities other than Havana. The DOT held off on its decision for the Havana routes because interest from U.S. airlines far exceeded the 20 daily flights initially being allowed to the Cuban capital.
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“Today we take another important step toward delivering on President Obama’s promise to reengage Cuba,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement revealing the routes. “Restoring regular air service holds tremendous potential to reunite Cuban American families and foster education and opportunities for American businesses of all sizes.”
American Airlines received the highest overall number of daily flights to Havana, tentatively winning the right to four from its hub in Miami and one from its hub in Charlotte.
JetBlue and Delta won fewer overall daily flights but will end up flying to Havana from more U.S. cities.
JetBlue was tentatively awarded four overall daily flights from three destinations. From its focus city in Fort Lauderdale, JetBlue will be permitted to operate two daily round-trip flights (except for Saturday, when it will be limited to one). The carrier also will be able to operate one daily round-trip flight from its main hub at New York JFK and from its focus city in Orlando.
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Delta was tentatively awarded three overall daily flights. That includes one daily round-trip from its hubs in Atlanta and New York JFK as well as one from Miami.
Alaska Airlines won the tentative authority for just one flight to Havana, but the approval for one daily flight from Los Angeles would give the Seattle-based carrier the only Havana route from the U.S. West Coast. Alaska Airlines had applied for two daily flights from Los Angeles.
In fact, nearly all of the 20 available daily Havana flights will operate from Florida and the eastern United States.
Twelve went to airports in the greater Miami area that's home to a large Cuban population. Miami and Fort Lauderdale each landed six daily non-stops to Havana. Overall, including Southwest's once-daily flight from Tampa and JetBlue's once-daily flight from Orlando, Florida landed 14 Havana flights.
New York JFK was the only non-Florida airport to get more than one daily round-trip flight.
Aside from Alaska Air's route from Los Angeles, United Airlines was the only other carrier tentatively approved for service from an airport west of the Mississippi. And approval for that route from Houston Bush Intercontinental is for just one flight a week (Saturdays only).
Despite the concentration of Havana routes in Florida and the East, the routes were distributed among a wide number of carriers.
"It's probably a high-level decision by DOT to spread the loot around pretty broadly," says Seth Kaplan, editor at the Airline Weekly trade publication.
Kaplan points out that DOT split the flights almost evenly between low-cost carriers such as JetBlue and Spirit and traditional carriers such as American and Delta.
"They really got a lot of different airlines involved," he says.
The DOT issued a tentative "show cause order" for the Havana flights because they were so tightly contested.
Only 20 daily round-trip flights between the USA and Havana are permitted under the loosened U.S.-Cuba flight restrictions, but U.S. carriers requested nearly three times as many. Given the demand, the DOT awarded the Havana flights to the U.S. carriers that it thought provided the most-compelling route applications.
"Interested parties" have until July 22 to submit comments or objections to the DOT. The agency will review those comments and says it "expects to reach a final decision later this summer." Typically, the DOT's tentative decisions in route authority cases like this one end up becoming final.
Scroll down for a full list of the tentative route authorities awarded by the DOT.
Alaska Airlines
Los Angeles: 1 daily round-trip flight
American Airlines
Miami: 4 daily round-trip flights
Charlotte: 1 daily round-trip flight
Delta Air Lines
Atlanta: 1 daily round-trip flight
New York JFK: 1 daily round-trip flight
Miami: 1 daily round-trip flight
Frontier Airlines
Miami: 1 daily round-trip flight
JetBlue
Fort Lauderdale: 2 daily round-trip flights (except one on Saturdays)
New York JFK: 1 daily round-trip flight
Orlando: 1 daily round-trip flight
Southwest Airlines
Fort Lauderdale: 2 daily round-trip flights
Tampa: 1 daily round-trip flight
Spirit Airlines
Fort Lauderdale: 2 daily round-trip flights
United Airlines
Houston Bush Intercontinental: 1 weekly round-trip flight (Saturday only)
Newark Liberty: 1 daily round-trip flight