American Airlines Seeking Additional Flights From Miami To Havana After JetBlue Airways Ceases Most Flights
/By Evan Hoopfer- Staff Writer, Dallas Business Journal
30 January 2020
American Airlines is looking to add flights to Havana after a competitor gave up routes to the Cuban capital. American Airlines Group Inc. (Nasdaq: AAL) applied earlier this week for 14 more weekly flights from Miami to Havana. If American were to get the two extra daily routes, that would increase its service from Miami to Havana from its current six daily flights to eight.
Travel to Havana is limited to 20 daily departures by the government so, when an opportunity arises to add service, carriers often jump at the chance.
If awarded the flights, American plans to start the new service on or around June 4, the Fort Worth-based airline said in a regulatory filing. The service would be flown on a 172-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
American's application comes after JetBlue Airways Corp. (Nasdaq: JBLU) gave back the 14 slots to the U.S. Department of Transportation. JetBlue notified the government Jan. 16 that it would be returning seven weekly Orlando flights, one weekly Boston flight and six weekly New York City flights to Havana. The stoppage in the JetBlue flights to Havana would become effective April 29, the carrier said in a regulatory filing.
Miami has been a key part of American's Cuba business. Last year, for instance, it transferred a Havana route from Charlotte to Miami because the South Florida market is proving to have strong demand for Cuba travel. Last fall in an interview with the Dallas Business Journal, Vasu Raja, senior vice president of Network Strategy for American, said the carrier's service to Cuba was an example of the company's attempt to prioritize long-term success over what can sometimes be short-term hardship. Raja said at the time that when the carrier started Cuba flights, they weren't performing well.
"Two years later, Cuba was among the most profitable markets we had in the Caribbean," Raja said. "We turned regional jets into mainline jets. We became a very strong operator in Cuba. We could have cut those flights. It would've been great for near-term earnings, great for the reliability of the airline, but we would've foreclosed on this thing which has now become a really important part of who we are."
