The US DOT finalizes Havana route allocations

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) says it has now finalized its allocation of Havana Int'l, Cuba traffic rights to local US carriers. The announcement came shortly after jetBlue Airways on Wednesday, August 31, became the first US commercial carrier to operate a scheduled service to Cuba in over fifty years.

As per a July 7 tentative decision, the following airlines have been awarded the following Havana routes and frequencies by the DOT:

- Alaska Airlines: a 1x daily Los Angeles Int'l-Havana service using B737-900(ER) equipment;

- American Airlines: a 4x daily Miami Int'l-Havana service using B737-800 equipment and a 1x daily Charlotte-Havana service using A319-100 equipment;

- Delta Air Lines: a 1x daily New York JFK-Havana service using B757-200 equipment, a 1x daily Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson-Havana service using B757-200 equipment, and a 1x daily Miami Int'l-Havana service using B737-800 equipment;

- Frontier Airlines: a 1x daily Miami Int'l-Havana service using A320ceo and A320neo equipment;

- jetBlue Airways: a 2x daily Fort Lauderdale Int'l-Havana service (except Saturdays) using A320/321 equipment, a 1x daily New York JFK-Havana service using A320/321 equipment, and a 1x daily Orlando Int'l-Havana service using A320/321 equipment;

- Southwest Airlines: a 2x daily Fort Lauderdale Int'l-Havana service using B737-800 equipment and a 1x daily Tampa Int'l-Havana service using B737-800 equipment;

- Spirit Airlines: a 2x daily Fort Lauderdale Int'l-Havana service using A319 equipment; 

- United Airlines: a 1x daily Newark-Havana service using B737-800 equipment (with one additional Saturday-only flight) and a 1x weekly Houston Intc'l-Havana service (Saturdays only) using B737-800 equipment.

Under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the US and Cuba in February this year, each country may operate up to twenty daily return flights between the US and Havana and up to ten daily return flights between the US and each of Cuba’s nine international airports - Camagüey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo del Sur, Cienfuegos, Holguin, Manzanillo Sierra Maestra, Santa Clara de Cuba, Santiago de Cuba, and Varadero - for a total of ninety daily return flights.

ch-aviation.com