American Airlines asks for clearance to fly regular flights to Cuba
With an agreement to allow as many as 110 commercial airline flights a day to Cuba from the United States, American Airlines, Philadelphia's dominant carrier, said Thursdayit will apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation early next year to begin regular passenger service there from Miami and other hub airports.
With an agreement to allow as many as 110 commercial airline flights a day to Cuba from the United States, American Airlines, Philadelphia's dominant carrier, said Thursdayit will apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation early next year to begin regular passenger service there from Miami and other hub airports.
American said it had not decided what other U.S. cities would get flights to Cuba, and whether Philadelphia would be one of them. United Airlines and JetBlue Airways also announced they will apply to fly to Cuba.
American, which has operated charter air service to Cuba since 1991, flew 1,200 charter flights this year from Miami, Tampa, and Los Angeles to five destinations in Cuba.
The deal reached between U.S. and Cuban officials Wednesday night would allow 20 routes a day to Havana and 10 a day to each of Cuba's nine other major airports, the U.S. Department of State said.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said Thursday: "As the leading carrier to the Caribbean and the leading U.S. airline to Cuba, we look forward to establishing service to Cuba in 2016 from Miami and other American hubs."
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