US flights to HAV approved

[Habana Mike]

Tickets start selling in 2 weeks, flights begin late October - just in time!

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/havana-flights-open-to-us-airlines-18898

[luv2fly]

One step closer for me!  Thanks for the info Mike.

 

 

[Habana Mike]

Miami and Fort Lauderdale, which have the biggest Cuban-American communities in the United States, received the most flights at 83 per week among six airlines.

American won one-third of flights from South Florida. This may give it a leg up over rivals because it can offer corporate customers more convenient connections through Miami.

United will fly from Newark and Houston under the proposal.

Atlanta, Charlotte, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando and Tampa will also offer nonstop service.

 

[Olga]

Can anyone fly or it's only with special authorization?

[luv2fly]

Have to make sure one is in OFAC compliance.  Not hard to do from what I hear.

[Mr.T]

And Delta just announced they are starting direct flights from NYC and Atlanta

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Habana Mike]

1 hour ago, Mr.T said:

And Delta just announced they are starting direct flights from NYC and Atlanta

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Love a non-stop!

[AlohaStyle]

And I'm pumped that Alaska Air got the Los Angeles to Havana flight, originating in Seattle... so excited to be able to use miles and/or a companion ticket to go to Havana!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sactochris]

I'm hoping for a Direct flight on United from Chicago to Havana to be added.

 

[brschoppe]

4 hours ago, sactochris said:

I'm hoping for a Direct flight on United from Chicago to Havana to be added.

 

I was really surprised that there were not any flights to Havana from Chicago!  It is the second busiest airport in the country and the only flights going to Cuba from there are to Santiago on Frontier.  What a sham!

 

[Habana Mike]

6 hours ago, brschoppe said:

I was really surprised that there were not any flights to Havana from Chicago!  It is the second busiest airport in the country and the only flights going to Cuba from there are to Santiago on Frontier.  What a sham!

 

Agree, a bit surprising as United declined oppotunities to fly to the provincial airports banking on HAV routes, same as Delta.

There's this on the subject as well http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-no-chicago-havana-flights-0708-biz-20160707-story.html

 

[sactochris]

19 hours ago, brschoppe said:

I was really surprised that there were not any flights to Havana from Chicago!  It is the second busiest airport in the country and the only flights going to Cuba from there are to Santiago on Frontier.  What a sham!

 

You can fly United from Newark, or Houston and then to Havana. Being on the west coast makes a flight to Chicago and then a flight to Havana much more convenient than flying all the way to New Jersey. Houston isn't bad either.

[Fuzz]

So there's no longer an issue with having a US city on the same itinerary as your Cuba flights? I'm transiting through Miami and LA on my way to and from Cuba via a third country, and my agent said there could be a problem.

[Duxnutz]

Love to know how the customs in these airports goes in regards to confiscating Cuban products. Blind eye?

[Guest]

15 hours ago, Fuzz said:

So there's no longer an issue with having a US city on the same itinerary as your Cuba flights? I'm transiting through Miami and LA on my way to and from Cuba via a third country, and my agent said there could be a problem.

I'd be reluctant to rely on direct flights from the US  until it's proven to work. The flight leaving won't be the problem.... It will be the ability of Joes Marti airport (staff, systems.... and even the runway (!) to deal with the extra traffic. Even getting a cab from the airport will be insane, I expect.

[sactochris]

It's going to interesting, that's for sure. I want to go as soon as I can. My non cigar smoking brother, who is quite the travel aficionado, has expressed great interest in seeing Cuba before it changes. We are about due for a trip together. I'm hoping.

[AlohaStyle]

You can fly United from Newark, or Houston and then to Havana. Being on the west coast makes a flight to Chicago and then a flight to Havana much more convenient than flying all the way to New Jersey. Houston isn't bad either.

If you're on the west coast, you can fly Alaska from L.A.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ethernut]

On July 8, 2016 at 5:01 PM, Habana Mike said:

Tickets start selling in 2 weeks, flights begin late October - just in time!

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/havana-flights-open-to-us-airlines-18898

Timely Post @Habana Mike, I think I have a People to People thing mid November.. :-)

[JohnnyO]

I was in T2 over the weekend. The AC was off in the building (coming in and going out) lots of flies in the check in area and the waiting area. Well, the AC was on in the VIP room if you wanted to pay $25. The bags took more than 2 hours to come out.  The power must have gone out 10 times on the way out. The plane was 7 hours late going home. Every hour or so they bumped the departure time later and later. No explanation, no meals, no soda, no nothing. Those that had a connection likely missed their flight. We sat on the plane for over an hour with the AC off. Don't know how they will handle it when an increased amount of commercial flights will go into effect.

[Corylax18]

Johnny,

 

Sounds like they are already having trouble with increased capacity. What airline where you flying? It sounds like some of the issues you were describing are more airport related(AC, Flies long waits for bags), some would be airline related(No meals, late plane). 

Either way, it sounds like travel to the island is going to be an adventure in the near future. 

[Nino]

It sure will be a big hassle at HAV airport in the future. I try to avoid it. There are alternatives ...

Just saw that a return ticket Key West to HAV was $600 - insane for a short ballistic hop.

Bought a ticket today Germany-Varadero return for €850 in Premium class.

Last time at VRA I was out smoking a cigar and having a cold Cristal 25 minutes after landing. And 90 minutes and another cigar and 2 Cristals later I was in Havana :-)

That's about the time it takes to clear controls at HAV airport and get the luggage.

 

[Ethernut]

Looks like American Airlines announced their start dates for September 7th to 5 Cuban Cities out of Miami, however, Havana is not included -

https://www.aa.com/i18n/plan-travel/destinations/cuba.jsp

[JohnnyO]

Xael was the charter company that sold the ticktes. Insel ("from Aruba") was the plane we boarded. Havana commercial flights are likely November

[Fumadoro]

Have to make sure one is in OFAC compliance.  Not hard to do from what I hear.

Have you or anyone else on the forum gone through the OFAC compliance process? I'd love to go with my wife!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Habana Mike]

1 hour ago, Fumadoro said:

Have you or anyone else on the forum gone through the OFAC compliance process? I'd love to go with my wife!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Per OFAC, https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/cuba_faqs_new.pdf

 

Note this is as recent as this week.