American Agency Will Operate Direct Flights Between New York and Havana

American Agency Will Operate Direct Flights Between New York and Havana
/ 14ymedio
Posted on November 26, 2014

14YMEDIO, Havana/November 21, 2014 — The American agency Cuba Travel
Services announced last Thursday that it will operate a direct flight
between New York's J.F. Kennedy Airport and Havana. It is envisioned
that the trips will occur daily in the afternoon, although company
workers have not been able to confirm either the departure days or the
frequency of the flights.

Cuba Travel Services has not provided information about the date the
service will begin, but it has announced that the price for a round trip
ticket on the inaugural flight will start at $849.

The company organizes travel to popular destinations like Cienfuegos,
Camaguey, Santa Clara, Holguin and Santiago de Cuba, with flights
operated by Sun Country Airlines.

The Turbo News site explained this afternoon that "in the spirit of the
recent New York Times editorial published October 11, 2014, entitled
'Time to End the Cuban Embargo,' the agency Cuba Travel Services chose
to provide an important cultural and social link between the two cities."

The agency maintains that the expansion of its offering will permit
travelers who leave from New York to save as compared with the current
options on the market, avoiding the delays of connections and the cost
of additional fares for stops in Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Tampa.

The company, which organizes daily flights between the US and Cuba,
asked for permission to operate flights also from Newark Liberty
International Airport, but that request was rejected.

The US government suspended direct air links with the Island at the
beginning of the 1970's and resumed them in 1999 with a flight between
New York and Havana. After a slight opening by President Bill Clinton,
Barack Obama also opted to soften restrictions on travel by Cuban
Americans visiting the Island; now they can travel every year instead of
every three and stay as long as they like.

In 2012 the Cuban government suspended landing rights on the Island for
two airlines from Miami, Airline Brokers and C&T Charters, explaining
the reason for the decision "as over capacity of seats and other
operational issues," although the travel agency operators revealed
suspected payment defaults with Cuban authorities. Airline Brokers
operated weekly flights to Havana and Cienfuegos from Miami and Fort
Lauderdale, while C&T Charters traveled to Havana and Camaguey from
Miami, New York and Chicago.

Translated by MLK

Source: American Agency Will Operate Direct Flights Between New York and
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