United Airlines and Delta reduce flights to Cuba

Following the announcement by the airline JetBlue to suspend flights to Cuba as of September 17, two other US airlines made the decision to reduce their flights to the Island.

United Airlines andDelta Air Lines announced the reduction of their flights to Cuba and recognized a drop in demand that forces them to reduce the number of flights and seats they allocate for their journeys between the United States and Cuba.

The three US airlines have asked the Department of Transportation (DoT) for an inactivity waiver on several routes due to depressed travel demand between the United States and Cuba, according to the siteOnline Aviation.

In the case ofDelta Air Lines, the company applied to the DoT for a seasonal exemption,from October 29, 2023 to March 30, 2024, for its seven Atlanta-Havana frequencies and seven of its fourteen frequencies between Miami-Havana.

Previously, Delta requested a idle waiver for the 2023 summer season for its services on the Atlanta-Havana route, which was accepted.

For its part,United Airlines notified the DoT of the suspension of its services between Newark and Havanastarting October 29, 2023 due to economic circumstances.

The decision was announced to the federal entity on June 8, 2023. With its entry into force, Cuba will lose all non-stop connections with New York starting in November. Currently, United is the only US airline that does not offer flights between Florida and Cuba.

In late August, JetBlue announced that it will suspend flights to Cuba starting September 17.

The company, which made the first direct commercial flight to Cuba during the thaw in relations between the Caribbean country and the United States in 2016, will conclude flights to the island due to "changes in the regulatory landscape and restrictions on the capacity of our customers." to enter Cuba".

In the brief statement, shared by the media, they stated that they hoped to be able to resume flights in the future when trips to Cuba become more accessible.

According to the aforementioned media, JetBlue requested the DoT for a three-year extension of inactivity for 20 weekly frequencies between the United States and Cuba, which it uses to operate between Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Havana.

In addition, it returns a weekly frequency to the DoT that it uses to provide services between New York JFK and the Cuban capital.

As has been happening with different companies that fly to Cuba, JetBlue came to the conclusion that services to Havana are not sustainable in the current market.

At the end of August too,two Spanish airlines announced the cancellation and reduction of flights to Cuba due to lower demand from travelers.

One of them is Iberojet, which starting in October will cancel its route from Madrid to Santiago de Cuba, inaugurated less than a year ago, for "operational reasons." And the other is Iberia, which will reduce its flights to Havana to three frequencies a week as “had already been anticipated.”

In June it emerged that Spanish airlines that travel from that country to Cuba are having low occupancy.

Iberia, World2fly, Iberojet and Air Europa flights barely manage to sell half of their capacity, a fact that would confirm the bad omens for tourism in Cuba, a destination that is losing attractions compared to its competitors in the Caribbean.