New York City to Cuba’s First Direct Charter Service Begins Next Week

New York City to Cuba's First Direct Charter Service Begins Next Week
Katherine Chiglinsky, Bloomberg
Mar 13, 2015 9:00 am

Miniature flags representing Cuba and the U.S. are displayed on the dash
of an American classic car in Havana, Cuba. Franklin Reyes / Associated
Press

Cuba, so tempting with its rum drinks and beaches, so long off-limits
for Americans, is about to become a little more accessible to New York
area travelers.

Starting next week, tour operator Cuba Travel Services will begin
offering what it says is the first regularly scheduled direct charter
service from New York to Havana since President Barack Obama restored
diplomatic relations with the island nation in December.

With one weekly flight, Cuba Travel Services is trying to tap the New
York area's large Cuban-American population. It's a market that has
lured other charter operators in the past only to see them pull out amid
periodic chills in the relationship between the U.S. and the Caribbean
country. The U.S. has had an embargo on Cuba for more than 50 years.

"There's a lot more activity, or at least interest, to do business with
Cuba," said Peter Quinter, chairman of the customs and international
trade law group at legal firm GrayRobinson in Miami.

New York is a departure from the focus of charter operators in the past.
Most have been concentrated in Florida, offering bundled airfares with
insurance and travel taxes to help Americans take advantage of the
limited opportunities to visit Cuba. Some airlines also offer charter
service from cities such as Miami and Tampa.

A diplomatic thaw, which eased restrictions on remittances, travel and
banking, is giving new incentive for charters to try again, according to
Robert Mann, head of aviation consultant R.W. Mann & Co. in Port
Washington, New York.

"Right out of the gate there's a lot of people that are interested in
doing it. But there's a lot of nuances to it: legal nuances and
operational nuances," Cuba Travel Services General Manager Michael
Zuccato said in an interview last week.

On Tuesdays beginning March 17, Cuba Travel Services will offer seats on
a Boeing Co. 737-800 operated by Sun Country Airlines, capable of
transporting 145 passengers from John F. Kennedy International airport
to Havana.

The $849 round-trip ticket covers the airfare, Cuban medical insurance
and U.S. departure taxes, all necessary fees to complete the excursion
in what is still regulated travel to the country.

New Jersey and New York are home to the third and fourth- largest Cuban
American populations, according to the 2010 census. Florida tops the
ranks, followed by California.

Negotiating Accords

While the New York charter flights might signal a steady trickle of
travelers from family members, journalists, and humanitarians, the
floodgates to mass tourism — and U.S. commercial flights — won't be
opened until Congress approves a U.S.-Cuba accord and new air service
agreements are negotiated.

Trips for leisurely strolling through Havana's barrios and basking on
the beach for pure tourism are still banned.

Commercial flights to the island may come within the year, according to
Quinter. Diplomats met for a second-round of negotiations in late
February, and voiced optimism that an accord may even be reached by
April. The main impediment, from Cuba's point of view, is its listing by
the U.S. as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Every month, hundreds of people from the 12 categories of travelers
cleared for trips to Cuba fly to the island. In January, about 250
flights took off from the U.S. to Cuba and 193 Cuba-bound planes flew
last month, according to industry- data tracker MasFlight.

As relations continue to ease, aviation consultant Mann estimates that
flight activity to the island might ramp up in five to 10 years once
tourism infrastructure is in place to support growing demand.

Delta Air Lines Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc., JetBlue Airways
Corp. and American Airlines Group Inc. have all signaled that they are
interested in offering commercial flights once it becomes legal.

"It's a natural market for U.S. airlines to want to fly there," said
Zuccato of Cypress, California-based Cuba Travel Services. "It's a
transition, I think, and once those things are done, it'll be a good
market for them for sure."

Source: New York City to Cuba's First Direct Charter Service Begins Next
Week – Skift -
http://skift.com/2015/03/13/new-york-city-to-cubas-first-direct-charter-service-begins-next-week/