Earlier this week, United Airlines resumed its commercial passenger flights between the United States and Cuba after more than a two-and-a-half-year hiatus. The US carrier now offers two daily flights to Havana International Airport (HAV), one from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and one from Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).
Back in Cuba
On Monday, November 14, United Airlines restarted its two routes from the United States to Cuba. The connectivity between the two countries has exploded in the past few weeks. For instance, there are currently 147 weekly flights compared to just three a year ago. Nonetheless, there’s still room for improvement.
United Airlines’ daily services to Cuba from Newark and Houston are operated by its branch United Express and on Embraer E175 aircraft, as reported by local media outlets.
Photo: Getty Images.
Connectivity between the United States and Cuba
As of November 2022, four airlines are offering 147 weekly flights from the United States to Cuba. These carriers are American Airlines, JetBlue, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines.
American Airlines has the largest schedule to the island, with 84 weekly flights and 14,539 seats available. Southwest offers 29 weekly flights, followed by JetBlue with 20 and United with 14.
American Airlines operates six routes to Cuba, all departing from Miami International Airport (MIA). This carrier flies to Camagüey (CMW), Havana, HolguÃn (HOG), Santiago de Cuba (SCU), Santa Clara (SNU), and Varadero (VRA). Meanwhile, JetBlue operates two routes, from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and New York JFK Airport (JFK) to Havana. United flies from Newark and Houston to Havana, and Southwest flies from Fort Lauderdale and Tampa to Havana.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying. Â
Cuba’s international connectivity
The Cuban government has recently stated that 45 airlines are operating international flights to the Caribbean country, just in time for the beginning of the winter high season. There are about 400 weekly flights in eight of the ten international airports throughout the island, and two hubs remain closed, Manzanillo (MZO) and Cienfuegos (CFG).
Several carriers beyond United Airlines have recently resumed connectivity to Cuba, such as Air Canada, Aeromexico, and TAAG Angola Airlines, as reported by the Cuban State newspaper, Granma.
According to data by Cirium, Cuba receives 405 weekly international flights on average, with American Airlines on the lead with 42 weekly services from Miami (six daily) and 84 overall flights (12 daily). Other key carriers are Suwning (52 weekly flights), Southwest (29), Viva Aerobus, Air Transat, and Copa Airlines (22 each).
Cuba’s National Statistics Office (Onei) released updated figures this week through October this year; 1.19 million international tourists arrived in Cuba in the first ten months of the year, an increase of 587% over the same period in 2021. Nonetheless, Cuba is far from recovering its pre-pandemic traffic levels. In 2019, the airline received over 4.2 million travelers, according to data by 14ymedio.
Have you traveled with United Airlines or another US carrier to Cuba? How was the experience? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Aviacionline, 14ymedio, Granma.
United Airlines
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- UA/UAL
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Denver International Airport, Guam International Airport, Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport
- Year Founded:
- 1931
- Alliance:
- Star Alliance
- CEO:
- Scott Kirby
- Country:
- United States
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