U.S.-Cuba flights may resume soon
If you are aching for a vacation of sunbathing and banana daiquiris in Cuba, you may not have to wait too much longer.
Meetings are scheduled next week between U.S. and Cuban officials to reopen regular commercial flights between the two nations, according to the White House. For now, U.S. travelers can fly to Cuba only on charter flights for education, humanitarian efforts and professional research, among other permitted reasons.
Industry experts say U.S. airlines are eager to begin regular flights to the island nation, serving routes that are sure to be in high demand, particularly from Cuban Americans around Miami and Los Angeles.
Airlines “want the opportunity to serve Cuba,” said Seth Kaplan, managing partner for the trade publiexperts. cation Airline Weekly,
Cuba’s largest airports are equipped to welcome international flights from other countries and security measures for travelers on charter flights to the U.S. already meet federal standards, according to industry The biggest concerns may be how to regulate the launch of new U.S. flights so that they don’t overwhelm Cuban airports.
“Cuba may want a crawl-walk-run approach to resuming service,” said Henry H. Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and founder of Atmosphere Research.
The airlines that are most likely to capitalize on regular service to Cuba may be American Airlines, Jet Blue Airways and Spirit Airlines, which have large hub operations in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
But Kaplan said all U.S. airlines will be angling to get into Cuba to meet demand from business travelers who want to establish commerce in Cuba, Cuban Americans who want to visit family and vacationers who long for a new beach to explore.
TSA’s collection of f irearms grows
If you think that in the 14 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Americans have learned that commercial airline passengers are not allowed to carry on board a weapon — think again.
In the week that ended Sept. 18, the Transportation Security Administration collected 67 firearms from airline passengers, a new weekly record that surpassed the previous high of 65 firearms uncovered in May of 2013.
Also surprising about TSA’s latest firearm haul is that 56 of the guns were loaded and 26 had a round chambered.
Based on the total number of firearms discovered by the TSA through August (1,898), 2015 is on pace to break last year’s annual record of 2,212 firearms.
Fliers can travel with firearms in checked baggage, but they must first be declared to the airline.
Delta backs on-time performance
Delta Air Lines is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to on-time performance and its record of completing scheduled flights.
The Atlanta-based carrier will give its corporate business travelers credit toward future flights if its competitors — American Airlines and United Airlines — have a better on-time performance and rate of completing scheduled domestic flights without a cancellation for a full calendar year.
The credits, which may be expanded to international flights, vary based on the delays and cancellations suffered by businesses with a Delta travel contract.
On Friday, the airline marked 100 straight days of completing all scheduled flights without a cancellation, a record for the carrier. During the period, Delta f lew nearly 800,000 flights, carrying 113 million passengers.
Delta, American and United all offer similar seats and destinations.