American Airlines has become the first US passenger carrier to offer cargo product in Cuba with the launch of a mail service that extends to and from Havana’s Jose Marti International. American Airlines has become the first US passenger carrier to offer cargo product in Cuba with the launch of a mail service that extends to and from Havana’s Jose Marti International.
American operates four daily flights from Miami and a daily flight from Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The Miami flights are operated with Boeing 737-800 aircraft and the Charlotte by an Airbus A319. Come October, the daily flights from Miami is expected to increase to five times a day. FedEx was poised to be the first US cargo carrier in Cuba, but asked for a postponement in the fall until June, citing difficulties in finding suitable ground handling services, customs clearance problems and warehousing space as well as concerns about a change in policy from the president. With the new arrangement, each country can operate 20 daily round trip flights between the US and Havana. The airlines can have up to 10 daily round trip flights between the US and each of Cuba’s other nine international airports.
“As the leading US carrier to Cuba we are excited to launch cargo service to the island,” said David Vance, American’s vice president – Cargo Operations. “Our teams on the ground in the US and in Cuba have worked hard to make this a reality. This new service will benefit families in both countries. American operates nine daily flights to five destinations in the country, including flights between MIA and HAV, Holguin (HOG), Santa Clara (SNU), Varadero (VRA) and Camagüey (CMW), and between CLT and HAV. The carrier has served Cuba since 1991 – with charter service for more than 25 years and with scheduled service since September 2016.
