Tag Archives: havana

Eastern Air Lines operates its first revenue flight

Eastern Air Lines (2nd) (Miami) after initially announcing it would start revenue passenger operations on the morning of May 27, the new airline and HavanaAir delayed the first charter flight to May 28. The historic first flight, flight EE 3145 departed Miami bound for Havana at 2:26 pm (1426) on May 28 per FlightAware.

Copyright Photo: L. Apso. This historic photo above captures Boeing 737-8AL N276EA (msn 35070) taxiing out to the runway at Miami International Airport on its first revenue flight to Havana on May 28.

Today (May 29) N276EA is operating a round trip to Camaguey, Cuba.

Eastern Air Lines to operate its first revenue flight tomorrow

Eastern Air Lines (2nd) (Miami) will start revenue passenger operations tomorrow (May 27). The first flight will be depart from Miami International Airport (MIA) at 10 am (1000) bound for Havana, Cuba.

The airline made this announcement:

After 24 years, 4 months and 7 days, Eastern resumes revenue flight operations tomorrow. MIA-HAV-MIA. Time to re-earn our wings…

Eastern Air Lines and HavanaAir Charters to operate daily air service to Cuba

Eastern Air Lines (2nd) (Miami) which is still planning to operate its first revenue charter flight on May 30, has issued this statement:

Eastern Air Lines Group, Inc. and HavanaAir Charters, LLC, have signed on May 22 an agreement, to support HavanaAir’s charter operations to Cuba. HavanaAir is the largest provider of passenger traffic to the island, currently operating 65 flights a month to Havana from Miami with additional service to Santa Clara and Camaguey. The partnership will eventually include additional approved U.S. gateway cities.

Eastern will operate the Boeing 737-800 (Next Generation) aircraft, configured with 16 First Class seats and 129 Coach seats in the main cabin on all flights to Cuba.

“We are very pleased to partner with Eastern Air Lines. Eastern earned iconic status in the U.S. airline industry for decades and we are both honored and privileged to partner with their highly experienced management. Our partnership with Eastern will provide an entirely new level of service to Cuba with their Next Generation Boeing aircraft and their commitment to excellent customer service.” said Mark Elias, President and COO of HavanaAir Charters.

“We are excited to partner with HavanaAir Charters. Eastern was formerly the largest provider of air seats in the Cuba market, and with this agreement, Eastern will once again provide more seats to Cuba than any other U.S. carrier. Cuba is and always will be a very important market for Eastern as we grow our airline and we look forward to proving service from additional U.S. gateways along with our home airport of Miami International”, said Ed Wegel, President & CEO of Eastern.

Key Facts:

Eastern will operate for HavanaAir twice daily service to Havana and weekly service to Camaguey and Santa Clara.

Eastern will support HavanaAir’s existing operations to Cuba with some 65 flights monthly.

Eastern and HavanaAir will be launching service from other U.S. gateways within 60 days.

Copyright Photo below: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Eastern Air Lines (2nd) Boeing 737-8AL WL N276EA (msn 35070) arrives at the Miami base.

Eastern Air Lines (2nd) aircraft slide show:

JetBlue Airways to fly New York – Havana charter flights

JetBlue Airways (New York) has announced it will operate weekly New York (JFK) – Havana, Cuba charter flights for tour organizer Cuba Travel Services starting on July 3. JetBlue also operates to Cuba from both Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood and Tampa. The airline issued this full statement:

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo joined with JetBlue Airways, and its charter partner, Cuba Travel Services, yesterday (May 5) to announce a new flight from New York to Havana, Cuba. The milestone makes JetBlue the first major carrier to announce a new flight to Cuba from New York since travel restrictions were recently eased.

The expanded charter service comes on the heels of Governor Cuomo’s trade mission to Cuba, where the Governor, joined by JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes and other New York business leaders, led a dialogue to connect New York businesses to new opportunities in Cuba.

Cuba Travel Services is offering the flight, operated by JetBlue, on Fridays from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Havana’s José Martí International Airport (HAV) beginning July 3, 2015. Travelers should make arrangements directly with Cuba Travel Services.

Cuba Travel Services, a leading authorized carrier service provider, believes expanding its flight network will provide licensed travelers more travel options for a lower cost. The additional service offers customers additional options to travel to Cuba from New York without connection delays or extra domestic travel expenses to connect in Florida.

The New York metropolitan area has the second largest Cuban-American population in the United States after Florida.

JetBlue serves all charter flights to Cuba on its 150-seat Airbus A320.

With the addition to the New York-Havana flight, JetBlue will operate five weekly round trips to Cuba, including flights from Tampa (TPA) and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood (FLL) with various charter partners. Cuba will one day play an important role in JetBlue’s overall Caribbean network, a region where JetBlue is the largest airline. The airline began flying to Cuba for charter companies in 2011.

Schedule between New York and Havana on Fridays as of July 3, 2015:

JFK – HAV HAV – JFK 12:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

About Cuba Travel Services

Cuba Travel Services Inc. arranges daily, nonstop public charter flights between the United States and Cuba and is licensed by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as an authorized Carrier Service Provider specializing in travel to Cuba. They offer full service travel arrangements to individuals, groups, families, educators, students, professionals and organizations, under Specific or General Licenses issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Copyright Photo: Fred Freketic/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 N624JB (msn 2520) touches down at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York last winter.

JetBlue Airways aircraft slide show:

JetBlue Airways to add more Cuban charters for tour operator ABC Charters

JetBlue Airways (New York) today announced an agreement with its partner, ABC Charters, to add a new charter flight to Cuba beginning this summer.

The weekly flight, which begins on June 5, will operate on Fridays from Tampa (TPA) to Havana (HAV). JetBlue will have the most flights to Cuba from Tampa.

The addition marks one of the first expansions in charter service by a major U.S. airline since restrictions on travel to Cuba were eased in January.

JetBlue will now have four weekly round trips to Cuba. In addition to the new Friday flight, JetBlue and ABC Charters operate weekly flights from Tampa to Havana on Tuesdays and from Tampa to Santa Clara (SNU) on Wednesdays. JetBlue also operates flights between Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood (FLL) and Havana through Xael Charters on Fridays. JetBlue is currently evaluating opportunities to add additional charter flights.

JetBlue serves all charter flights to Cuba on its Airbus A320s.

JetBlue began flying to Cuba for charter companies in 2011.

Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 N768JB (msn 3760) in the Mosaic tail design arrives at the New York (JFK) hub.

JetBlue aircraft slide show:

Iberia to resume summer flights to Havana

Iberia (Madrid) is resuming summer seasonal service to Havana, Cuba with five weekly flights starting on June 1. The flag carrier will also operate three weekly flights on a Madrid – Medellin – Cali – Madrid routing commencing on July 3 per Airline Route. Both routes will operate with Airbus A330-300 equipment.

Copyright Photo: Ole Simon/AirlinersGallery.com. Iberia Airbus A330-302 EC-LZJ (msn 1490) completes its final approach to the runway at the Madrid Barajas International Airport hub.

Iberia aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-2/Airlines-Europe-2/Iberia-Lineas-Aereas-de-Espana

Vision Airlines to operate Cuban charters for ViajeHoy under the “Havana Air” name

ViajeHoy Charters dba Havana Air (Miami) starting today (December 11) will start using the aircraft of Vision Airlines (Las Vegas). The aircraft will carry Havana Air titles. The tour operator has been using Swift Air’s (2nd) (Phoenix) Boeing 737-400s. The company operates charters from Miami to Havana (HAV) and Santa Clara (SNU) in Cuba.

Havana Air Company describes itself:

Havana Air staff has over 25 years experience in corporate travel and leisure travel planning. Our senior officers fully understand the needs and requirements of this sector of travel and have served some of the nation’s largest companies. With this expertise, we can assist those companies now seeking to participate in travel to Cuba under new OFAC General License guidelines. We have a great deal of experience in serving both the pharmaceutical and telecommunications industries and would be pleased to assist your company with facilitating travel to Cuba under the appropriate OFAC guidelines. We also encourage those in the field of journalism or government organizations to allow us to assist them as well, as our organization has over a dozen years of experience in serving the U.S. Government travel.

All images by Havana Air.

Video:

Aerolineas Argentinas is coming to Punta Cana

Aerolineas Argentinas (Buenos Aires) will add Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on January 3, 2015 via Caracas per Airline Route. The new route will be operated three days a week with Boeing 737-800s.

The airline will also serve Havana via Caracas starting on January 5, 2015.

Copyright Photo: Steve Bailey/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8BK N5573P (msn 41561) departs from Boeing Field in Seattle on a test flight. The new aircraft was delivered as LV-FRQ on April 10, 2014.

Aerolineas Argentinas:

Aerolineas Argentinas is coming to Havana, Cuba

Aerolineas Argentinas (Buenos Aires) is coming to Havana, Cuba. The airline will operate twice-weekly Boeing 737-800 services on the Buenos Aires-Caracas-Havana extended route starting on January 4, 2015 per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Alvaro Romero/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-86J LV-FQC (msn 37744) is pictured at downtown Aeroparque Jorge Newbery Airport in Buenos Aires.

Aerolineas Argentinas:

Edelweiss Air increases the frequencies on its routes to Havana, Las Vegas, Tampa and Vancouver for next summer

Edelweiss Air (Zurich) is expanding operations for the summer of 2015. The airline is increasing the number of long-range flights to Havana, Las Vegas, Tampa and Vancouver. The airline is also expanding its schedule to other European destinations next summer.

The airline issued this statement:

Edelweiss is continuing to grow and invest in its core markets. With its 2015 Summer Timetable, the airline is introducing new destinations in Europe and expanding its flight offering in North America and the Caribbean.

More flights to North America and the Caribbean

With its 2015 Summer Timetable, Edelweiss is increasing the number of flights to Las Vegas, Tampa and Vancouver. These holiday destinations will be served with three weekly flights.

As well as the additional flights to North America, Edelweiss will be operating more flights to the Caribbean. Starting in summer 2015, there will be two weekly flights to Havana.

New destinations and more flights to existing holiday destinations in Europe

With the 2015 Summer Timetable, Edelweiss is also expanding its offer to include the up-and-coming cities in Southeast Europe. To that end, new destinations such as Banja Luka and Podgorica are being included in the route network and the number of flights to Pristina, Skopje and Split is being increased.

The choice of flights to the region of Greece/Turkey is also being expanded. Edelweiss will be serving the new destination Corfu and upping the number of flights to Heraklion und Dalaman. Furthermore, the airline will be strengthening its existing offer in Spain and Italy with additional flights to Alicante, Palma de Mallorca and Catania.

The 2015 Summer Timetable is valid from March 29 until October 24, 2015.

Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Edelweiss Air’s Airbus A330-343 HB-JHQ (msn 1193) arrives back at the Zurich base.

Edelweiss Air: