American Airlines Cuts 2017 Cuba Schedule
by Michele McDonald /American Airlines is shaving nearly 25% of its Cuba schedule for 2017, citing weak demand.
It will reduce daily roundtrip flights between the U.S. and Cuba to 10, down from 13, starting in mid-February.
U.S. airlines began serving Havana this week after a hiatus of half a century. They began serving smaller Cuban cities in August.
Although American made its schedule decision before the U.S. presidential election, concerns are rising in the industry that President-elect Donald Trump’s recent statements about U.S.-Cuba relations are causing uncertainty in the market.
Trump has said he will roll back the Obama administration’s efforts to normalize U.S.-Cuba relations unless Cuba makes additional concessions.
“If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate the deal,” he tweeted.
In response, Eben Peck, senior vice president of Government and Industry Affairs at ASTA, issued a statement that “ASTA has long believed that allowing Americans to travel across the globe without restriction enables them to act as ambassadors of freedom, and we pledge to do all we can in conjunction with the new Administration, Congress and key allies to ensure that Americans are free to travel to Cuba without constraint from their own government.”

