AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC. FORT WORTH, Texas, June 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Airlines today commended the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) for awarding it the right to operate scheduled service between Miami and five cities in Cuba – Camaguey, Cienfuegos, Holguin, Santa Clara and Varadero. The new flights are expected to begin in September and will represent American’s first-ever scheduled service to Cuba.
“We are very pleased the Department of Transportation has awarded American the authority to operate scheduled service in the U.S.-Cuba market,” said Steve Johnson, American’s executive vice president of Corporate Affairs. “The resumption of scheduled air service to Cuba is a historic achievement and we commend Secretary Foxx and his team for making it a reality. We look forward to giving our customers direct access to Cuba and eagerly await the Department’s decision on flights to Havana.”
Per the DOT Order issued today, American is approved to operate two daily flights between Miami and Holguin, Santa Clara and Varadero, and one daily flight between Miami and Camaguey and Cienfuegos. The Holguin and Santa Clara flights will be operated with a Boeing 737-800 and the Camaguey, Cienfuegos and Varadero flights will be operated with an Airbus A319.
American’s service proposal to DOT also requested 10 daily frequencies from Miami to Havana and additional service to Havana from Charlotte, Dallas Fort Worth, Chicago and Los Angeles. American stands ready to begin service to Havana at the earliest possible opportunity.
In April, American celebrated 25 years of charter service to Cuba – invaluable and unmatched experience that positions the airline to be a leader in providing scheduled service. In addition to American’s wealth of experience and familiarity with ground operations in Cuba, no carrier has made a greater commitment to Miami-Dade County – the heart and soul of the Cuban-American community and home to nearly 50 percent of the Cuban-American population in the U.S. American is the undisputed leader among all airlines serving the people and businesses of Miami-Dade, and offers unrivaled connectivity through its Miami hub.
About American Airlines Group
American Airlines and American Eagle offer an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries. American has hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C. American is a founding member of the oneworld alliance, whose members and members-elect serve nearly 1,000 destinations with 14,250 daily flights to 150 countries. Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AAL (Nasdaq:AAL). In 2015, its stock joined the S&P 500 index. Connect with American on Twitter @AmericanAir and at Facebook.com/AmericanAirlines.
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