American Airlines cuts Cuba flights due to low demand
After waiting more than five decades to resume scheduled flights to Cuba, American Airlines is already planning to cut capacity.
American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the carrier will cut back the number of daily round-trip flights to Cuba from 13 to 10 from early February.
American will also shift to flying smaller jets on two routes.
The changes are due to lower than expected demand, Miller said.
Miller told Bloomberg the decision has not been affected by the uncertainty of an upcoming Trump administration which had threatened to reverse President Obama’s easing of rules on travel and commerce.
American had already decided on the cuts before the election result, Miller said.
Still, the uncertainly is very likely putting people off travelling for the time being.
People are afraid Trump is going to close the border again, and then it will be impossible to go there,” said Alexandre Chemla, founder of US travel agency Altour.
“It’s a wait-and-see situation because of Trump and everything he said.”
There are fears that from virtually nothing, the market has been flooded with seat capacity and there simply aren’t enough customers around to fill those seats, even in the crowded South Florida market.
Other travel industry experts predict other airlines will likely cut capacity in the short term and fares may tumble to stimulate the demand.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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