‘New’ startup Eastern Air Lines to fly charters to Cuba
One of the most familiar names in US aviation history is about to take off again after more than a 20-year gap.
After receiving necessary approvals to resume flying, Eastern Air Lines has formed a partnership with HavanaAir Charters, LLC to support the latter’s charter operation to Cuba.
Starting this week, Eastern will operate a nextgen Boeing 737-800 flying twice daily to Havana and weekly flights to Camaguey and Santa Clara from Miami.
Eastern and HavanaAir said they hope to launch flights from other US gateways soon.
"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," said Eastern CEO Ed Wegel.
Wegel says the airline still has the goal of operating as a scheduled carrier in its own right.
"We will always have a charter division, but we will begin to move into schedule operations in 12 months. This will happen once we conclude another round of equity raising."
The original Eastern Air Lines was one of the ‘big four’ scheduled carriers in the US, operating for more than 60 years until its demise in 1991.
At the height of its success in the mid 1980s, it flew to 26 countries including transatlantic to London before a long drawn-out labor dispute and high oil prices due to the Gulf War forced it out of business.
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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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