At the beginning of June, we received news that President Donald Trump may begin to unravel former President Barack Obama’s 2016 plans with Cuba and that those changes may roll out as early as this month.
However, as noted by Conde Nast Traveler, this isn’t stopping a number of bigwig airlines from enticing curious travelers with a few great deals.
JetBlue, for example, has positioned itself as the only airline to offer a nonstop service from Boston to the destination. American Airlines will soon add a fifth daily flight to Havana from Miami, with Delta opting for a similar option. Southwest and United are also switching up plans by either increasing their number of flights from certain cities or simply offering lower fares. Everyone — every airline — wants in on the Cuba action.
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However, new policies enacted by the Trump administration could change all of this. In a statement to CNT, a spokesman from American Airlines briefly explained that they too are in the dark.
“We can’t speculate on what the administration may do, but American is proud to be the leading carrier between the U.S. and Cuba,” he says.
One of the major recent provisos for American citizens traveling to Cuba was the ability to travel solo. Prior to that, travelers could only travel in groups as part of organized tours. This was mentioned by Tom Popper, president of Insight Cuba. Popper also explained to CNT that this change “would permit the president to create the optic that he is being tough.”
Last year former President Obama made an unprecedented move: He went to Cuba. Obama was the first sitting president to visit the country since 1928. It marked the beginning of a renewed relationship between two nations with a complicated history. It’s pretty much why on any given day, our Instagram feeds are now flooded with photos of friends taking quick trips to the island nation.
Although no changes have been announced thus far, travelers may still want to take heed. For anyone with dreams of visiting Cuba — free of pesky complications like traveling with a large group and increased airfare due to limited flights — you may want to begin looking into tickets now.