ATLANTA, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines
(NYSE: DAL) will begin serving Havana,
Cuba, this fall from New York-JFK, Atlanta and Miami as a result of today's announcement by
the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Delta applauds and
thanks the DOT for awarding the airline the ability to resume
operating daily, nonstop scheduled service to the Caribbean island for the first time in almost
55 years.
"Today has been a long-awaited moment to celebrate Delta's
historic return to Cuba, and we
thank Secretary Foxx, his team and the other U.S. officials for
granting us the authority to provide Havana service from Atlanta, Miami and New
York," said Nicolas Ferri,
Delta's Vice President – Latin
America and the Caribbean.
"We look forward to providing the market with excellent customer
and operational performance that will reunite families and support
a new generation of travelers seeking to engage and explore this
truly unique destination.
"Additionally, I'd like to commend the effort of our
cross-divisional teams at Delta, who are working diligently to
address the unique logistical challenges to reestablishing daily
scheduled Havana service."
All routes are subject to Cuban regulatory approval. Delta will
begin selling seats to Havana this
summer.
Delta's Awarded Routes
Delta flights between New York-JFK and Havana will connect the New York City area, which includes the
second-largest Cuban-American population, to Cuba's political, cultural and economic
capital.
Atlanta's superior connecting
gateway will provide one-stop access to Cuba via the nation's largest hub, with more
seats, destinations and flights from Atlanta than any other carrier.
Delta's Miami-Havana flights will serve the largest
population of Cuban-Americans in the U.S. Delta offers the
second-most flights from Miami
international airport.
Delta's History in Cuba
Delta inherited passenger service to Havana, Cuba, from its merger with
Chicago and Southern Air Lines
(C&S) on May 1, 1953, offering
nonstop flights from New Orleans.
Political instability and profitability issues ultimately led Delta
to suspend service on Dec. 1,
1961.
From 2002-2004 Delta operated charters between New York-JFK and
Havana. In October 2011, Delta began operating up to a dozen
charter flights to Havana per week
with daily service from Miami and
weekly service from Atlanta and
New York-JFK. It operated almost 500 trips before suspending
service on Dec. 29, 2012. Most
recently, in 2015, Delta performed three ad hoc charter flights
including one that carried the Minnesota Orchestra back to
Cuba for its first performance on
the island in more than 85 years.
About Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines serves nearly 180 million customers each year.
In 2016, Delta was named to Fortune's top 50 Most Admired Companies
in addition to being named the most admired airline for the fifth
time in six years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the
Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for an unprecedented
five consecutive years. With an industry-leading global network,
Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 337
destinations in 62 countries on six continents. Headquartered in
Atlanta, Delta employs more than
80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more
than 800 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam
global alliance and participates in the industry's leading
transatlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as
well as a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its
worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than
15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including
Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los
Angeles, Minneapolis/St.
Paul, New York-JFK and LaGuardia, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita.
Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities,
global products and services, and technology to enhance the
customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional
information is available on the Delta News Hub, as well as
delta.com, Twitter @DeltaNewsHub, Google.com/+Delta, and
Facebook.com/delta.
Delta Air Lines is working to be the best U.S. airline in
Latin America and the
Caribbean. It has being honored with five World Travel Awards
in 2015 in the categories of North
America's Leading Airline and United States' Leading Airline to the
Caribbean, to Central America, to South America and to Mexico. Delta's
achievements in the region have been also recognized with two top
customer service distinctions by Latin Trade's Best of Travel
Annual Awards 2015, leading the categories of "Best Self-Check-In"
and "Best Food and Beverage" in the Delta One™ cabin. Delta
continues to grow in Latin America
through its long-term exclusive alliances with GOL Linhas
Aéreas Inteligentes, Aeroméxico and Aerolíneas Argentinas, and
is committed to building a solid regional footprint to enhance its
global network and offer its customers the best overall
experience. Delta provides service to 26 countries and 55
destinations in the region, offering over 1,500 weekly flights
between the U.S. and Latin
America/the Caribbean.
Delta customers can also receive real-time, on-the-go travel
assistance in Spanish and Portuguese through Twitter channels
@DeltaAssist_ES and @DeltaAjuda from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST. Brazilian customers can
also access Delta's dedicated Brazilian Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/DeltaAirLinesBrasil.
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SOURCE Delta Air Lines