SEATTLE, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Department
of Transportation announced today that it tentatively approved
Alaska's application for daily
nonstop service between Los
Angeles and Havana, Cuba.
Alaska was the only carrier to
propose daily nonstop service from Los
Angeles to Havana.
"We applaud the DOT for making a fair and equitable decision
given the high-level of interest and limited number of available
departures," said Alaska Airlines CEO Brad
Tilden. "We want to thank Los
Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti,
Los Angeles World Airports Chief Executive Officer Deborah Flint, and other city, county and state
leaders, as well as congressional supporters of our application. We
look forward to offering this exciting destination to our
customers."
The Alaska Airlines flight will originate in Seattle with same plane service to
Los Angeles and Havana. The route is among 20 slots in
Havana that were available to U.S.
carriers when the U.S. government signed an agreement with
Cuba to restore commercial air
travel between the two countries. Alaska will be one of the first U.S. carriers
to fly scheduled commercial flights to Havana in more than five decades.
Together with Alaska Airlines' global partner airlines,
Alaska offers more than 110
nonstop destinations from Los
Angeles International Airport. With nearly three decades of
international service from Los
Angeles, in addition to Havana, Alaska Airlines offers nonstop service
to nine destinations in Latin
America.
"Alaska looks forward to
receiving a final order from the Department of Transportation and
to starting service by the end of the year," said Tilden.
The flight to and from Los
Angeles and Cuba will be
operated with a Boeing 737-900ER aircraft, which carries 181
passengers in a two-class configuration. Onboard, customers will
enjoy more of what they love, including the airline's popular
streaming entertainment service, Alaska Beyond Entertainment,
offering both free and pay-per-view titles direct to customer
devices along with inflight entertainment tablets available for
rent and power at every seat.
There are numerous logistical details involved in flying to a
country that has not allowed scheduled commercial U.S. travel in
more than five decades. The United
States travel embargo currently does not allow Americans to
visit Cuba strictly for tourism –
U.S. citizens are permitted to travel to Cuba if they fall under 12 approved
categories, such as family visits, education, journalism and
humanitarian projects.
The U.S. Treasury Department allows travel for the following
activities:
- Family visits.
- Official business of the U.S. government, foreign governments,
and certain intergovernmental organizations.
- Journalistic activity.
- Professional research and professional meetings.
- Educational activities.
- Religious activities.
- Public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other
competitions, and exhibitions.
- Support for the Cuban people.
- Humanitarian projects.
- Activities of private foundations or research or educational
institutes.
- Exportation, importation, or transmission of information or
information materials.
- Certain authorized export transactions.
Learn about travel to Cuba at
www.alaskaair.com/cuba.
Multimedia: Broadcast quality b-roll and images of Alaska
Airlines aircraft are available for download at
http://www.alaskasworld.com/newsroom/ASNews/photos.asp.
Alaska Airlines, together with its regional partners, flies 32
million customers a year to more than 110 cities with an average of
970 daily flights throughout the United
States, including Hawaii,
Canada, Costa Rica, and Mexico. With Alaska's 17 global airline partners, customers
can earn and redeem miles to more than 800 destinations worldwide.
Onboard, customers are invited to make the most of their flight
with amenities like power outlets at every seat, streaming
entertainment direct to your device, Wi-Fi and an inspired food and
beverage selection featured on most flights. Alaska Airlines ranked
"Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in
North America" in the J.D. Power
North American Airline Satisfaction Study for nine consecutive
years from 2008 to 2016. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan also ranked
"Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Airline Loyalty Rewards
Programs" in the J.D. Power Airline Loyalty/Rewards Program
Satisfaction Report for the last three consecutive years. Alaska
Airlines is a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK). Learn
more on the airline's newsroom, blog, alaskaair.com, @AlaskaAir,
facebook.com/alaskaairlines and
linkedin.com/company/alaska-airlines.
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SOURCE Alaska Airlines