United seeks flexibility on Houston-Havana route due to fluctuating demand

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United seeks flexibility on Houston-Havana route due to fluctuating demand

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Simple Flying | Simple Flying

By Sky Industry News

Dec 9, 2024

United Airlines has approached the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) to seek more flexibility for its Houston to Havana route. The airline aims to adjust its capacity based on demand fluctuations throughout the year.

In its petition, United Airlines has requested seasonal flexibility for all seven weekly frequencies. This move is intended to allow better alignment of their services with varying passenger numbers. "United’s plans include reductions in certain days of [the] week to address reduced demand in shoulder seasons," the airline stated.

Despite current market conditions, United Airlines emphasized the value of its Houston-Havana flights, noting that these routes provide significant benefits to travelers. The airline highlighted that "ample frequencies" already exist between the US and Havana and pointed out that other airlines like American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and JetBlue have received temporary waivers from the DOT for flights to Cuba. Therefore, United believes its request is reasonable.

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The airline further argued that granting this request would be in the public interest by enabling them to use their fleet more efficiently while still meeting service demands between Houston and Havana as well as on other routes.

This request aligns with similar petitions from other airlines seeking relief for the current International Air Transport Association (IATA) winter season, which runs from October 27 until March 30, 2025.

Data from Cirium shows that American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines have scheduled a total of 126 weekly flights from the US to Cuba in December. This figure is nearly unchanged from December 2023. However, Southwest has cut back some services but increased others between different US airports and Havana.

American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have expanded their flight offerings slightly compared to last year. Despite this growth in flight numbers, overall capacity measured in weekly seats will see a slight decrease year-on-year due to various operational changes among carriers.

In August, there was a notable reduction in flights by US carriers heading to Cuba. JetBlue entirely withdrew its services amid challenging conditions within Cuba's infrastructure. Power outages across the country contributed significantly to these adjustments.

By late October, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and JetBlue received approval from the DOT for frequency adjustments on eight routes including those involving Miami International Airport (MIA) and Havana.

Currently, American Airlines maintains a strong presence with connections between Miami and several Cuban airports such as Camagüey Ignacio Agramonte International Airport (CMU), José Martí International Airport (HAV), Holguín Frank País Airport (HOG), Santiago de Cuba Antonio Maceo Airport (SCU), Santa Clara Abel Santamaria Airport (SNU), and Varadero Juan Gualberto Gomez Airport (VRA).