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Eugene

(61,855 posts)
Wed Aug 31, 2016, 05:35 AM Aug 2016

First U.S.-Cuba scheduled flight in decades set to depart

Source: Reuters

WORLD NEWS | Wed Aug 31, 2016 12:03am EDT

First U.S.-Cuba scheduled flight in decades set to depart

By Jeffrey Dastin | FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.

The first regularly scheduled commercial flight between the United States and Cuba in more than half a century is set to depart on Wednesday, starting a new chapter in the Obama administration's bid to open trade and travel with the former Cold War foe.

The first of several U.S. carriers to begin serving Cuba in the coming months, JetBlue Airways Corp will fly from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Santa Clara, a city in the center of Cuba known for its monument to revolutionary Che Guevara.

Among the passengers on the 150-seat Airbus A320 will be U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, JetBlue Chief Executive Officer Robin Hayes, news reporters and photographers and other officials. Regular travelers, including some of Cuban descent, will occupy nearly half the seats on a route that may be a commercial challenge, at least initially.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-usa-flights-idUSKCN1160BK
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