With the addition of eight more airports allowed to carry charter flights to Cuba (making a total of 11 nationwide), the next question is almost automatic: So does this mean the U.S. is leaning toward lifting more sanctions against the Communist country after a half-century?
Kirby Jones, a consultant for firms interested in doing business in Cuba, calls the island country an untapped market for most U.S. companies — and in tight economic times, new markets can be gold mines. But Jones, head of Alamar Associates in Bethesda, said he believes extending the number of places by which Americans can fly to Cuba doesn’t mean commerce will follow.
“No administration has made the decision that the embargo or policy doesn’t work,” he said.”For companies who want to make money there’s a market — Cuba is one of the last business frontiers left in the world. It’s John Deere selling tractors, United Airlines selling flights, Silicon Valley selling technology … Is it a huge market? No. But it’s there for the picking.”
