Airlines are cutting back on their once-vaunted plethora of flights to Cuba because … it turns out that hardly anyone wants to go to Cuba. As Bloomberg News reported in late 2016:
U.S. airlines rejoiced earlier this year when it was announced that commercial flights would resume to Cuba after more than a half century, with one executive at a major carrier calling it almost a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Yet as service begins this week to Havana, the long-awaited travel surge to the island is already in doubt.… Citing weak demand, American Airlines Group Inc. trimmed plans for almost a quarter of its trips to Cuba early next year.… The uncertainty represents a stark turnaround from March when U.S. airlines sought permission to fly almost 60 daily round trips to Havana, triple the 20 daily frequencies authorized under the agreement between the U.S. and Cuba. They also applied for 10 daily round trips to each of nine other destinations on the island.
That was after President Barack Obama had issued an executive order allowing Americans wanting to visit Cuba to fly there directly instead of having to route their trip through, say, Mexico. But that was then, and now is now.
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