Alaska Airlines flights to Havana now Bookable!
Havana has been one of those destinations that has fascinated the American public for generations. It’s been off limits to Americans who didn’t want to take flights to Canada or Mexico first to get there, while non-Americans have been enjoying the island nation non-stop. Well, luckily things have changed for the better!
We posted many months back that the US DOT gave permission to Alaska to start flying to Havana from Los Angeles, and just a few hours ago, Alaska Airlines tweeted that their flights to Havana were now bookable on their website, and they would start service on January 5th.
It’s been more than 5 decades since there was regular service from the US to Cuba, so with the USDOT slightly relaxing travel to the island, it made it easier for a lot of airlines to jump in and offer service. Alaska is in the unique position that they are the ONLY US Carrier to offer direct, nonstop service from the West Coast. Other airlines offer flights all up and down the east coast, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Charlotte, New York, and Atlanta to name a few.
According to Andrew Harrison of Alaska Airlines
“This is a historic year for U.S. travelers, who can now fly to Cuba from the U.S. on scheduled commercial service for the first time in more than 50 years,” said Andrew Harrison, Alaska’s chief commercial officer. “We’d like to thank the U.S. Department of Transportation for providing Alaska Airlines the opportunity to operate the only daily, nonstop flight from the West Coast to Cuba.”
The flights are now bookable on Alaska’s website, and the prices are pretty good. One way fares are only $229 from LAX to Havana, and the return fares can be had for about the same. Good luck finding a flight with the coveted “U” space upgrade availability however. It seems that Alaska is blocking those free upgrades for now. If you do have the Bank of America credit card however, you can use the companion certificate to save some cash on the ticket.
The schedule is as follows:
Schedule of new service:
| Start date | City pair | Departs | Arrives | Frequency |
| Jan. 5 | Los Angeles-Havana | 8:50 a.m. | 4:55 p.m. | Daily |
| Jan. 5 | Havana-Los Angeles | 5:55 p.m. | 8:45 p.m. | Daily |
Before you start packing your bags and buying a Rosetta Stone for Spanish however, you’ve got to remember that there are still a ton of restrictions in place and this isn’t going to be an easy pick-up-and-go trip.
When you go to buy your ticket, you’re presented with this lovely pop up courtesy of Alaska 🙂
Havana, Cuba, from Alaska Airlines blog
You’ve got to have a reason to go, and “I really wanna check it out” isn’t gonna fly. I mean shoot, even the US House is still trying to propose a flight ban. You need to be a journalist, or going for sports, religion, research, meeting, or any other official reason. Alaska Airlines put together a handy blog post with a few of the things you’ll need to remember before you go. You can find the list and their blog post here.
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