American Airlines applies to start nonstop Charlotte – Cuba flights

American Airlines applied Wednesday for permission to fly nonstop from Charlotte to Havana, in a landmark move as U.S. air carriers and the U.S. government look to reestablish ties with Cuba.

American wants to fly once daily year-round from Charlotte, its second-busiest hub, where American operates about 90 percent of daily flights. The carrier also applied for 10 daily flights to Havana from Miami, its primary gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as once daily from Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Chicago.

“American’s proposed service – from Miami and four other hubs – will provide a strong foundation for the sustained future growth of commercial and cultural ties between the U.S. and Cuba,” said American chief executive Doug Parker, in a statement. Charlotte’s flight is ranked eighth on the priority list of routes that American wants to fly to Cuba, behind seven of the Miami flights.

In its application, American said its service from Charlotte would complement its Miami routes, offering 34 destinations for connecting passengers not offered through the Miami hub. A flight from Charlotte would also give connecting passengers in other cities another option, since many of the flights from Miami are expected to be filled by local demand. The proposed flight would be on an Airbus A-319, a jet that seats 144 passengers total, with eight in business class.

The proposed Charlotte – Havana flight would take about 2 1/2 hours and cover 847 miles, according to American’s application.

All flights now operating between the U.S. and Cuba are charters.

President Obama has led an effort to normalize relations, commerce and travel between the U.S. and Cuba. The U.S. has blacklisted Cuba with a commercial embargo and travel restrictions for more than five decades, since the communist regime came to power under revolutionary Fidel Castro.

The Castro regime remains in place, but relations have warmed up sharply in the past year, despite continuing opposition in the U.S. led by congressional Republicans. Obama plans to visit Cuba in March, the first such trip by a sitting U.S. president in more than 80 years.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx signed an agreement with Cuba that will allow regular, scheduled air service between the two countries to formally resume. The airlines must apply for the rights to fly routes to Cuba and be approved by both governments.

Even if the Charlotte flight is approved, however, it won’t immediately be possible for Charlotteans to hop on a plane and head to Havana. Travel restrictions still in place require that U.S. citizens can only go to Cuba for certain specific types of trips, such as educational tours organized by approved companies, family visits, religious or charitable activities or journalistic activitiy.

An estimated 160,000 American leisure travelers visited Cuba last year, as well as hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans visiting family. Regular commercial air travel could add hundreds of thousands of leisure travelers.

This story was originally published March 2, 2016 at 5:15 PM with the headline "American Airlines applies to start nonstop Charlotte – Cuba flights."