Business aviation operators are finding travel to Cuba significantly smoother as restrictions have eased over the past year. But at the same time, industry executives caution that operators must still plan well ahead and follow the protocols closely.
“The Cuban government is addressing some of the business aviation issues; however, it is not accustomed to having general aviation and it is trying to streamline the process for itself and operators,” said Kathy Self, director of compliance for Universal Weather and Aviation. “Planning ahead for this process is key.”
“Cuba has come a long way over the last year in handling business aviation,” agreed Suran Wijayawardana, COO of Alerion Aviation, which launched earlier this year from the merger of JFI Jets and ACP Jets.
Alerion’s predecessor companies were among the first business aviation operators to fly to Cuba after the U.S. government issued exemptions easing initial licensing requirements, with their first flights beginning in late August last year. Within the first year, Alerion and its predecessor companies have flown approximately 70 operations into and out of the island nation.
“What we encountered during August and September last year was…a lot of misinterpretation as to what the [travel] exemptions allow us to do,” Wijayawardana said. Confusion surrounded the permits required and how the handling would be accommodated, he added.
Once they received clarification, the process was pretty straightforward from the U.S. standpoint. “But the approval process and the permit process on the Cuban side in the first couple of months was hair-raising,” he said. The company, working through established flight planners, would apply for a landing permit well over a week in advance. “We’d get landing rights maybe two hours before we were to take off from the mainland in the U.S. That was something that made us all nervous,” Wijayawardana said.
One of the occasions involved a trip booked by a major news station around the time Pope Francis was set to visit Cuba. “We had the president of the news station on board, along with a highly recognizable reporter, and we finally got landing rights an hour-and-a-half before takeoff.” The company wasn’t willing to risk taking off without permits. “It took right up to the last minute.”
Other hurdles the company faced included currency and handling. Cuba did not accept credit cards or U.S. currency. “The gates had just opened and they weren’t equipped to do credit card processing. In the beginning, Cuba wasn’t very forward in that light,” he said. “We had to provide the flight crew with plenty of cash, which is not standard practice for us.” Reserving hotels could be problematic since that process was not modernized, he said. “The confirmation part of it was a little unknown.” On the ground, operators had to work with Cuban representatives. “These were newer companies, so there was a little bit of confusion,” Wijayawardana said.
These issues have improved, he said, noting the permit process is a lot smoother now. “The process for handling our applications and paperwork has increased probably 200 percent to 300 percent in terms of efficiency.” And now more representatives are basing in Cuba with more international ties. “You have worldwide handlers being stationed there that can process you now like you are flying to any destination,” he said. “We don’t have to have carry cash on the airplane anymore because they can do contract fueling there. That’s a big help. The major thing that’s changed is Cuba’s ability to handle aircraft.”
John Reese, director of safety, security and standards for ExcelAire, also has noted improvements. ExcelAire has flown its first handful of trips to Cuba. “The real hurdles were with the planning phase, getting the approval and getting familiar with the [U.S.] Treasury Department’s requirements,” Reese said. “It was a lot to digest.” He noted that up to that point, “just getting overflight permits was problematic” even if the operator wasn’t landing in Cuba. Planning ahead was crucial, especially for the permits. ExcelAire prepared by attending as many seminars as possible. Reese pointed to other significant changes, including the lengthening of time aircraft can park at airports in Cuba and permission for the crew to remain in the country.
Initially, he said, “We were able to bring a client in, but we had to move the crew and equipment out. We had to reposition only to certain gateway airports.” With the changes, however, “we are able to leave equipment and crew while the client is there. That works out much better. We don’t have to move the aircraft, which is quite costly.”
Planning Ahead Still Required
One concern that remains is AOG. There have been questions about basic services there, such as the ability to bring in parts and access to licensed technicians who could work on an airplane. “There were a lot of discussions with maintenance folks about what we would do if something went wrong. Before going in we make a point from a maintenance perspective to do a rundown on an aircraft and make sure everything is where it needs to be,” Reese said. While operators do this anyway, “We give that one extra check because you know if something were to go mechanically wrong in Havana it would be extremely problematic to get it fixed.” The company initially would reposition out of Miami, making it a short hop to Cuba. Also for the first flight, it kept a standby aircraft in case something did go wrong and the company needed to pick up the client.
“The lack of AOG maintenance in Cuba was the biggest concern. Even if you had the parts, you didn’t know whether there were licensed technicians available to install the parts. You had to make sure before departure that everything on the airplane was as optimal as it could be,” agreed Wijayawardana. “Right now it is still our largest concern flying in and out of there.”
However, like everything else, both Reese and Wijayawardana believe that too will get better with commercial service beginning from the U.S. to Cuba. That commercial service will improve access to other services such as maintenance availability, they both said. Also, a recent edict from the White House was anticipated to further increase maintenance availability.
While the logistics are improving, the limitations of the 12 reasons for travel to Cuba are still in place. Self said this has been one of Universal’s largest concerns in providing planning services for operators.
“We want to support the trips; however, we have had to stop arrangements because the passengers were not authorized travelers under the regulations and there was not enough time to get a specific license for the passenger,” she said. “We remind our customers that Cuba is still a sanctioned country and some activities, such as tourism, are prohibited.”
Travelers also must understand that “if they fly into Cuba on a commercial flight and leave on a business aviation flight, this is not well regarded by the CAA of Cuba. If passengers go in on commercial, they need to leave on commercial and vice versa,” Self added.
The process for crews to obtain visas has become “fairly easy,” she said, but warned “there have been more demands for business visas in Cuba and this has presented a challenge for the passengers” and said this required planning. Also, as for landing permits, clients must use recognized business sponsors. “The Cuban CAA checks to ensure the business sponsor is legitimate,” she said. The executives believe that commercial service will eventually lead to relaxation of the limitations on reasons for travel.
They also predict an uptick in travel to Cuba. “Given the length of time Americans weren’t able to fly to Cuba and given the draw to the island and the culture, it’s something that will be popular,” Wijayawardana said. “It’s a unique travel experience.”
“We’re pretty excited now that the commercial side has started operating there,” Reese added. “We’re seeing quotation activity picking up.”
“In our opinion, it will increase the demand,” Self agreed. “However, until the travel restrictions are eliminated, the commercial carriers will face the same scrutiny for ensuring that their customers are authorized travelers as we do.”
