CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A decision made last month by the U.S. Department of Transportation that tentatively allowed American Airlines to shift its Havana, Cuba, flight from Charlotte to south Florida is now official.
[WE'VE GOT SPIRIT: Low-cost Spirit Airlines to offer flights out of Charlotte]
In mid-March, the DOT sided with American Airlines Group Inc. over JetBlue Airways Corp. in granting AA’s request to transfer its Charlotte-Havana route to Miami. The carriers were the final two competing for that route — at one point, Southwest Airlines Co. was included in the mix, but it later dropped out.
American Airlines wanted to add its sixth daily flight from Miami to the Cuban capital, while JetBlue wanted to take over the route, moving it to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
A chief reason for DOT initially choosing American Airlines’ request involved load factor of the proposed routes.
Read more here.