One year after launching its Cuba service, Alaska Airlines has announced it will discontinue flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Havana (HAV).
“It’s unfortunate,” said John Kirby, vice president of capacity planning and alliances at Alaska Airlines. “You never want to exit a route, but we are exiting the L.A.–to–Havana route and the last flight will be on January 22.”
Passengers booked on flights after January 22 will be offered the option to switch to another airline without penalty or receive a full refund.
JetBlue restarted commercial service from the United States to Cuba on August 31, 2016, marking the first regular flights in more than 50 years. Following that development, several major U.S. carriers added scheduled service to Cuba. Alaska began operating its Los Angeles–Havana route on January 5 of the prior year.
Alaska cited several factors behind the decision, notably a decline in passenger demand. Kirby pointed to a combination of a disruptive hurricane season and an initial surge of pent-up demand that has since diminished.