Former airline chief: Companies ‘cued up’ to fly more to Cuba

U.S. airlines are “cued up” to offer more flights to Cuba after the Obama administration’s historic move to ease U.S. restrictions on travel there, a former American Airlines chief said Thursday. 

“There are a lot of companies that are cued up to provide frequent service to Cuba, and I expect there will sort of be an air bridge,” former American Airlines CEO Bob Crandall said during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”

“There’ll be a lot of service by a lot of different companies lots of time a day,” he continued. 

{mosads}The Obama administration announced on Wednesday that it is moving to normalize relations between the U.S. and Cuba for the first time in more than 50 years, which will likely lead to an increase in commercial flights to the island nation.

“We are taking steps to increase travel, commerce and the flow of information to and from Cuba,” President Obama said Wednesday during remarks about ending the long-term stalemate between the U.S. and Cuba. 

“This is fundamentally about freedom and openness and also expresses my belief in the power of people-to-people engagement,” he continued. 

Obama administration officials said the move to improve diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba would include permitting every type of travel possible under existing legislation.

The administration cannot completely lift the travel ban, which would require an act of Congress, but a senior administration official said the White House will be “authorizing as much travel as we possibly can.” 

Crandall, who was American’s CEO from 1985 to 1998, said Thursday that Cuba could become “an active center of business in the Caribbean” if the travel ban is completely lifted. 

“To really free up the flow of travel, Congress has to lift the embargo that exists today,” he said in the interview. 

Crandall said he was not concerned about Cuban destinations becoming oversaturated if more flights are added from the U.S. 

“I don’t think the fact that there are going to be more people going to Cuba is going to discourage people from around the world want to see Cuba,” he said. “Cuba has very attractive assets of many kinds.”