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.jpg) A CubanaIL-96-300 | |||||||
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| Founded | 8 October 1929; 96 years ago (1929-10-08) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 30 October 1930; 95 years ago (1930-10-30) | ||||||
| Hubs | José Martí International Airport[1] | ||||||
| Fleet size | 9 | ||||||
| Destinations | 3[2] | ||||||
| Parent company | Corporación de la Aviación CivilS.A. | ||||||
| Headquarters | Havana, Cuba[1] | ||||||
| Key people | Arturo Bada Álvarez (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | cubana.cu | ||||||
Cubana de Aviación S.A. (Spanish pronunciation:[kuˈβanaðe‿ˌaβjaˈsjon];lit. 'Cuban Airlines'), or simplyCubana, is theflag carrier and largest airline ofCuba.[3][4] It was founded in October 1929, becoming one of the earliest airlines to emerge inLatin America.[5]: 887 It has its corporate headquarters inHavana, and its home base is located atJosé Martí International Airport.[1] Originally a subsidiary ofPan American World Airways and later a private company owned by Cuban investors, Cubana has been wholly owned by theCuban government since May 1959.
Cubana was a founder and is a current member of theInternational Air Transport Association (IATA),[6] theInternational Association of Aeronautical Telecommunications (SITA) and the International Association of Latin American Air Transportation (AITAL).[7]
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The airline was established byClement Melville Keys on 8 October 1929 as Compañía Nacional Cubana de Aviación Curtiss S.A., initially as a flying school as well as a chartercarrier, beginning scheduled services in 1930.[9][10] The airline's name indicated its association with theCurtiss aircraft manufacturing company. Cubana's early fleet usedCurtiss Robin, amphibianSikorsky S-38,Ford Trimotor, andLockheed Electra (L-10) aircraft.Pan American acquired Cubana in 1932,[11] and the word Curtiss was deleted from the carrier's name. By the end of the decade, the carrier had a fleet of four Ford Trimotors and three Lockheed Electras that operated on the domestic Havana–Camaguey, Havana–Guantanamo–Baracoa andSantiago–Baracoa routes.[12]
In 1944, the first International Conference on Civil Aviation was convened, which later would lead to the creation of theInternational Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Cuba was a participant in this conference and a founding member of ICAO. In April 1945, the conference that created theInternational Air Transport Association (IATA) was held inHavana. Cubana became a founding member of IATA, and participated in the creation of that organization through its involvement with the Havana conference and the resulting accords. Both conferences and the organizations they spawned helped establish Cubana as an internationally recognized airline company.
In May 1945 Cubana started its first scheduled international flights toMiami, usingDouglas DC-3 aircraft, making the airline the first Latin American one to establish scheduled passenger services to this city. In April 1948, a transatlantic route was started betweenHavana andMadrid (viaBermuda, theAzores andLisbon) usingDouglas DC-4 aircraft. The Madrid route was extended toRome in 1950. The new route to Europe made Cubana one of the earliest Latin American carriers to establish scheduled transatlantic service.
In 1953,Airwork sold Cubana threeViscount 755s in advance of delivery.[13] Cubana was also the first Latin American airline to operate turboprop aircraft, starting in the mid-1950s with theVickers Viscount (VV-755), which were put in service in its Miami and domestic routes, and later the Super Viscount (VV-818).
By March 1953, the carrier's fleet consisted ofDC-3s andDC-4s.[14] A year later, the strength of the fleet was 11 —six DC-3s, threeLockheed Constellations, oneC-46 and oneStinson— while twoSuper Constellations were on order.[15] Upon delivery of the first of these aircraft, in late 1954, the airline deployed it on theMexico City–Madrid route.[16] Cubana transported more than 227,000 passenger in 1955, and by that year end it had 715 employees.[11] In May 1957, the airline ordered twoBristol Britannia 318s, intended to serve New York andSpain.[17][18][19] An order for another two aircraft of the type was placed in mid-1958; the combined deal was worthUS$14 million.[17] Aimed at replacing theDouglas DC-7s on the Havana–New York route,[20] Cubana received the first of these aircraft in December 1958;[8] it was put in service on that route immediately after being phased in.[21]
In May 1959, Cuba's new revolutionary government decided to take over Cubana, expropriating all its investors. The private passenger airline Aerovías Q and private cargo carriers Cuba Aeropostal and Expreso Aéreo Interamericano, were then merged into Cubana, which was rebranded as Empresa Consolidada Cubana de Aviación and had an initial state investment of 80%; it started operations on 27 June 1961.[22] The airline had expanded earlier that year its scheduled transatlantic services, addingPrague to its European route network that solely included Madrid.[a] Having stopovers atBermuda and theAzores, the route was flown with Bristol Britannia 318s.[25] Cubana later sold one of its Britannias toCzechoslovak Airlines (CSA) so that this carrier could start their own Prague–Havana flights.[26] Cubana trained CSA's personnel in the operation of the Britannias.[25] CSA's new service started in February 1962 initially flying the Prague–Manchester–Prestwick–Havana route, and then switching to the Prague–Shannon–Gander–Havana run.[27][28]
With the U.S. breaking relations (in 1961) and the imposition of theU.S. embargo on Cuba (in 1962), Cubana was forced to cancel all its U.S. services and turned to theSoviet Union to obtain new aircraft. The first Soviet-built aircraft were delivered in the early 1960s (Ilyushin Il-14 andIl-18), and were used in Cubana's domestic routes. Cubana thus became the first airline in the Americas at that time to operate Soviet-built aircraft. During the decade, theAn-12 and theAn-24 also joined the fleet.[29] Cubana's cooperation made it possible forAeroflot to establish 18-hour non-stop scheduled services betweenMoscow andHavana in 1963, usingTupolev Tu-114 turboprop airliners, which were the longest non-stop flights in the world at that time. Cooperation with theEast German airlineInterflug also made it possible for this carrier to establish its first scheduled transatlantic services, linkingEast Berlin with Havana.
In March 1970 the number of employees was 1,971; at this time the carrier's fleet consisted of fiveAntonov An-24Bs, fourBritannias 318s, twoC-46s, fourDC-3s, oneDC-4, tenIl-14s and fourIl-18s.[30]: 480 Regular services toPeru,Chile,Panama,Guyana and several Caribbean destinations were started in the early and mid- 1970s. Cubana also began operating TupolevTu-154, IlyushinIl-76, YakovlevYak-40 andYak-42 jets in the mid-1970s. These aircraft made it possible to upgrade Cubana's domestic services and to expand or start new services to Central and South America, and to some Caribbean nations. Regular services to Canada were also started, as Cuba began to develop its tourism sector. Routes to Africa were started in the mid-1970s, servingAngola,Guinea-Bissau andCabo Verde. Cubana subsequently ceded one of its Il-62M jets to Angola's national airlineTAAG so that it could start its ownLuanda-Havana flights, in cooperation with Cubana's services on that route. This allowed TAAG to start its own, first-ever transatlantic route. In the late 1970s Cubana started services toIraq, becoming the first Latin American carrier to serveAsia, although these services were discontinued in the early 1980s.
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As of March 1990, Cubana had 5,658 employees and its fleet consisted of 12An-24RVs, 26Antonov An-26s, fourIl-18s, 11 Ilyushin Il-62Ms, twoIl-76Ds, eight Tupolev Tu-154s (five Tu-154B2s and three Tu-154Ms) and 12Yakovlev Yak-40s. At this time, the airline flew internationally toBarbados,Basel,Berlin,Bissau,Buenos Aires,Georgetown,Kingston,Lima,Luanda,Madrid,Managua,Mexico City,Montreal,Panama City,Paris andPrague; it also served a domestic network consisting ofBaracoa,Camagüey,Holguín,Nicaro,Nueva Gerona,Santiago de Cuba andLas Tunas.[31]
In the early 1990s, Cubana pursued a multi-faceted strategy to face thechallenges posed by the dissolution of theSocialist bloc and theSoviet Union. This strategy targeted a restructuring of Cubana's fleet, the revamping of the airline's technical capabilities, and upgrading the quality of passenger services. After the early 1990s, spare parts for Cubana's Soviet-built aircraft became increasingly harder to source. Limited financial resources and lack of Western financing to replace these aircraft, coupled with restrictions imposed by the U.S. embargo on the sale of American-built aircraft and components (including engines and avionics), made it necessary to keep some of the airline's Soviet-built airplanes in service. Cubana had received its last three new Il-62Ms in late 1990 and early 1991 [along with two other (also new) similar aircraft in 1988 and 1989], and was able to keep them in service long after the Soviet Union's dissolution and the end of all Il-62 production in the mid-1990s. Cubana started leasing some Western aircraft (Airbus,Boeing) for limited periods of time in the mid-1990s, to help sustain its services to Europe, Canada and some Latin American destinations, given the rapid growth of Cuba's tourism sector.
In the early 2000s, Cubana refurbished several of its Il-62Ms to use on some of its international routes (all but one of these aircraft were removed from service in 2011), and in 2004 it embarked on a long-term renovation programme. The strategy is based on the purchase of $100 million a year in new generation Russian-built aircraft until 2012.[32] As of 2012, Cubana had completely renovated its fleet with new-generation Russian airliners. As part of its renovation strategy, Cubana has sought to upgrade its technical support capabilities. The airline established a joint venture company withIberia Airlines of Spain in 2005, to maintain and overhaul Western-built aircraft, such asAirbus andBoeing.
In July 2004, the airline placed an order for two convertibleIlyushin Il-96-300s in aUS$110 million deal;[33][34] 85% of that price was financed by a loan from Roseximbank,[35] while Cuba's Aviaimport raised the money for the balance.[36] In December 2005, Cubana received the first of these aircraft,[34][37] becoming the first customer of the type beyond theRussian borders.[3] In April 2006, Cuba signed another deal —worthUS$250 million this time— on behalf of Cubana for the purchase of another twoIl-96-300s and threeTupolev Tu-204s.[38] Two of theseTu-204s, one passenger and one cargo version, were handed over to the carrier in June and August 2007, respectively.[39][40] During the August 2007MAKS Airshow Cubana signed amemorandum of understanding with Ilyushin Finance Company (IFC) for the purchase of another two Tu-204s and threeAntonov An-148s.[41] A Tu-204 freighter was never delivered to the company due to financing problems.[42]
In July 2012, Cubana de Aviación signed a contract with IFC for the delivery of three Antonov An-158 aircraft.[43] In February 2013, Cubana signed a deal for the order of three 350-seaterIlyushin Il-96-400s.[44] In April the same year, Cubana received its firstAntonov An-158;[4][45][46] Cubana received another two An-158s during 2013.[47] The delivery of the third example marked the signing of another contract for three more aircraft of the type, scheduled for delivery in 2014.[43] A fourth An-158 was delivered in April 2014; as of July 2014[update], Antonov was to deliver to the airline a fifth aircraft of the type.[47] However, since 2018 all aircraft of this type are stored due to ongoing maintenance issues.[48]
As of January 2025, Cubana operates scheduled flights on two domestic routes within Cuba as well as to two international destinations inVenezuela andSpain.[2] In 2024, Cubana was forced to end further international flights toArgentina, which it had served from both Havana and Cayo Coco, after the airline has been refused further supply of fuel.[49]
Cubana de Aviacióncodeshares with the following airlines:[50]
As of February 2025[update], Cubana operates the following aircraft:[53][54][55][56]
| Aircraft | In fleet | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total | ||||
| ATR 72-200 | 1[citation needed] | — | — | 66 | 66 | |
| Ilyushin Il-96-300 | 4[citation needed] | — | 18 | 244 | 262 | 3 stored[citation needed] |
| Tupolev Tu-204-100 | 2[57] | — | 12 | 212 | 224 | |
| Tupolev Tu-204-100CE | 2[56] | — | Cargo | stored[56] | ||
| Total | 9 | — | ||||
The airline operated the following aircraft all through its history:[58]
Conspicuously absent is Cubana de Aviacion, one of the oldest airlines in Latin America, whose Viscounts were recently sold by the Castro regime and at least one of whose four Britannias, diverted to the Havana – Gander, Newfoundland – Prague run, now flies bearing the colours ofCSA, the Czech state airline.
Cuba's international airline, Compania Cubana de Aviacion, last week inaugurated a Super Constellation service from Mexico City to Madrid via Havana, Bermuda, the Azores and Lisbon. The first of this company's three Super Connies has established an unofficial record for the 2,300-mile journey from Havana to Los Angeles, covering the route in 7 hr 20 min at an average speed of just over 313 m.p.h.
As this issue went to press Bristol announced a Cubana repeat-order for two more Britannia 318s for delivery next spring. The two aircraft ordered in May 1957 will be delivered by the end of this year. Both orders together are valued at $14m.
Compania Cubana de Aviacion —who recently announced their order for two Britannia 310s— have also ordered twoBoeing 707s and taken an option on a third.
The first of four Britannia 318s ordered by Compania Cubana inaugurated scheduled services on 22 December between Havana—whither it had been delivered the previous week—and New York.
A Bristol Britannia 318 has been acquired by the Czech airline CSA from Cubana.
First picture of the Britannia 318, formerly operated by Cubana, in the markings of CSA. Earlier this month the Czechoslovak airline inaugurated a scheduled service between Prague and Havana with transit rights at Manchester and Prestwick, where this picture was taken
Cubana's only Antonov An-12 seen at Shannon Airport at the end of last month on its first flight outside Cuba since delivery about two years ago.
The tests involved one of the Il-96-300s, registered CU-T1251, delivered to Cuban flag-carrier Cubana de Aviación towards the end of last year.
Cubana de Aviacion did not take a Tu-204-100CE freighter, rebuffing attempts by Russia's VneshTorgBank to charge it a higher interest rate than the agreed 7–8%, a figure that had been approved by the Russian and Cuban governments.
Media related toCubana at Wikimedia Commons
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