Getting to Cuba continues to get easier: JetSuite, the jet charter company that pioneered “value”-oriented private air travel via a fleet of smaller, lighter jets, is staking out new turf with flights to once off-limits Caribbean island. Customers will now be able to charter one of JetSuite’s six-passenger CJ3 jets nonstop to Havana from one of 16 U.S. gateways authorized by the U.S. government; they include virtually all major airports in the state of Florida, including Key West, plus Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, and, farther afield, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh.
One-way pricing, for a flight with a full load of six, varies according to the length of the trip, ranging from $11,152 out of Key West to $23,675 from Chicago. And private or not, the U.S. government still has an interest in knowing the purpose of your journey. Alex Wilcox, JetSuite CEO, explains that customers need to secure the necessary permission that’s required of all U.S. visitors to Cuba. In other words, they must be able to show they satisfy one of the 12 approved reasons for the trip—and tourism is not among them.
Still, Wilcox told Conde Nast Traveler that he’s gotten a lot of interest from potential customers eager to explore a destination in transition. Wilcox said that he hasn't seen any particular challenges in flying to Havana; after all, his company serves more than 2,000 airports, large and small, some of them with limited services. “We’re not talking about Timbuktu,” he says. “Havana is a major international airport.”
The California-based operator isn’t the first private air company to get into the U.S.-Cuba market—private jet app Victor is already here, but it’s getting in just as interest in the destination is surging, post-détente. Flying to the island nation is still far from simple for U.S. travelers; other than charter flights, there’s no regular commercial air service between the countries (yet). Scheduled flights are expected to resume later this year, with airlines like American and JetBlue declaring their intention to fly to Cuba under their own colors at affordable fares. In the meantime, companies like JetSuite and Victor can get you there in style.
