History of Cubana de Aviación - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

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the Cubana de Aviación

Cubana de Aviación

Cubana de Aviación S.A., commonly known as Cubana, is Cuba's largest airline and flag carrier. The airline was founded on 8 October 1929, and has its corporate headquarters in Havana. Its main base is at José Martí International Airport...

series.

History of Cubana de Aviación

Accidents and incidents list

Cubana de Aviación destinations

-Caribbean:*Bahamas**Nassau International Airport*Cuba**Baracoa - Gustavo Rizo Airport codeshare agreements Aero Caribbean**Bayamo - Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Airport codeshare agreements Aero Caribbean...

Cubana de Aviación S.A is Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

's largest airline and flag carrier

Flag carrier

A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given country, enjoys preferential rights or privileges, accorded by the government, for international operations. It may be a state-run, state-owned or private but...

Early years

Cubana was established on 8 October 1929 as Compañía Nacional Cubana de Aviación Curtiss, indicating its association with the Curtiss aircraft manufacturing company. It was one of the earliest airlines to emerge in Latin America. Cubana's predecessors were the Compañía Aérea de Cuba, founded in 1919, and the Compañía Aérea Cubana, founded in 1920 (both airlines flew out of Havana's Columbia Airport, which started operations in 1919). Those companies were dissolved soon after they started, however, due to the difficult economic conditions affecting Cuba (and many other nations) in the aftermath of World War I.

Cubana de Aviación Curtiss started services in 1930 with Curtiss Robin

Curtiss Robin

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography*Bowers, Peter M. Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947. London: Putnam, 1979. ISBN 0-370-10029-8.-External links:* * ****...

aircraft, followed by Sikorsky S-38

Sikorsky S-38

-See also:...

amphibans

Amphibious aircraft

An amphibious aircraft or amphibian is an aircraft that can take off and land on either land or water. Fixed-wing amphibious aircraft are seaplanes that are equipped with retractable wheels, at the expense of extra weight and complexity, plus diminished range and fuel economy compared to planes...

and Ford Trimotor

Ford Trimotor

The Ford Trimotor was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced...

s. Amphibious service linked the coastal mining areas in the eastern part of Cuba, while the land-based Curtiss Robin and Ford Trimotor aircraft served the major provincial cities. The Curtiss Aviation School, owned by the Curtiss airplane manufacturing company, had trained Cuban pilots starting in the 1910s, thus creating the expertise necessary for the emergence of Cubana. Among the early Cuban aviation aces was Agustín Parlá, a 1912 graduate of the Curtiss School, who had headed the Compañía Aérea de Cuba in 1919.

Visits to Cuba by famous aviators, and news about their exploits, favored Cubana's start-up. They generated interest in aviation and its commercial possibilities in Cuba, at a time when civil aviation was mostly a recreational activity. Among them were the Spanish-Cuban aviator Domingo Rosillo, who completed the first flight across the Strait of Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

(Key West

Key West

Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....

to Havana) in 1913, French aviator Charles Nungesser

Charles Nungesser

Charles Eugène Jules Marie Nungesser, MC was a French ace pilot and adventurer, best remembered as a rival of Charles Lindbergh...

in 1924, and the American Charles Lindbergh

Charles Lindbergh

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...

in his "Spirit of St. Louis" airplane in 1928. After Cubana's founding, the Spanish aviators Mariano Barberán and Joaquín Collar completed the first transatlantic flight from Spain to Cuba in 1933, followed in 1936 by the first Cuba-to-Spain (Havana-Seville

Seville

Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

) flight by Cuban aviator Antonio Menéndez Peláez in an open cockpit, single-engine airplane. These and other feats promoted interest in long-distance flight.

Pan American Airways (then known as Pan American Airways System or PAA) acquired Cubana in 1932, and the word Curtiss was deleted from the airline's name. Financial difficulties in the U.S.-based Curtiss aircraft manufacturing company, due to the deepening economic depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

, partly motivated the sale. Cubana therefore became a subsidiary of Pan American Airways. At that time, Pan American had started to assemble a Latin American and Caribbean network, linking together air services in various nations with its own international routes in the Americas and the Caribbean. Pan American's own first-ever international scheduled service had started from Florida to Cuba in the 1920s (Key West-Havana). Acquiring Cubana therefore made sense to PAA's management as it expanded operations beyond Cuba toward the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Cuba's populist revolution of 1933 had little effect on Cubana and on Pan American's ownership of the airline. Despite the nationalist character of the new government which seized power from 1933 until 1940, Pan American's investment in Cubana was safeguarded. The economic depression

Great Depression

of the 1930s did affect Cuba, but its impact on Cubana was not substantial. At the time, much of Cubana's revenue was derived from carrying mail for Cuba's postal service. Airline passenger traffic was very limited, due to the small capacity of aircraft in those times. Also, people who chose to travel by air were mostly a select elite. Air travellers within Cuba in the 1930s were mostly wealthy business people, well-paid professionals, or well-to-do individuals who could afford the relatively high fares.

Twin-engine Lockheed Model 10 Electra

Lockheed Model 10 Electra

The Lockheed Model 10 Electra was a twin-engine, all-metal monoplane airliner developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in the 1930s to compete with the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2...

s joined Cubana's fleet in 1934, allowing the airline to extend its routes within Cuba. These aircraft, which were among the most advanced in their time, were part of Pan American's investment in Cubana. The Lockheed Electras allowed Cubana to expand its land-based operations, serving cities which previously had no access to scheduled airline service. The expansion of Cubana's routes was accompanied by the creation of Cuba's Civil Aviation School in 1936, headed by Cuban aviation ace Ramiro Leonard. The school trained many aviators who would join Cubana's operations. By 1940, Cubana's fleet had a total of 12 aircraft, all of which were used in the airline's growing domestic network.

The Lockheed Electras were followed by the Douglas DC-3

Douglas DC-3

The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...

in 1944 and the Curtiss C-46 in 1946. As a subsidiary of Pan American Airways, Cubana's technical operations, aircraft livery, crews' uniforms and even the airline's logo closely followed those of Pan American (the PAA-style logo was retained until 1957). Cubana's route system within Cuba fed passengers to Pan American's international flights, providing connections through Havana. This relationship was similar to that of other Pan American Airways subsidiaries in Latin America, such as Mexicana de Aviación

Mexicana de Aviación

Founded in 1921, Compañía Mexicana de Aviación, S.A. de C.V. was Mexico's oldest airline, before ceasing operations on August 28, 2010. The group's closure was announced by the company's recently installed management team a short time after the group filed for Concurso Mercantil and US Chapter 15...

and Panair do Brasil

Panair do Brasil

Panair do Brasil is a defunct airline of Brazil. Between 1945 and 1965 it was considered to be the largest carrier not only in Brazil but in all of Latin America.-NYRBA do Brasil :...

.

In 1944 the name of the airline was changed to Compañía Cubana de Aviación S.A. A majority share in the airline was then sold to Cuban investors in that year, with Pan American Airways retaining a 42% stake. Pan American had been expanding rapidly, acquiring or setting up subsidiaries throughout Latin America (and re-establishing its Pacific and North Atlantic services as the end of World War II approached), and needed to raise capital. This change in majority ownership marked Cubana's ascendance as a Cuban enterprise, and made the airline a source of national pride. From 1944, Cubana would remain a private enterprise supported primarily by domestic capital.

In 1944, the first International Conference on Civil Aviation was convened, which later would lead to the creation of the International Civil Aviation Organization

International Civil Aviation Organization

The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...

(ICAO). Cuba was a participant in this conference and a founding member of ICAO, helping set the framework for international agreements that would rule civil aviation during the second half of the 20th century. In April 1945, the conference that created the International Air Transport Association

International Air Transport Association

The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...

(IATA) was held in Havana. 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.

During its first 16 years Cubana's scheduled services were exclusively domestic. Its route system used Havana as its main hub, with frequent flights to the nation's major provincial cities. Cubana's founding in 1929 had coincided with the opening of Havana's José Martí International Airport

José Martí International Airport

José Martí International Airport , sometimes known by its former name Rancho-Boyeros Airport, is located southwest of Havana, Cuba, and is a hub for Cubana de Aviación, Aerogaviota and Aero Caribbean, and former Latin American hub for Aeroflot Soviet Airlines...

, allowing the airline to establish a permanent operational base there. Located 18 km. from Havana, near the town of Rancho Boyeros, the new airport provided ample space for expansion (compared to Havana's old Columbia Airport, which was hemmed by the city's rapid growth). During the 1930s, Cubana expanded its services to serve most every major city in Cuba. Then, the Second World War stymied Cubana's expansion, due to limited supplies of fuel and aircraft. By the end of the War, however, Cubana was ready to launch its first international route.

International expansion

In May 1945 Cubana started its first scheduled international flights, to Miami

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

using Douglas DC-3

Douglas DC-3

aircraft. Cubana was the first Latin American airline to establish scheduled services to Miami. The Miami route, because of its economic and political significance, would later prove to be an important part of Cubana's history.

In April 1948 a transatlantic route was started between Havana and Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

(via Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

, the Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

and Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

) using Douglas DC-4

Douglas DC-4

The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...

aircraft. The Madrid route was extended to Rome in 1950. The new route to Europe made Cubana one of the earliest Latin American carriers to establish scheduled transatlantic service. Later, the DC-4s would be replaced by Lockheed Constellation

Lockheed Constellation

The Lockheed Constellation was a propeller-driven airliner powered by four 18-cylinder radial Wright R-3350 engines. It was built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in numerous models, all distinguished by a...

L-049 and Super Constellation
L-1049E aircraft.

In the early 1950s the airline purchased several Lockheed Super "G" Constellation L-1049G from the U.S., and turboprop

Turboprop

A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...

Vickers Viscount

The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...

VV-755 aircraft from Britain to renovate its fleet. The Super Constellations allowed Cubana to start service to Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and to increase frequencies to Madrid via Bermuda

Bermuda

, the Azores

Azores

and Lisbon. The Viscounts were used for its Miami and Nassau

Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...

flights, and for domestic services to Camagüey

Camagüey

Camagüey is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third largest city. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province.After almost continuous attacks from pirates the original city was moved inland in 1528.The new city was built with a confusing lay-out of winding alleys that made...

and Santiago de Cuba

Santiago de Cuba

Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....

. Cubana's turboprop Viscount flights to Miami from Havana and Varadero

Varadero

Varadero is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero is also called Playa Azul, which means "blue beach" in Spanish.-Geography:...

became popular with travellers, because of their shorter flight time and superb onboard service. Cubana usually operated as many as five daily roundtrip Viscount flights between Havana and Miami year-round, with additional flights during holiday periods. The Miami route therefore became Cubana's main international source of revenue during the 1950s.

In 1954, the airline became fully Cuban-owned when Pan American Airways sold its minority stake. This marked Cubana's independence as a private Cuban enterprise. Cuban investors were drawn to Cubana by the airline's potential for growth and by its achievements, such as the quality of passenger services, the renovation of its fleet (which was among the most advanced in Latin America), the experience of its crews, and its projected international expansion. An additional attraction were the airline's promotional efforts to cater to Cuba's growing tourism industry, particularly with American travellers.

Tourism was a nascent industry in the 1950s. Havana, having one of the best hotel and communication infrastructures in Latin America, became a tourist playground, attracting more tourism than any other Latin American city in the mid-1950s. The city's proximity to the U.S. provided a formidable advantage that helped consolidate its position as a prime tourist destination. Cubana took advantage of Havana's excellent tourist infrastructure and amenities by pioneering the combination of flights, hotels and tours as a package. An example of this strategy were the airline's "Tropicana flights" from Miami, which combined flights, hotel, ground transport, and admission to the internationally famous Tropicana Cabaret in Havana. By the mid-1950s, Cubana was the Latin American carrier with most experience in travel promotion.

At a time when airline in-flight publications were practically unknown, Cubana started its own in-flight magazine, Aeroguía Cubana. The magazine was first published in March 1954. Typically about 60 pages long, with numerous photographs and illustrations, it was published in Spanish and contained articles on Cuba's tourist attractions, Cuban culture and folklore, the Cuban economy, Havana entertainment, points of interest in Cuba's provinces, a directory of Havana museums, hotels, restaurants, night clubs, and a calendar of upcoming monthly cultural and sports events, among other features. Aeroguía Cubana was financially supported through advertisements from major, well-known Cuban private companies, such as the Bacardi

Bacardi

Bacardi is a family-controlled spirits company, best known as a producer of rums, including Bacardi Superior and Bacardi 151. The company sells in excess of 200 million bottles per year in nearly 100 countries...

liquor company, major Havana hotels, the department store El Encanto, and internationally well-known entertainment venues, such as the Tropicana and Montmartre cabarets. Issues of the magazine also often included articles on the airline's international destinations, such as a history of Miami (in the November 1954 issue), along with a humor-comics section and cross-word puzzles. Aeroguía Cubana was distributed freely in all of the airline's international services, and in many domestic flights.

In 1957, Cubana started a second publication, the Cubana Courier, a bilingual monthly newspaper. This publication was oriented toward travel agents and the tourism promotion industry, particularly in the U.S. Cubana Couriers reporting covered a wide range of subjects related to tourism in Cuba and the Cuban economy, among them articles covering Cuban tourism statistics, the Cuban construction industry, Havana's infrastructure, new tourism programmes, and foreign investment in Cuba. The newspaper also sometimes included educational supplements, such as a booklet explaining the workings of the Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines which powered Cubana's Vickers Viscount

Vickers Viscount

The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...

aircraft. Cubana Courier was made available at the airline's international and domestic offices, and was distributed by mail to travel professionals in the U.S., Cuba, and other nations. This newspaper reflected Cubana's growing experience with tourism promotion. To many of the airline's investors, it was a welcome indication of Cubana's pioneering efforts in tourism promotion, and its growing expertise in mass communications related to tourism and travel.

Cubana's travel promotion strategies also enlisted consultants and publicists with wide access to the media. Contracts with American advertising and public relations firms allowed the airline to become well known in the U.S. At the same time, Cuban advertising firms helped promote Cubana's domestic and international services. The airline thus became not only well-known among American travellers, but was also a favorite of Cuba's growing middle classes, as vacation and business travel abroad increased, due to the nation's economic expansion throughout the 1950s.

The PAA-style logo Cubana had used since the 1930s was replaced in 1957, and a new logo and livery compatible with the advent of the jet age were adopted (the new livery and logo were retained until the late 1960s). The new logo's aerodynamic look included an oval-shaped globe showing the geographical areas served by Cubana, with Cuba in the center. It was unique among Latin American airlines, whose logos typically depicted avian-based designs or simply used their acronyms. At this time, Cubana also undertook a renovation of its fleet, opting to replace its long-range piston-prop Super Constellations with turboprop aircraft, and to expand its existing Vickers Viscount turboprop fleet in the immediate future.

Cubana placed orders for four long-range Bristol Britannia

Bristol Britannia

The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...

Model 318s and four Vickers Super Viscount VV-818

Vickers Viscount

The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...

aircraft, all turboprops, for its international services (which included Madrid, New York, Mexico City, Miami, Montego Bay

Montego Bay

Montego Bay is the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the fourth by population .It is a tourist destination with duty free shopping, cruise line terminal and the beaches...

, Nassau

Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...

, Port-au-Prince

Port-au-Prince

Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....

), and for some of its domestic routes. The new Britannias and Super Viscounts allowed Cubana to become the first Latin American airline to fly only turboprop aircraft in all its international routes. By the late 1950s, Cubana was the Latin American airline with most experience in the operation and maintenance of British-made turboprop aircraft. It also had one of the most advanced fleets in Latin America.

The new Bristol Britannias and Super Viscounts entered service in 1958 and 1959, and provided the only turboprop flights to Cuba at a time when U.S.-flag carriers and all other airlines flew there only with piston-prop aircraft. On 17 January 1959 one of Cubana's new turboprop Britannias set a record on the New York-Havana route, flying it in 3 hours 28 minutes, the fastest ever for a commercial flight at that time. Cubana's Britannias also allowed the airline to displace competing airlines on the Mexico City and Madrid routes, flying the routes faster while providing excellent onboard service.

Similarly, Cubana's turboprop Viscounts and Super Viscounts on the Miami flights flew the route faster than competing carriers, with excellent inflight service and amenities upon arrival in Havana. The Miami and New York routes thus became a major source of revenue for the airline. In 1958, Cubana placed an order for two Boeing 707

Boeing 707

The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...

-139 jets, becoming one of the first Latin American carriers planning to purchase this new passenger jet (the order was cancelled in 1960, when U.S.-Cuba relations deteriorated).

Despite Cubana's advances during the 1950s and its position at the forefront of aviation in Latin America and the Caribbean, part of the year 1958 involved some difficulties for the airline. Cuba's intensifying revolutionary struggle

Cuban Revolution

The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...

impacted Cubana as three of its flights were hijacked. Two of the three hijackings did not result in losses, but one involved numerous fatalities and the loss of an aircraft (a Viscount VV-755). This was the first-ever loss of life or an aircraft due to hijacking in Cubana's history. Revolutionary leaders subsequently apologized for the losses, but the incidents made it clear that Cubana's operations would no longer remain unaffected by the strife. Then, less than two months after the third hijacking incident, revolutionary leaders seized power (in January 1959), and another stage in the history of Cubana de Aviación began.

Revolution and socialism

When Cuba's populist revolutionary movement, led by Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

, overthrew the Batista

Batista

Batista is a Spanish or Portuguese languages surname , literally meaning "baptist"...

regime in January 1959, Cubana was seen by the new government as an important resource. Building up the new government's foreign relations became an important priority, and Cubana had a major role to play in this area. Despite the fact that the airline was a private enterprise, it was viewed by the new government as Cuba's official air carrier.

The events surrounding Cuba's revolutionary process in 1959 and 1960 attracted much international interest. Numerous international celebrities visited Cuba aboard Cubana's flights, providing much publicity to the airline. Among them were French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...

and writer Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir

Simone-Ernestine-Lucie-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, often shortened to Simone de Beauvoir , was a French existentialist philosopher, public intellectual, and social theorist. She wrote novels, essays, biographies, an autobiography in several volumes, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and...

, the American singer Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....

, Chilean poet (and later Nobel laureate) Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....

, British historian Hugh Thomas

Hugh Thomas

Hugh Thomas , is a British historian and life peer.Hugh Thomas may also refer to:* Hugh Thomas , American choral conductor, pianist and educator* Hugh Thomas , Australian rules football coach...

, Soviet filmmaker Mikhail Kalatozov

Mikhail Kalatozov

Mikhail Kalatozov born Mikheil Kalatozishvili was a Georgian/Russian film director. Born in Tiflis , he studied economics before starting his film career as an actor and later cinematographer....

, and Colombian writer (and later Nobel laureate) Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...

. For these and many other celebrities who visited Cuba, often as guests of the new government, Cubana was the preferred airline.

In May 1959 the revolutionary government decided to nationalise Cubana; the private passenger airline Aerovías Q and private cargo carriers Cuba Aeropostal and Expreso Aéreo Interamericano were then merged into Cubana. At that time, Aerovías Q operated Douglas DC-4

Douglas DC-4

The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...

and Curtiss C-46 aircraft (modified for passenger use), while Cuba Aeropostal and Expreso Aéreo Interamericano used Douglas DC-3

Douglas DC-3

and Curtiss C-46 freighters. Aerovías Q had many daily flights from Havana's Columbia Airport (at the time a mixed use civilian-military airport adjacent to the Miramar district) to Key West, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach

Palm Beach, Florida

The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...

and Cuba's Isle of Pines (now named Isla de la Juventud), but its operations were moved to José Martí International Airport

José Martí International Airport

when the government took it over. Cuba Aeropostal had frequent cargo flights to Miami and within Cuba, while Expreso Aéreo Interamericano operated cargo flights to Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

and the Caribbean.

The merger of these airlines with Cubana consolidated Cuban commercial aviation under government ownership. Cubana's name was changed to Empresa Consolidada Cubana de Aviación S.A., to reflect its new ownership and the mergers. The airline's former capitalist investors would, however, soon launch a troublesome campaign against the airline. Many of the wealthy former Cuban investors went into exile and sought external litigation against Cubana and Cuba's revolutionary government. In the U.S., in particular, they joined with American business investors in rejecting the new government's offer of 20 year 4.5% government bonds as compensation, demanding immediate payment and seeking U.S. court orders to impound Cubana's aircraft. These were issued at various times, starting in 1960.
Such actions disrupted Cubana's U.S. operations considerably, leading sometimes to flight delays or cancellations. The nationalisation of Cubana was among the first wave of business and property nationalisations enacted by Cuba's revolutionary government, as it sought greater control over the economy and the public ownership of key enterprises in order to develop a planned economy

Planned economy

A planned economy is an economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are embodied in a plan formulated by a central authority, usually by a government agency...

.

As a nationalised industry and Cuba's undisputed flag carrier

Flag carrier

, Cubana became an important resource in the revolutionary government's foreign relations strategy. Domestic and international travel by the government's leaders, and visits by official guests, were coordinated through the airline. Special flights for government officials and guests were operated frequently, as the airline became an essential element of Cuba's foreign policy. Important projects, such as the creation of the Cuban government's international press agency, Prensa Latina, in 1959 used Cubana for all travel arrangements. Cubana's international offices also became closely linked with Cuba's diplomatic legations.

After 1960 many of the airline's most experienced crews and technicians sought employment with foreign airlines and left Cuba, reducing its pool of skilled personnel and the quality of service. Then, by early 1961 Cubana had to discontinue its U.S. routes, which included Miami and New York, along with the merged Aerovías Q and Cuba Aeropostal services to Florida. Rising tensions between the U.S. and Cuban governments, threats to impound aircraft in retaliation for the nationalization of American properties, and the breaking of diplomatic relations by the U.S. government (in January 1961), were the main causes for the cancellation of the routes. Political problems in Cuba and U.S. government policies toward Cuba also led to occasional aircraft hijackings.

Despite these problems, in 1961 Cubana expanded its scheduled transatlantic services to Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

(in addition to its existing Madrid route) using its Bristol Britannia

Bristol Britannia

The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...

turboprops.
This was the first regular air service by a Latin American airline to Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

. The new Prague route made a scheduled refueling stop in Gander

Gander International Airport

Gander International Airport is located in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and is currently run by the Gander Airport Authority. Canadian Forces Base Gander shares the airfield but is a separate entity from the airport.-Early years and prominence:...

(Canada) before reaching Prague [stopping also in Shannon

Shannon, County Clare

Shannon or Shannon Town , named after the river near which it stands, is a town located in County Clare. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The town is located just off the N19 road, a spur of the N18/M18 road between Limerick city and Ennis....

(Ireland) on the return flight]. Cubana then ceded one of its Britannias to Czechoslovak Airlines

Czech Airlines

Czech Airlines j.s.c. , trading as Czech Airlines , is the national airline of the Czech Republic and temporary in Slovakia with its head office on the grounds of Ruzyně Airport in Ruzyně, Prague...

(CSA) so that it could start its own Prague-Havana flights, in cooperation with Cubana's services on that route. Cubana's crews trained CSA personnel in the operation of the Britannias. This allowed CSA to establish its first-ever scheduled transatlantic service in 1962.

With the U.S. breaking relations (in 1961) and the imposition of the U.S. embargo

United States embargo against Cuba

The United States embargo against Cuba is a commercial, economic, and financial embargo partially imposed on Cuba in October 1960...

on Cuba (in 1962), Cubana turned to the Soviet Union to obtain new aircraft. Although the Bristol Britannias were kept in service for many years, the airline's Viscounts (VV-755) and Super Viscounts (VV-818) were sold in 1961 and 1962 to other carriers (Cunard Eagle, Trans-Australia, and South African Airways

South African Airways

South African Airways is the national flag carrier and largest airline of South Africa, with headquarters in Airways Park on the grounds of OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. The airline flies to 36 destinations worldwide from its hub at OR Tambo International...

). The first Soviet-built aircraft type delivered was the twin-engine, piston-prop Ilyushin Il-14

Ilyushin Il-14

The Ilyushin Il-14 was a Soviet twin-engine commercial and military personnel and cargo transport aircraft that first flew in 1950, and entered service in 1954. Il-14 was also manufactured in East Germany by VVB Flugzeugbau, in Czechoslovakia as the Avia 14, and in China under the Chinese...

in 1961. Soon after, Ilyushin Il-18

Ilyushin Il-18

The Ilyushin Il-18 is a large turboprop airliner that became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era as well as one of the most popular and durable, having first flown in 1957 and still in use over 50 years later. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades...

turboprops were delivered, followed by Antonov

Antonov

Antonov, or Antonov Aeronautical Scientist/Technical Complex , formerly the Antonov Design Bureau, is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company with particular expertise in the field of very large aircraft construction. Antonov ASTC is a state-owned commercial company...

AN-24, AN-12 and AN-26 (also turboprop) aircraft. All these aircraft were placed in Cubana's domestic routes, replacing the Viscounts, Super Viscounts and U.S.-built aircraft. Except for the Bristol Britannias, Cubana's fleet would now be made up of Soviet-built aircraft.
Later on, with the arrival of the Ilyushin IL-62 jets, Cubana was able to replace its aging Britannias and start all-jet service to Europe on its already existing routes to Madrid and Prague (via Gander

Gander International Airport

, Canada). A fleet of Tupolev

Tupolev

Tupolev is a Russian aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Basmanny District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. Known officially as Public Stock Company Tupolev, it is the successor of the Tupolev OKB or Tupolev Design Bureau headed by the Soviet aerospace engineer A.N. Tupolev...

TU-154, Ilyushin IL-76, Yakovlev

Yakovlev

The Yak Aircraft Corporation is a Russian aircraft designer and manufacturer...

YAK-40 and YAK-42

Yakovlev Yak-42

The Yakovlev Yak-42 is a 100/120-seat three-engined mid-range passenger jet. It was designed as a replacement for several obsolete Aeroflot jets as a mid-range passenger jet...

jets, and the more advanced Ilyushin IL-62M followed in the 1970s for the airline's transatlantic, Latin American and domestic services. The acquisition of this large and diverse fleet was subsidized by the Soviet government and carried very favorable terms, such as repayment through general barter trade in place of hard currency. As a result, Cubana became the Latin American carrier with most experience in the operation of Soviet-built aircraft.

Cubana's new Soviet-built fleet was accompanied by important cooperation agreements with Soviet bloc airlines. Cooperation with CSA Czechoslovak Airlines

Czech Airlines

allowed Cubana to start scheduled services to Prague in 1961, and led to CSA's own operation of its first scheduled transatlantic services the following year. Cubana's cooperation made it possible for Aeroflot Soviet Airlines

Aeroflot

OJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...

to establish 18-hour nonstop scheduled services between Moscow and Havana in 1963. These were the longest nonstop flights in the world, and the Tupolev 114 aircraft Aeroflot

Aeroflot

OJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...

used were also the largest passenger aircraft in service at that time. Cooperation with the East German airline Interflug

Interflug

Interflug was the state airline of East Germany from 1963 to 1991, when it ceased operations following German reunification...

made it possible for this carrier to establish its first scheduled transatlantic services, linking East Berlin

East Berlin

East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...

with Havana. These and other cooperation agreements supported Cubana's technical capabilities and led to mutual accords involving representative offices, aircraft maintenance, and passenger services.

These agreements also allowed Cubana to fulfill a very important and little-known strategic role for the Cuban government. Throughout the 1960s, numerous aspiring revolutionaries from Latin America travelled to Cuba for military or intelligence training, education, and conferences. They usually travelled on Cubana's flights from Prague

Prague

, and in some cases also used the airline's occasional special flights to Soviet bloc cities. This long roundabout became very important when almost all Latin American nations severed relations with Cuba. By the mid-1960s, only Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

had diplomatic relations with Cuba, and Cubana's Mexico City service provided the only flights to Latin America. The Mexico City flights were closely monitored by Western intelligence agencies, however, making it difficult for individuals who travelled to Cuba to remain undetected. Through its transatlantic flights to Prague

Prague

and other Soviet bloc cities, Cubana therefore helped fulfill a major element of the Cuban government's foreign relations strategy. Later, throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, numerous African Freedom Fighters would also use Cubana's services from Soviet bloc nations, to travel to Cuba undetected by Western intelligence services.

In 1975 Cubana's old Bristol Britannias, then held in reserve, were pressed back into service to ferry elite Cuban troops to Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

. The Britannias were modified (with additional fuel tanks placed inside the passenger cabin) by Cubana's technicians, to allow non-stop flights from Cuba to Africa and provide greater secrecy. Access to the cargo bay from the passenger cabin was also provided, to facilitate the rapid deployment of weapons and ammunition. Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

winning author Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel García Márquez

wrote articles in 1976 narrating the role of Cubana's Britannias and its pilots in flying the first contingent of elite Cuban troops to Angola. The route for those very urgent flights involved a brief stop at Conakry

Conakry

Conakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Conakry is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea with a 2009 population of 1,548,500...

for refueling, and at Brazzaville

Brazzaville

-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...

for intelligence reports on developments in Luanda

Luanda

Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...

. Arrivals in Brazzaville and Luanda were scheduled for nighttime, and the aircraft's exterior and interior lights were turned off before landing, on the ground, and during takeoff to avoid attracting attention. These flights were undertaken in complete secrecy, and helped prevent the invading South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n army from occupying Luanda when Angola declared independence. Soon after, Cubana established scheduled passenger service between Havana and Luanda.

In the mid-1970s, Cubana leased Douglas DC-8

Douglas DC-8

The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...

aircraft (previously in service with Air Canada

Air Canada

Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...

) for its Canadian, Caribbean and Guyana

Guyana

Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...

services. These aircraft were leased with support from the Canadian government, as part of bilateral trade agreements between Canada and Cuba. They allowed Cubana to gain experience operating U.S.-built jets and made up for delays in deliveries of Soviet-made aircraft. One of the DC-8s was damaged in an accident with no loss of life, but another was lost when explosions occurred during an international flight, resulting in numerous fatalities. The Cuban government decried the explosions as sabotage. The leases for those aircraft were terminated in the late 1970s, as a result of the losses. Except for the Britannias, the DC-8s were the only Western-built aircraft Cubana operated during the 1970s.

By early 1980, Cubana flew scheduled services to Eastern and Western Europe (Prague, East Berlin, Moscow, Madrid, Paris, Lisbon), Sub-Saharan Africa (Luanda

Luanda

), the Middle East and North Africa (Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

, Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

), Canada (Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Gander

Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador

Gander is a Canadian town located in the northeastern part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, approximately south of Gander Bay, south of Twillingate and east of Grand Falls-Windsor...

), and to various Latin American and Caribbean destinations (Mexico City, Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

, Managua

Managua

Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...

, Lima

Lima

Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

, Kingston

Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...

, Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

, Port of Spain

Port of Spain

Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...

, Georgetown

Georgetown, Guyana

Georgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves...

). A route to Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

was under consideration at that time but was never started.

Most of these services were sustained through the decade of the 1980s. Cubana's international flights mostly carried government officials, sports delegations, military personnel, scholarship students, cultural exchange delegations, medical personnel on aid missions, and visitors to official events in Cuba. Most international destinations were served only once or twice per week. As the Cuban government began to make tourism a priority in the late 1980s, however, Cubana's international flights started to cater more to this growing segment of travellers to Cuba. Then, the collapse of the Soviet bloc by the end of the 1980s, and the Soviet Union's own dissolution in 1991, would have a major impact on the airline's operations.

Post-Cold War era

With the collapse of the Soviet bloc, Cubana faced the formidable challenges of improving passenger services, revamping its technical capabilities, and restructuring its fleet. Any one of those challenges would have been a daunting undertaking for any major Western airline. Cubana had to face all of them at the same time, with great urgency, along with the continuing U.S. embargo on Cuba (which prohibited sales of U.S.-made aircraft and components). As a result, substantial flight delays, sometimes lasting days, uneven passenger service and some accidents, marred Cubana's attempts to attract passengers to what was essentially a company operating with Soviet-bloc airline standards.

Efforts were made to improve operations in the early 1990s by leasing Western-built aircraft and improving onboard service. However, throughout the 1990s the quality of Cubana's passenger service remained far below pre-1960 standards, when it was considered comparable to, or even better than, that of U.S.-flag airlines. To make matters worse, technical deficiencies and low staff morale added to the airline's difficulties as it tried to compete for passengers in Western Europe

Western Europe

Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...

, Latin America, and Canada. A series of fatal accidents in the 1990s compounded Cubana's troubles, leading to a negative reputation among some travellers. Beyond these problems, occasional hijackings of Cubana's domestic flights also made it difficult to improve the airline's image and its competitive position, compared with other carriers flying to Cuba.

An important part of Cubana's strategy after the collapse of the Soviet bloc was to lease Western-built aircraft. The airline leased long-range McDonnell Douglas DC-10

McDonnell Douglas DC-10

The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a...

wide-bodies from the French airline AOM and medium-range Airbus A320

Airbus A320

The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...

aircraft, to complement its Soviet-built fleet. Cubana also acquired several Fokker F-27 turboprops from Iberia Airlines

Iberia Airlines

Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A., commonly known as Iberia, is the flag carrier airline of Spain. Based in Madrid, it operates an international network of services from its main bases of Madrid-Barajas Airport and Barcelona El Prat Airport....

of Spain, and Sud Aviation

Sud Aviation

Sud-Aviation was a French state-owned aircraft manufacturer, originating from the merger of Sud-Est and Sud-Ouest on March 1, 1957...

ATR-42 turboprop aircraft to sustain its short-range routes. Wide-body aircraft such as Airbus A330

Airbus A330

The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....

and occasionally Boeing 747

Boeing 747

The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...

and Boeing 767

Boeing 767

The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...

, were also leased from various European carriers, to support its transatlantic services and Cuba's rapidly growing tourist traffic.

In the 1990s, using Western-built aircraft and also its aging Soviet-built fleet, Cubana established new routes to western Europe

Western Europe

and Latin America, to cater to Cuba's rapidly growing tourism industry.

Cubana's new 1990s routes included:

In Europe: Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, London, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, Rome, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

, Berlin, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, Las Palmas, Vitoria, Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...

.
In South America: São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, Santiago de Chile, Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

, Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...

, Mendoza
Mendoza, Argentina
Mendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. As of the , Mendoza's population was 110,993...

, Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...

, Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...

, Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...

.
In Central America: Cancún
Cancún
Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...

, Guatemala City
Guatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...

, San José de Costa Rica.
In the Caribbean: Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...

, St. Maarten
Saint Martin
Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km2 island is divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands ; however, the Dutch side has the larger population. It is one of the smallest sea islands divided between...

, Montego Bay
Montego Bay
Montego Bay is the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the fourth by population .It is a tourist destination with duty free shopping, cruise line terminal and the beaches...

, Fort de France, Nassau
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...

, Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the nation's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles southwest of Cayman Brac.-Geography:Grand Cayman encompasses 76% of...

, Pointe a Pitre.

In the 1990s Cubana also undertook many special flights involving humanitarian missions. When in 1998 the hurricanes Georges

Hurricane Georges

Hurricane Georges was a very destructive, powerful and long-lived Cape Verde-type Category 4 hurricane. Georges was the seventh tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season...

and Mitch

Hurricane Mitch

Hurricane Mitch was the most powerful hurricane and the most destructive of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph . The storm was the thirteenth tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the season. Along with Hurricane Georges, Mitch...

caused severe damage in Central America and the Caribbean, for example, Cuban medical brigades and provisions were flown to the affected nations aboard Cubana aircraft. The airline also flew sports delegations from Cuba and other Caribbean nations to international competitions around the world. Cubana's strategic importance to Cuba's foreign relations and to its tourism industry was well understood by the Cuban government. As a result, considerable efforts have been devoted to renovate the airline's fleet and its technical capabilities.

Renovation

After the 1990s, spare parts for Cubana's Soviet-built aircraft became harder to find. Also, the obsolescence of its Soviet-built fleet required urgent attention for the airline to have any chance of competing with other carriers serving Cuba and its rapidly growing tourism industry. Cubana's management therefore made efforts to renovate its fleet and in 2005 received several new long-range Ilyushin IL-96-300 wide-body jets from Russia, to replace some of the leased western-built wide-bodies and its aged Soviet-era aircraft. New medium-range Russian Tupolev TU-204 jets were also ordered. The new IL-96 and TU-204 jets were financed with the assistance of the Russian government.

Cubana refurbished some of its aging Ilyushin IL-62M aircraft in the early 2000s, to use them in some of its international routes. The refurbished IL-62M aircraft have been used in some of Cubana's flights within Latin America and for special flights to Africa. The airline's limited financial resources and the lack of Western financing to replace these aircraft made it necessary to keep them in service despite their age. Also, restrictions imposed by the U.S. embargo on the sale of American-built aircraft and components (such as engines and avionics) made it necessary to keep the IL-62M and other Soviet-built aircraft in service.

Cubana's long-term renovation strategy is based on the purchase of new Russian-built aircraft. Although the airline's long-standing experience with Soviet-built aircraft may play a role in this strategy, the most important factor seems to be the financing provided by aircraft companies such as Ilyushin and Tupolev, with the assistance of the Russian government. The efficiency and performance of the most modern Russian aircraft, such as the IL-96 and TU-204, compare well with aircraft built by Airbus

Airbus

Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....

and Boeing

Boeing

The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

. The much lower purchase price of Russian aircraft makes them attractive to government-owned airlines with limited financial resources. And, the Russian government's eagerness to strengthen what remains of its aircraft industry has undoubtedly also played a part in the financing of new aircraft to Cubana.

Beyond favorable financing and low purchase prices, the acquisition of new aircraft from Russia also follows strategic political considerations. Some Western European governments (and the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

) have often pressed the Cuban government for internal political reforms. The U.S. government itself imposed a trade embargo on Cuba in 1962, and conditions its lifting on the implementation of internal reforms. The possibility that access to spare parts and components might be cut off for political reasons likely discouraged the purchase of Western-built aircraft. The Russian government, on the other hand, did not attach any political strings to the sale or financing of Russian-built aircraft, and does not press the Cuban government for internal reforms. This stance may have influenced the Cuban government's decision to forego the purchase of Airbus or Boeing aircraft to renovate Cubana's fleet. The policy has therefore been to lease Airbus and Boeing aircraft from Western European airlines whenever needed, and only for limited periods of time.

As part of its renovation strategy, Cubana has sought to upgrade its technical support capabilities. The airline established a joint venture company with Iberia Airlines

Iberia Airlines

of Spain in 2005, to maintain and overhaul Western-built aircraft, including all Airbus and Boeing models. Technical facilities are located in Havana and several other Cuban cities served by foreign carriers. The joint venture company, IBECA (incorporating Iberia's and Cubana's initials), is 50% owned by Cubana. It has contracted with various airlines flying to Cuba to provide maintenance and technical support. Expertise gained through this venture are likely to help Cubana's technical capabilities with its new Russian aircraft, since they share many features with Western-built airplanes.

Cubana's renovation efforts are also related to the airline's strategic importance for the Cuban government and its foreign relations. New Ilyushin IL-96-300 wide-bodies and also old IL-62M

Ilyushin Il-62

The Ilyushin Il-62 is a Soviet long-range jet airliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As successor to the popular turbo-prop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 passengers, the Il-62 was the largest jet airliner when it first flew in 1963. It entered Aeroflot service on 15 September 1967 with...

aircraft, showing Cubana livery, but with specially configured executive cabins and medical facilities, are typically used by high-level Cuban government officials on trips abroad. The compatibility of these specially configured long-range aircraft with Cubana's passenger fleet has always been important, for technical and strategic reasons. The specially configured aircraft (displaying Cubana livery) are never used on commercial flights, and they are maintained and kept under close guard at a military airport near Havana. The registration numbers shown on those aircraft might occasionally duplicate or be switched with those on other Cubana aircraft on regular passenger service, when high-level officials travel abroad, for security reasons. Cubana's pilots have typically served in the Cuban air force, and are well versed in the operation of multiple types of aircraft.

During the August 2007 MAKS Airshow

MAKS Airshow

MAKS is an International Air Show held near Moscow, Russia on Zhukovskiy LII air field. The first show, Mosaeroshow-92, was held in 1992. Since 1993, it was renamed to its current name and is held on odd years .MAKS is an important event in Russian business...

Cubana signed a $150 million contract for the purchase and confirmation of two Tupolev Tu-204

Tupolev Tu-204

The Tupolev Tu-204 is a twin-engined medium-range jet airliner capable of carrying 210 passengers, designed by Tupolev and produced by Aviastar SP and Kazan Aircraft Production Association. First introduced in 1989, it is considered to be broadly equivalent to the Boeing 757 and has competitive...

and three Antonov An-148

Antonov An-148

The Antonov An-148 Antonov Design Bureau from Kiev, Ukraine, is a regional jet aircraft designed by the Ukrainian Antonov Design Bureau and produced by Ukraine's Kiev Aviation Plant AVIANT and Russia's Voronezh Aircraft Production Association. Development of the plane was started in the 1990s,...

regional aircraft, to be delivered between 2008 and 2011. Cubana will become one of the Antonov An-148 launch customers.

Club Tropical lounge

Members of 'Club Tropical', the VIP club, can take advantage of an open lounge

Airport lounge

An airport lounge is a lounge owned by a particular airline . Many offer private meeting rooms, phone, fax, wireless and Internet access and other business services, along with provisions to enhance comfort such as free drinks and snacks...

with all kinds of Cuban liquor and beverages at the airport. The Club Tropical Lounge can be found at the Havana's José Martí International Airport

José Martí International Airport

, Varadero

Varadero

's Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport

Juan Gualberto Gomez Airport

Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport is an international airport serving Varadero, Cuba and the province of Matanzas. The airport is located closer to the town of Matanzas than to Varadero. The closest airport to Varadero is Santa Marta Airport...

, Cayo Coco

Cayo Coco

Cayo Coco is an island in central Cuba, well known for its luxurious all inclusive resorts. It lies within the Ciego de Ávila Province and is part of a chain of islands called Jardines del Rey . The cay is administered by the Morón municipality. It is named for the white ibis, locally called Coco...

Jardines del Rey Airport

Cayo Coco Airport

Jardines del Rey Airport is an airport situated on the Island of Cayo Coco, in the Ciego de Ávila Province, Cuba. The airport was inaugurated on December 26, 2002, replacing the earlier Cayo Coco Airport to the west. The airport is the only one in Cuba that has a shared administration with Aena,...

, Holguín

Holguín

Holguín is a municipality and city, the capital of the Cuban Province of Holguín. It also includes a tourist area, offering beach resorts in the outskirts of the region.-History:...

's Frank País Airport

Frank Pais Airport

Frank País Airport is an international airport that serves the city of Holguín in Cuba. It bears the name of Cuban revolutionary Frank País and is located in the municipio of Frank País.-Airlines and destinations :-Holguín Air Base:...

among others. The special drinks served, are Havana Club

Havana Club

Havana Club is a brand of rum, made in Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba. The brand was established by José Arechabala in 1878. After the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the distillery and company was nationalized by the Cuban government; subsequently, the Arechabala family left for Spain, then emigrated to the...

rum, Mojitos among other Cuban drinks.

Entertainment

Onboard entertainment is presented by Aerovision, the Cubana airline in-flight channel. Options include the latest Hollywood movies, and interesting informational and nature videos called Destiny Programs. There is also a wide selection of music for private listening.

Aerovision In-flight Programs by Destinations:
- Aerovision European flights television programs are: Inside The Caiman, 2 Hollywood films, All About Cuba 3, Come Closer 3, Wake Up Program, Onboard Sale Program, and Variet Dinner.
- Aerovision Brazil/Argentina inflight television programs are: Natural Vision, Inside The Caiman, Hollywood film, Wake Up, and Dinner.
- Aerovision Canadian inflight television programs are: Natural Vision, and a Hollywood film.
- Aerovision Venezuelan flights: All About Cuba.
- Aerovision Colombia/ Dominican Republic inflight television programs are: Natural Vision.
- Aerovision Mexico inflight television programs are: Natural Vision 3, and Natural Vision 6.

Magazine

Cubana's in-flight magazine, Sol Y Son, provides articles and information on Cuba to all international passengers. The magazine has been published since 1992, and is one of Cuba's more important tourist-oriented magazines.

Incidents and accidents

Cubana de Aviación has been involved in 43 incidents and accidents between 1950 and 2003 with 544 fatalities.
(Note: only fatal accidents are listed before 1990)

On January 19, 1985, a Cubana Ilyushin Il-18
Ilyushin Il-18
The Ilyushin Il-18 is a large turboprop airliner that became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era as well as one of the most popular and durable, having first flown in 1957 and still in use over 50 years later. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades...

(CU-T-899) crashed near San Jose De Lejas after take off, all 38 on board died.
On September 3, 1989, a Cubana de Aviación Ilyushin 62M
Ilyushin Il-62
The Ilyushin Il-62 is a Soviet long-range jet airliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As successor to the popular turbo-prop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 passengers, the Il-62 was the largest jet airliner when it first flew in 1963. It entered Aeroflot service on 15 September 1967 with...

(CU-T1281) on a non-scheduled international passenger flight from Havana (José Martí International Airport), Cuba to Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

/Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

(Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne/Bonn Airport is an international airport located in the district of Porz in the city of Cologne, Germany, and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne/Bonn Region southeast of Cologne city centre and northeast of Bonn...

), Germany crashed shortly after take-off. All of the 115 passengers and 11 crew members as well as 45 persons on the ground were killed and the aircraft was written off. Most of the passengers were Italian tourists, who returned from holidays.
On August 29, 1998, a Cubana de Aviación Tupolev 154M
Tupolev Tu-154
The Tupolev Tu-154 is a three-engine medium-range narrow-body airliner designed in the mid 1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. As the mainstay 'workhorse' of Soviet and Russian airlines for several decades, it serviced over a sixth of the world's landmass and carried half of all passengers flown...

(CU-T1264) on a scheduled passenger flight from Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...

(Mariscal Sucre Airport), Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

to Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...

(Simón Bolívar International Airport
José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport
José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport is an airport serving Guayaquil, a city in the province of Guayas in Ecuador. The airport was named after José Joaquín de Olmedo, a notable Ecuadorian poet, first mayor of the city of Guayaquil and former president of Ecuador. It was formerly known as...

), Ecuador crashed after the crew aborted the take-off with only 800 metres left of the runway. The aircraft overran the runway before coming to a stop. 56 of the 77 passengers and the entire crew of 14 were killed as well as 10 people on the ground, and the aircraft was written off.
On December 21, 1999, a Cubana de Aviación McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a...

(F-GTDI) on lease from AOM French Airlines on an international non-scheduled passenger flight from Havana (José Martí International Airport) suffered a landing accident at Guatemala City
Guatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...

(La Aurora International Airport
La Aurora International Airport
La Aurora International Airport serves Guatemala City, Guatemala. It is located south of Guatemala City's center and from Antigua. It is administered by the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil....

), Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

. The aircraft overran runway 19 and continued down a steep slope before coming to rest in a residential area. 8 of the 296 passengers and 8 of the 18 crew as well as 2 people on the ground were killed and the aircraft written off. The Guatemalan Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil
Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (Guatemala)
The Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil is the civil aviation agency of Guatemala.It also investigates aircraft accidents and incidents.-External links:* *...

investigated the accident.
On March 31, 2003, a Cubana de Aviación Antonov An-24
Antonov An-24
The Antonov An-24 is a 44-seat twin turboprop transport designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau from 1957.-Design and development:...

(CU-T1294) on a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Nueva Gerona
Nueva Gerona
Nueva Gerona is the capital city of the Isla de la Juventud special municipality of Cuba. The city is located between the hills of Caballos and Casas, about 3 km up the Río Casas, which provides a navigable waterway to the Caribbean Sea....

was forced to fly
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...

to Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...

by a man with hand grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...

s. The plane had to stop in Havana (José Martí International Airport) for refueling. In Havana at least 26 of the 40 passengers and six crew members in the plane escaped or were released. The aircraft then proceeded on to Key West (Key West International Airport
Key West International Airport
Key West International Airport is a county-owned public airport located two miles east of the central business district of Key West, in Monroe County, Florida, United States....

) where the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

awaited the plane.

Miscellaneous

Cubana was the first Latin American airline to establish scheduled service to Miami, in 1945.
Cubana was one of the first Latin American carriers to start regular transatlantic services, in 1948.
Cubana was the first airline in Latin America to operate Lockheed Super Constellation (L-1049E) aircraft, starting in 1953. It was also one of the first airlines to operate the more advanced Super "G" Constellation (L-1049G), starting in 1954.
Cubana was the first airline in Latin America to operate turboprop aircraft, starting with the Vickers Viscount
Vickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...

in 1956.
Cubana was the first Latin American carrier to fly turboprop aircraft across the Atlantic, using Bristol Britannia
Bristol Britannia
The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...

s on its Madrid route, in the late 1950s.
Cubana was the first Latin American airline to fly to Eastern Europe, with scheduled service to Prague starting in 1961, using turboprop Bristol Britannia
Bristol Britannia
The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...

s.
Cubana was the first Latin American airline to fly Soviet-built aircraft, operating eight different types of short-, medium- and long-range Soviet-made airplanes between 1961 and 1991.
Cuban leader Fidel Castro travelled in one of Cubana's Britannias to Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...

, Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

and New York in January and the spring of 1959, his first official trips abroad after seizing power. The Britannia Mr. Castro flew in was christened "Libertad" (freedom).
In October 1960, Fidel Castro flew in one of Cubana's Bristol Britannias to New York, to address the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...

. The Britannia he travelled in was temporarily impounded to allegedly settle debts incurred by the airline with a Miami advertising agency, and to try to compensate one of Cubana's confiscated stockholders. A total of three impoundment orders were issued by U.S. courts. Castro then returned to Havana in one of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...

's aircraft, an Ilyushin IL-18
Ilyushin Il-18
The Ilyushin Il-18 is a large turboprop airliner that became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era as well as one of the most popular and durable, having first flown in 1957 and still in use over 50 years later. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades...

. Cubana's Britannia was later returned to Cuba.
Argentine-Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...

flew in Cubana's Britannias on official trips abroad, which included Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, the Soviet Union, China, and various nations in eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

in 1960, Brazil and Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

in 1961, New York to address the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

' General Assembly in December 1964, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

, China and various eastern and western African nations in late 1964 and early 1965, among others.
When French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...

and author Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone-Ernestine-Lucie-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, often shortened to Simone de Beauvoir , was a French existentialist philosopher, public intellectual, and social theorist. She wrote novels, essays, biographies, an autobiography in several volumes, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and...

visited Cuba in 1960 they flew there in a Cubana scheduled flight, aboard one of the airline's legendary Bristol Britannias.
In the early 1960s many of Cubana's most experienced pilots and management went into exile. Among them was Cubana's longstanding chief pilot, William Cook, and the airline's former president, Sergio Clark. Pilots who went into exile were not allowed to return or visit Cuba again.
During the early and mid-1960s many aspiring revolutionaries flew to Havana in Cubana's Britannias, for meetings and training. Among them was the East German-Argentine Tamara Bunke (nom de guerre: Tania), who died in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

fighting alongside Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...

in 1967.
Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

winning poet Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....

flew to Havana on Cubana, usually on scheduled flights from Mexico City during the 1960s. When Cubana started a route to Santiago, Chile
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

in 1971, Neruda was one of the first passengers to fly it. Ilyushin IL-62 aircraft were used on that route.
After Cubana started service to Prague in 1961, one of its Britannias was ceded to Czechoslovak Airlines
Czech Airlines
Czech Airlines j.s.c. , trading as Czech Airlines , is the national airline of the Czech Republic and temporary in Slovakia with its head office on the grounds of Ruzyně Airport in Ruzyně, Prague...

(CSA), so that it could start its own Prague-Havana service as a counterpart to Cubana's. CSA had no long-range aircraft in its fleet, and the use of Cubana's Britannia allowed it to start its first-ever transatlantic service in February 1962. Cubana crews trained CSA personnel in the operation of the Britannia.
Since the 1960s, revolutionary guerrilla fighters from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

, Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....

, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...

and other nations often flew to Cuba for medical treatment and training, on special Cubana flights. In the 1960s, many of them flew to Cuba from Prague in Cubana's or Czechoslovak Airlines
Czech Airlines
Czech Airlines j.s.c. , trading as Czech Airlines , is the national airline of the Czech Republic and temporary in Slovakia with its head office on the grounds of Ruzyně Airport in Ruzyně, Prague...

' Britannias, since at that time most Latin American nations had no diplomatic relations with Cuba. The only regular flights available during that time between Cuba and the rest of Latin America were Cubana's from Mexico City, which were closely monitored by Western intelligence agencies.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Cubana's Ilyushin IL-62, IL-18
Ilyushin Il-18
The Ilyushin Il-18 is a large turboprop airliner that became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era as well as one of the most popular and durable, having first flown in 1957 and still in use over 50 years later. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades...

and IL-76 aircraft frequently carried Cuban military and medical personnel to Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

, Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....

, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

and other nations, in special flights.
Cubana aircraft typically carry Cuban medical and disaster relief personnel to areas affected by natural disasters throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.
Cuba's growing biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical tourism
Medical tourism
Medical tourism is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of travelling across international borders to obtain health care...

sectors rely greatly on Cubana's passenger and cargo services.
Cubana is the only major Latin American carrier flying Russian-built airplanes, and in 2005 became the first Latin American airline to operate the Ilyushin IL-96 wide-body jet in its scheduled transatlantic and South American routes.
Cuba's national sports teams usually fly on Cubana to major international events.

Former names

1929-10-08 Compañía Nacional Cubana de Aviación Curtiss, S.A. - (associated with the Curtiss aircraft manufacturing company.)
1932-03-22 Compañía Nacional Cubana de Aviación S.A - (purchased from Curtiss by Pan American Airways).
1944-03-21 Compañía Cubana de Aviación, S.A. - (controlled by Cuban investors)
1959-05-25 Empresa Consolidada Cubana de Aviación - (merged Aerovías Q, Cuba Aeropostal and Expreso Aéreo Interamericano into Cubana.)
1961-06-27 Empresa Consolidada Cubana de Aviación - (nationalized)
1996 Cubana de Aviación S.A. - (current name)

Sources

Aeroguía Cubana magazine, volume 1, issues 1-9 (March–November 1954).
AeroTransport Data Bank, Cubana fleet data, website www.aerotransport.org.
Aerovías Q timetable, undated, circa 1958.
Biographical notes on aviators: Agustín Parlá, website www.earlyaviators.com/eparla.htm; Domingo Rosillo, website www.rcooper.0catch.com/erosillo.htm.
"Breve Historia de la Aviación Cubana", website www.cubaaereo.com.
Britannia Aircraft Preservation Trust, website www.britannia.flyer.co.uk.
Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie (CSA) timetable, April 1962.
Cuban Tourist Commission, Cuba magazine, 1959.
Cubana Airlines: Pioneer in World Aviation brochure, undated (circa 1958).
Cubana Courier newspaper, volume 1, various issues, 1957.
Cubana de Aviación timetables, November 1, 1945; January 1, 1946; March 1948; April 1948; May 1948; May 1953; May 1, 1955; September 16, 1955; December 1, 1955; September 1, 1957; June 1958; Summer 1961; December 1, 1965; June 1968; April 1, 1986; May 1, 1990; Summer 2006.
García Dulzaides, Aurelio, Álbum Azul de Cuba, Rex Press, Miami, 1965.
Gómez Fariñas, George, "Una tragedia cubana, 40 años después", El Nuevo Herald, December 15, 1992.
Martí, Julio, "75 primaveras en alturas", Sol y Son magazine, November 15, 2004, website www.solysonmagazine.com.
Pan American Union, Cuba, Washington, D.C., 1943.
Reed, Ted and Mimi Whitefield, "Cuba improves fleet with Western planes", The Miami Herald, February 6, 1994.
Revolución newspaper, volumes 1, 2 and 3, various issues, 1959, 1960, 1961.
Rodríguez, Jorge L. and Diana Rodríguez, En Alas Cubanas, book (416 pages) available through website www.cubaaereo.com.
Time magazine, "Flight 482 Is Missing", November 17, 1958.
Time magazine, "Red All The Way", October 10, 1960.
Vickers Viscount Network, website www.vickersviscount.net.

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