Flying Cubana Airlines?

[Miss Inquiry]

Has anyone flown with Cubana airlines before?

I have searched a few sites and have read REALLY mixed reviews.

I am a very confident flyer but wanted some reviews before booking my holiday flights with them.

[missmoore]

I flew with Cubana from Gatwick to Holguin and then domestically, from Holguin to Havana, and then back to Gatwick again.

I read all the same reviews and, being a nervous flyer, was panicking and honestly didn't expect to get to Cuba alive! But the flight was uneventful. The plane was leased from Europair or something like that. If anything, the pilot was overcautious as at the first sign of any turbulence he had the seatbelt sign on.

If you're flying from Havana airport I'd warn you that (at least when we were there) you had to have your bag shrink wrapped. There is a free facility for this, but the queue was MASSIVE. If we'd noticed the paying shrink wrap bit we would definately have used it.

Compared with Virgin who I think were our only other option for flights, Cubana were so much cheaper it seemed daft to spend our money on the flight instead of the holiday.

I dunno if this is always the case, but I think all the dodgy reviews had put other people off because our plane was almost empty so we had lots of seats to stretch out.

I'd have no hesitations in booking a flight with Cubana again. It's not luxury flying, but there is an inflight film and the food is just as good as any other airline. Also, when the hostesses come round midflight to sell you rum and cigars it gets you right in the mood for Cuba!!

[Miss Inquiry]

Thanks Missmoore, sounds like you did the exact same journey we are going to do. After a long discussion we booked our hoilday this morning. 7 days on the beach and 3 in Havana, all flying with Cubana.

Flying Virgin was about �500 more, so Cubana it is. You right, the more � saved on flights the more � we can spend there.

Do you have any recommendations on what to do when we get there? Were staying in the Saratoga in Havana and Guardalavaca for the beach part of the holiday.

Thanks for the shrink wrap warning.....!

[missmoore]

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Travel/Question 263860.html

i am slightly obsessed with cuba, I can fair go on about it....

[mikey0118]

As far as I am aware, flights from Gatwick are not actually operated by Cubana.

Last time I checked, they were instead being operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic using a Boeing 747-400. This company leases aircraft to various airlines, so don't expect any fancy extras that other airlines might offer. You'll receive a pretty standard seat pitch, no personal inflight entertainment and that's about it.

[missmoore]

I've checked who we flew with in April, definately air europa, on a 767-300. And whilst they lease the flight from air europa, the staff and film they showed were from cubana.