Skift Take
If you live in Florida, Silver Airways wants to be your-go to carrier for Cuba. Its plan may just work.
When the U.S. Department of Transportation announced recently which airlines could fly the first scheduled flights to Cuba in more than 50 years, most of carriers selected were familiar to travelers, including American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and JetBlue Airways.
But the biggest winner was a carrier most Americans don't know - Florida-based Silver Airways. It won the rights to serve nine destinations from Fort Lauderdale, including Camaguey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo Del Sur, Santa Clara, and Cienfuegos, and it plans to fly to all the cities with 34-seat Saab 340B turboprops. Like other airlines, it is still waiting to learn if it will be able to fly to Havana.
Silver, which expects to operate its first Cuba flight on Sept. 1, could be the most unique U.S. airline. In the past, it operated like most other small regional carriers. Instead of selling tickets directly to travelers, it usually flew as United Express, carrying United's passengers from smaller cities to hubs in Cleveland and Washington Dulles. Passengers might fly Silver and not even know it.
But in 2013, two years after it was bought by Chicago investment firm Victory Park Capital, Silver switched course. Despite having a small fleet of turboprops, Silver decided it would mimic larger airlines. Instead of flying on behalf of larger carriers, it launched on its own, focusing on underserved markets in the Southeastern United States, especially in Florida and the Caribbean.
Passengers may now buy tickets directly from the airline's website or through an online travel agency, and its plane
