Cubatrade-June-Digital

TRANSPORTATION
Having Trouble Finding
a Hotel In Havana?
Bring your own
Technicians
One of the added expenses for U.S. commercial
airlines serving Cuba is the necessity of bringing
a mechanic onboard
By Nick Swyter
Photo by Jon Braeley
Why Not See It Like a Native?
Our apartments are in the Old Plaza (La Plaza
Vieja) in the heart of Old Havana. Here, visitors can
discover and get to know Cuba by walking the
streets of its centuries-old capital—and feeling at
home being taken care of by a friendly Cuban host.
Among the many hurdles U.S. commercial
airlines must navigate to serve Cuba,
their planes must fly with maintenance
technicians certified by the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) on board.
The airlines can’t use Cuban technicians,
because Cuba doesn’t have any with the
proper certifications.
“Currently, Cuba does not have any
FAA-certified maintenance technicians,”
wrote Southwest Airlines spokesperson
Casey Dunn. “It is common practice for
U.S.-based airlines to have an FAA-certified
aircraft maintenance technician on
board most flights to Cuba. This gives the
airline the ability to quickly address any
mechanical issues should they occur while
in Cuba.”
The island’s lack of FAA-certified
mechanics appears to be unique for the
Americas. Dunn says among all the
destinations where Southwest flies in the
Caribbean and South America, Cuba is
the only country without them.
Airlines were reassured they could
fly with technicians on board without
30 CUBATRADE JUNE/JULY 2017
Safe Landings: An American Airlines flight touches down at the Holguín airport in eastern Cuba
violating the U.S. embargo, thanks to an
October 2016 Obama administration decision.
At the time, the Treasury Department’s
Office of Foreign Assets Control
wrote it would allow “persons subject to
U.S. jurisdiction to provide civil aviation
safety-related services to Cuba and Cuban
nationals aimed at promoting safety in
civil aviation and the safe operation of
commercial aircraft.”
Currently, Cuba does not
have any FAA-certified
maintenance technicians
Casey Dunn, Southwest Airlines
U.S. commercial airlines will likely be
keeping technicians on their flights for a
while; the FAA doesn’t appear to be interested
in certifying a repair station in Cuba.
The only other way around that is for both
countries to sign a bilateral aviation safety
accord, said Christian Klein, an attorney
with law firm Obadal Filler MacLeod &
Klein, and executive vice-president of the
Aeronautical Repair Station Association.
Even though onboard technicians
make flights safer, the practice has a few
downsides. Technicians take seats away
from potential customers, they get paid
even when not working—and some tasks
require transporting two maintenance
workers. “The aviation maintenance industry
is hurting for workers, so it presents its
own challenges,” Klein said.
Despite Cuba’s strategic location in the
Caribbean, there also doesn’t appear to be
any push from the U.S. maintenance, repair
and operations (MRO) industry to provide
services there for now. One reason? Most
U.S. MRO service providers don’t work on
Russian planes, notes Jim Sokol, president
of MRO service provider HAECO Americas—and
Cuba’s state-owned Cubana de
Aviación operates an all-Russian fleet.
“As things start to open up,” Sokol
said, “we want to be a part of solutions.”
For now, that means keeping U.S. airlines
safe and sound. H
• Accommodations for two, four or six people.
• Reasonable rates. Breakfast included.
Contact Maylu Hernandez at
maylu21@hotmail.com for availability and rates.