GTRA has what Havana doesn’t

The U.S. flag is flying over Havana, Cuba, once again – after almost 60 years. Havana is now the “hot ticket item” for airline jet-setters preparing to hit the tarmac’s pavement running. The U.S. estimates there will be 1.8 million potential fliers wanting to jet between Havana and America from chock-a-block sites from every decent-sized U.S. city. But, there likely going to have to wait as long as to the year 2050. The reality is two-fold: (1) Despite diplomatic relations, Cuba hasn’t decided when/if it will allow U.S. tourists and an expanded list of business people to travel to their island-nation; and (2) No U.S. airline is chomping at the bit to fly to Havana or any terribly impoverished island because there’s no existing demand to make it profitable. “There are a lot more lucrative places in the US” to fly,” says Colorado aviation consultant Michael Boyd. There are “significantly greater opportunities” for airlines to exploit … like adding service to the Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTRA) near Columbus, Miss. In a new commentary, Boyd wrote: “(T)here are much stronger airline revenue opportunities at (GTRA) than there are (in Havana) – or all of Cuba.” For that matter, Columbus has what Cuba doesn’t – a burgeoning manufacturing industry, trained workforce, and an major foundation of global businesses from Japan, Israel, France, and the Netherlands - all of which generate enormous levels of international aviation traffic. (Forbes 08/18/15)