US: Airlines launch flights to Cuba despite doubts from Trump

US airlines are proceeding with plans to launch new flights to Cuba this week despite doubts that President-elect Donald Trump has raised about the future of ties between the countries. American Airlines kicked off its first flight to Havana from Miami on Monday and intends to launch Charlotte-Havana service on Wednesday. Its rival for Caribbean travel, JetBlue Airways, has three new flights to Havana starting this week, with the first having departed from New York on Monday at 9:45 a.m. ET, according to tracking website FlightAware.com. The new service comes as Trump said in a Twitter post on Monday that he will "terminate [the] deal" between Cuba and the United States if the communist-ruled island does not make an agreement that is better for the people of both countries. The former Cold War foes began normalizing relations in December 2014 after 18 months of secret talks and have since restored full diplomatic ties. They reached a memorandum of understanding that allowed US airlines to start scheduled flights to Cuba after a half-century hiatus, and the Obama administration has eased travel restrictions for US citizens - though general tourism remains illegal. It was not immediately clear if Trump would target the aviation deal or other aspects of the detente. It also was unclear if there would be any impact from the death on Friday of Fidel Castro, who ousted US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista in Cuba's 1959 revolution. "While we can't speculate, we are full steam ahead to begin service to Havana this week," said an American Airlines spokesman. "We are proud to be the leading carrier between the US and Cuba."<br/>