Direct Flights To Cuba From Bay Area Unlikely, Travel Expert Says

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – By this fall, U.S. airlines will offer regular nonstop flights to Cuba, as the two countries continue to normalize relations. But if you're looking for a nonstop flight to Havana from the Bay Area, an expert says don't expect it soon.

Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein want California to get a piece of the Cuban travel action, noting that Los Angeles has America's fourth largest Cuban-American population.

Chris McGinnis, editor of the San Francisco-based blog TravelSkills.com, expects initial interest to be intense.

"I think it's going to be a huge and very popular destination, probably for the next decade," McGinnis told KCBS. "But ultimately over time, it will be much like other Caribbean islands. A trip to Puerto Rico, a trip to the Dominican Republic."

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Places East Coasters tend to go, while Californians prefer much closer Mexico and Hawaii. Which is why McGinnis said most of these new commercial flights, will be from the East Coast and the South, not far-off California.

"I think it's pretty unlikely that we'll get nonstop flights from the Bay Area to Cuba. Just because it's so far and I don't think that many people here that are interested in Cuba that would support a daily flight, for example," McGinnis said.

McGinnis says a cruise from Miami may be the best way to see Cuba, which isn't likely to have enough nice hotels to meet the expected American demand.