The Canadian airline OWG announced its return to Cuba for the coming month of October and with this confirmation, the airports of Santa Clara, Holguín and Camagüey will be operational again.
According to local sources, OWG already has reservations available for Canadian tourists for “sun and beach” destinations such as Cayo Santa María in Villa Clara, Trinidad and Cienfuegos, as well as Guardalavaca in Holguín, Santa Lucía in Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba. Of these destinations, only Santiago had its air terminal in operation, but as of October, flights to the rest will start arriving from Montreal and Toronto.
This tour operator, whose specialty is package tours to Cuba, is in association with Hola Sun/ Caribe Sol for these trips. We recall that Canadian tourists are the main market for leisure flights to the island. All this until 2019 that the health crisis appeared.
In November 2020 the new Canadian airline, OWG, announced that it would fly directly to Cuba. The Nolinor subsidiary had also signed a partnership agreement with Hola Sun Holidays. OWG was born to operate in the leisure market, connecting Canadians to destinations in the Caribbean. Long-standing airline Nolinor invested more than C$1 million to create the OWG brand and mission.
At the time OWG indicated that it would, at least, operate to four Cuban destinations. “Flights to Cuba with OWG will be offered from November 1, 2020 onwards. Among others, destinations include Cayo Coco, Holguin, Santa Clara and Varadero. Online check-in, seat selection and select class upgrades will be among the services offered,” they explained at the time.
The airline also signed a strategic alliance with the Canadian travel agency Hola Sun Holidays and its sister company Caribe Sol in Quebec. These companies specialize, according to the website itself, in trips to the island.
Cuba is one of the top tourist destinations for Canadians. In 2015, when the two countries expanded their Air Transport Agreement, Canada said Cuba was its third-largest international air travel market. But there are many airlines serving this market and that meant OWG will have to offer a unique low-cost product that appeals to Canadian travelers.
