Above: JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes and New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo boarding a JetBlue plane

By the Caribbean Journal staff

JetBlue President Robin Hayes visited Cuba this week as part of a trade mission led by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The delegation’s visit included talks with Cuban First Vice President MIguel Diaz-Canel.

Hayes was joined by executives from New York-based companies including Chobani, MasterCard, Pfizer and Regeneron, among others.

JetBlue has previously expressed its interest eventually flying to Cuba should the existing legal hurdles be removed.

“JetBlue is interested in providing additional service to Cuba from multiple U.S. cities as soon as legally permitted,” the company said in a release in January.

The carrier already operates charter flights to Cuba; accordingly, the mission traveled to Havana and back to New York City on a JetBlue aircraft, according to a release from Cuomo’s office.

“New York has always had a special connection with Cuba and Cuba has always had special place in the heart of New Yorkers,” Cuomo said during the trip. “So it is not about starting a friendship, we have had a friendship that went on for decades, it is about rekindling a friendship. That is what we have done on this trip.”