Loosening of Cuba embargo could mean huge possibilities for U.S. businesses

Airline flights. Phone service. Money transfers.

Those are among enticing new or expanded business opportunities seen ahead for U.S. companies with Monday's loosening of the U.S. embargo with Cuba.

"This is a big deal; it's a significant change in U.S. policy," said former Ambassador David A. Gross, the U.S. coordinator for international communications and information policy and a partner at law firm Wiley Rein.

Though the announcement by the Obama administration signaled thawing of relations with the communist nation, questions remain about what kind of access to the island market Cuba will allow U.S. companies.

Telecommunications businesses will now potentially be able to enter into roaming agreements with Cuban carriers -- if the Cuban government agrees, Gross said. That means Cuban Americans could send U.S. cellphones to their relatives, who will be able to make roaming calls on them and communicate with friends and family in the U.S.

And the latest policy shift has raised prospects that travel restrictions could be lifted for everyone, fueling a surge in tourism. About 1.5 million Americans, including about 85,000 Cuban Americans who live in Los Angeles, have relatives on the island.

"This is definitely a step in the right direction for the airline industry and for the travel industry," said Michael Zuccato, general manager for Cuba Travel Services, a Long Beach agency that specializes in booking travel to the island. With the loosening of travel restrictions, the company said it was working to return direct charter flights from Los Angeles to Havana in June or July. The flights were eliminated after the Bush administration tightened restrictions in 2004.

"But the big thing will be when the restriction is lifted for everyone. You'll see a tremendous boost in tourism," he said.

U.S. airlines are currently restricted from operating regularly scheduled flights, and planes chartered by federally licensed travel agencies will still be the only way for Cuban Americans to visit the island.

Americans without families in Cuba can travel to the island only if the visit is related to agriculture, a sporting event or for humanitarian missions. Journalists can also travel to Cuba.

Several U.S. carriers said it was too early for them to know what kind of effect the new policies would have on air travel to Cuba.