A year after competing for coveted approvals to fly to Cuba's capital, major U.S. airlines are again squaring off to secure flights to Havana as the Trump administration weighs rolling back the Obama-era opening with the island nation.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has given no indication whether regulators will reallocate, or increase, the limited number of daily flights to Havana. President Donald Trump's White House is weighing whether and how much to reverse the Obama administration's policies, and an announcement in Miami could come as early as this month, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Still, despite the political uncertainty and business risks, U.S. carriers are not standing silent. In a letter campaign, airlines have prodded the Transportation Department to redistribute three daily round-trip flights—known as “frequencies”—that Frontier and Spirit airlines are forfeiting. American, Delta, Southwest, United and JetBlue, in addition to FedEx, have all jumped into the frequency fight with pitches to fly more frequently from South Florida, offer daily flights from Houston to Havana and— in the case of JetBlue—begin the “first-ever nonstop service” between Boston and Cuba's capital.

The Obama White House's agreement with Cuba last year allowed U.S. airlines to run a combined 20 round-trip, daily flights to Havana. Federal transportation regulators last year split up those flights among U.S. airlines. The scramble to fill the three flights vacated by Spirit and Frontier has pit U.S. airlines against each other—a fight that comes without any certainty the Trump administration will fill the slots.

American Airlines in 2016 won the most approvals, securing the right to fly four times a day from Miami to Havana and once daily from Charlotte. Southwest received permission to run two flights a day out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and one from Tampa. Spirit received permission to run two flights a day from Fort Lauderdale to Havana, and Frontier a once-daily flight from Miami to Cuba's capital.

“We don't know the timing. We've just been assuming that there would be a new, mini-route case. But that may or may not be true,” said Bob Kneisley, an associate general counsel for Southwest, in an interview. “There's nothing official from the Trump administration or the current DOT about air service to Cuba.”

Southwest, pursuing a third daily flight from Fort Lauderdale to Havana, described itself as “the most deserving applicant” for an additional frequency to Havana. In its May 5 filing, the airline claimed it “offers consumers by far the lowest fares” from South Florida.

The airline's lawyers criticized JetBlue and Delta for charging higher fares and argued that American “already holds a disproportionate number of [Havana] frequencies and there is no justification for an additional allocation.”

American asked for an additional flight that would allow it to make, overall, five daily round-trip flights from Miami.

“The DOT always uses a public interest standard in these kinds of cases, and we expect that they would do the same in this case. We're confident that American can demonstrate there's a large public interest in having additional American service from Miami,” Howard Kass, vice president of regulatory affairs at American, told The National Law Journal.

The process of redistributing flights—or deciding to do so in the first place—could be slowed by delays in filling top posts inside the Transportation Department. Kirkland & Ellis partner Jeffrey Rosen, Trump's pick for deputy secretary, was only confirmed on May 16.

The Transportation Department did not return messages seeking comment.

“If awarded by the DOT, an increase in frequencies on smaller aircraft from Fort Lauderdale, where we are the largest airline, will make us even more competitive and bring additional opportunities for connecting traffic,” JetBlue spokesman Philip Stewart said. “We have always planned to serve Cuba from Boston, and our application for a once-weekly flight reflects demand where there is no competitive service.”

Delta, in its push for a second daily flight from Miami to Havana, highlighted agreements it has struck with the U.S. embassy for its official travel. The airline said it would seamlessly slip into the Miami-Havana frequency forfeited by Frontier and bring more competition to that route.

“Delta's proposal would maintain the service levels that the department established for the largest Cuban-American population center in the United States, in Miami, while also enhancing the competitive market structure against American's four daily frequencies in this key local market,” Alexander Krulic, an in-house lawyer at Delta, wrote in a letter to regulators.

United, teaming with Mesa Airlines, has proposed picking up flights to expand its Houston-to-Havana route from a Saturday-only to a daily service. And FedEx requested approval for a once-daily all-cargo service between Miami and Havana.

During the campaign, Trump criticized the Cuba deal that opened up the 20 daily flights to Havana and threatened to cut diplomatic ties unless the Castro-led government made concessions on human rights abuses and religious freedoms. Now that he's in office, Trump's campaign promise for a “better deal” looms as the latest question over a diplomatic relationship whose future has long been uncertain.

“This is a long-term play for all the carriers that are in there. There's no telling how it's going to evolve,” Kneisley, the Southwest lawyer, told the NLJ. “President Trump did have some critical things to say about the Cuba deal that President Obama struck, but we haven't heard anything definitive since then. So we don't know what's going to happen with these flights. It is a business risk, obviously. It's a business risk for everybody.”

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A year after competing for coveted approvals to fly to Cuba's capital, major U.S. airlines are again squaring off to secure flights to Havana as the Trump administration weighs rolling back the Obama-era opening with the island nation.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has given no indication whether regulators will reallocate, or increase, the limited number of daily flights to Havana. President Donald Trump's White House is weighing whether and how much to reverse the Obama administration's policies, and an announcement in Miami could come as early as this month, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Still, despite the political uncertainty and business risks, U.S. carriers are not standing silent. In a letter campaign, airlines have prodded the Transportation Department to redistribute three daily round-trip flights—known as “frequencies”—that Frontier and Spirit airlines are forfeiting. American, Delta, Southwest, United and JetBlue, in addition to FedEx, have all jumped into the frequency fight with pitches to fly more frequently from South Florida, offer daily flights from Houston to Havana and— in the case of JetBlue—begin the “first-ever nonstop service” between Boston and Cuba's capital.

The Obama White House's agreement with Cuba last year allowed U.S. airlines to run a combined 20 round-trip, daily flights to Havana. Federal transportation regulators last year split up those flights among U.S. airlines. The scramble to fill the three flights vacated by Spirit and Frontier has pit U.S. airlines against each other—a fight that comes without any certainty the Trump administration will fill the slots.

American Airlines in 2016 won the most approvals, securing the right to fly four times a day from Miami to Havana and once daily from Charlotte. Southwest received permission to run two flights a day out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and one from Tampa. Spirit received permission to run two flights a day from Fort Lauderdale to Havana, and Frontier a once-daily flight from Miami to Cuba's capital.

“We don't know the timing. We've just been assuming that there would be a new, mini-route case. But that may or may not be true,” said Bob Kneisley, an associate general counsel for Southwest, in an interview. “There's nothing official from the Trump administration or the current DOT about air service to Cuba.”

Southwest, pursuing a third daily flight from Fort Lauderdale to Havana, described itself as “the most deserving applicant” for an additional frequency to Havana. In its May 5 filing, the airline claimed it “offers consumers by far the lowest fares” from South Florida.

The airline's lawyers criticized JetBlue and Delta for charging higher fares and argued that American “already holds a disproportionate number of [Havana] frequencies and there is no justification for an additional allocation.”

American asked for an additional flight that would allow it to make, overall, five daily round-trip flights from Miami.

“The DOT always uses a public interest standard in these kinds of cases, and we expect that they would do the same in this case. We're confident that American can demonstrate there's a large public interest in having additional American service from Miami,” Howard Kass, vice president of regulatory affairs at American, told The National Law Journal.

The process of redistributing flights—or deciding to do so in the first place—could be slowed by delays in filling top posts inside the Transportation Department. Kirkland & Ellis partner Jeffrey Rosen, Trump's pick for deputy secretary, was only confirmed on May 16.

The Transportation Department did not return messages seeking comment.