More Flights Over Panamanian Skies
Adapted from:
“Recortes de Continental no afectarán a Panamá,” Friday August 1, 2008, Roberto Gonzalez Jimenez, laprensa.com.pa
“Turismo al día, Copa anuncia nuevos destinos y Tocumen licita el muelle norte,” Thursday August 7, 2008, Roberto Gonzalez Jimenez, laprensa.com.pa
More Flights Over Panamanian Skies
With all of the economic hardship making the news these days, airline companies have stood out as some of the hardest hit. Many air carriers are trying to survive any way that they can by laying off workers, adding new fees for passengers and by cutting back on flights.
Continental Airlines announced in June that it would be firing 3,000 employees and eliminating its least profitable flights. They have already begun to reduce their activity in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Chile and the Dominican Republic.
Panama however does not appear on this list. Continental Airlines manager in Panama Ana Lorena Arroyo says that the airline is actually adding the capacity for more passengers to its Panama flights by bringing in an airplane that seats 25 more people. Nor will the US-based company be dropping any of the 90 employees that it currently has working in on the ground in Panama.
While Continental reinforces its commitment to Panama, many other airlines are also strengthening their presence in the isthmus. The Amsterdam based KLM Airlines used to fly once a week directly to San Jose, Costa Rica. Observing changes in market opportunities, the company decided to shift this flight to Panama instead. The KLM non-stop Amsterdam – Panama flight was initially offered only once per week but as occupancy improved, KLM has now decided to operate the route five times per week.
Direct flights between Panama and Toronto are currently operating every Sunday and more flight options between Canada and Panama are expected to come as we approach the tourism high season in the coming months.
Panama-based Copa Airlines is expanding from Panama outward, opening new connections with Valencia, Venezuela; Oranjestad, Aruba; and Santa Cruz, Bolivia starting in December. Copa is also adding six new airplanes to its fleet bringing it up to 43 airplanes in total.
In order to accommodate all of the new activity, Panama’s Tocumen International Airport is proceeding with plans to add a new northern terminal by 2010. This expansion will effectively double the overall passenger capacity at the airport which has seen a 22.1% increase in passenger activity in the first semester of this year versus the same time period in 2007.
Panama continues to be an increasingly popular place to visit and major airline companies worldwide are responding. Even in today’s times of economic hardship, Panama is a location receiving lots of attention from all over the world, primed for consistent development and growth.
Panama Matures as the Shipping Hub of the Americas
Excerpts adapted from:
“Manzanillo crecio 20%,” Friday July 11, 2008, Wilfredo Jordan Serrano, laprensa.com.pa
“Balboa superará a Santos,” Friday July 11, 2008, Wilfredo Jordan Serrano, laprensa.com.pa
Panama Matures as the Shipping Hub of the Americas
Even within the current global economic slowdown, Panama continues to be on the rise. One example of the increased economic activity taking place on the isthmus can be witnessed within the shipping industry. In the first half of 2008, the Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT) port facility on the Caribbean side of Panama moved 708,319 shipping containers, an increase of 20% compared to the previous year. These numbers are due to the fact that economic growth continues in Latin America even as much of the United States and Europe appears to be slowing down.
Locally, Panama is undergoing a tremendous real estate boom. Equipment and materials that are moving through the shipping containers in and along the canal are directly related to new construction happening in Panama as well as the build up to the new expansion of the Panama Canal. Maritime activity on the Pacific side of the Canal directly affects operations on the Caribbean side as well, dealing with cargo that moves from one ocean to the other both via the Panama Canal and the trans-isthmus railway.
These increases in cargo movement highlight only the beginning in terms of where Panama’s maritime transport industry is headed. The Panama Canal expansion is still only in its earliest stages. By the end of the calendar year 2008, Balboa Port on the Pacific side of the Canal hopes to become the largest mover of sea cargo in all of Latin America according to the manager of Panama Ports Company Alejandro Kouruklis.
Under the fourth phase of its expansion, Balboa Port will be adding an additional 420 square meters of dock space and four new cranes. At the moment the port holds 18 cranes and 1,270 square meters of loading space, allowing it to serve four ships simultaneously. In 2007 Balboa Port moved 1.8 million cargo containers while the port facility Santos in Brazil was number one in Latin America moving 2.9 million. With the new additions to Balboa Port in Panama the goal is to move 3 million containers by the end of 2008 and become the shipping services port leader for all of Latin America. Traditional port movement combined with the use of the Panama Canal and the Panama Canal Railway all lend Panama to have one of the most strategic, efficient and busiest port facilities in the entire world.
Best place to retire? Bala Beach testimonial
Sandra from Seattle is one of the many recent addition to the Bala Beach family. She is soon to become a semi-retiree, who will quickly correct you and say she is looking to “transition lifestyles”. Bala Beach was an ideal fit for Sandra because she is able to have a gorgeous place on the Caribbean that is close to the Panama City International Airport, where she will plan her future travel excursions.
If there is a single word that can describe the Bala Beach site it is paradise. The view is unsurpassed and unobstructed revealing the bluest of seas and skies with a distant fringe of tropical green forest highlighting the coast line of this bay. Gentle waves lapped the sandy beach making a walk in soft sand with my feet in warm sea water simply irresistible. To know that I will be able to enjoy this at a whim and awake to see its splendor makes an investment in this property thrilling and more than prudent.
It is a million dollar view, in a country of filled with gorgeous views, that is unsurpassed. Just as important to me as the scenery, is Bala Beach’s ideal location. In less than an hour, be in the cosmopolitan Panama City or at the easily navigated Tocumen International Airport catching a plane to almost anywhere in the world, knowing my Bala Beach property is secure and well cared for even when I am not there. What is more
perfect than that!
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