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.