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.
Panama Prepares for a Competitive Future
Adapted from:
“En octubre se hara el III Foro Nacional de Competitividad,” Monday July 21, 2008, Marianela Palacios Ramsbott, laprensa.com.pa
“150 panameños estudian agronomía en Honduras,” Tuesday August 5, 2008, Roberto Gonzalez Jimenez, laprensa.com.pa
Maintaining one of the highest economic growth rates in all of Latin America over the past five years, Panama is looking to solidify its presence as a regional leader and a worldwide business center. While the current real estate and construction boom is causing great changes to take place in Panama, the majority of this development is rooted in foreign direct investment.
Supporting its position as the home to the Canal, a tax-free haven and the “Bridge of the Americas,” Panama finds itself in a strategic location that makes it a very desirable place to operate any type of international shipping, commercial or service-providing industry. Foreign money is finally tapping into Panama’s positive factors and advantageous natural conditions, but now and forever Panamanians are the ones who must ensure that all of this potential is realized and brought to fruition.
Sponsored by the National Center for Competition (CNC) and the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede) the third annual National Competition Forum will be held in October; an event bringing together leaders from the private sector and the national executive body to strengthen alliances and improve upon the national competitive advantage of Panama.
This year’s meeting will analyze the goals that were set during last year’s forum to determine which challenges have been met and which have some further work still to go. A loan from the Inter-American Development Bank is in place to execute the project “Impulso Panama” which aims to help small and medium sized businesses in Panama to modernize and digitalize their daily operations, making them more competitive in the global workplace.
Besides working with already established businesses, Panama is focused on educating its youth and better preparing them for a wide range of occupational positions in the future. A group of 150 Panamanian students have received government scholarships to study in the Universidad Zamorano in Honduras. The students study the complete facets of animal husbandry, processing and agriculture while in Honduras, but as part of the scholarship they have committed to returning to Panama after their studies are over and promise to develop agriculture-related businesses near their home towns.
Panama’s central location and its famous economic resource of the Panama Canal have helped make it one of the most significant nations in the world in terms of maritime transport and commerce. The Universidad Maritima Internacional de Panama (UMIP) is sending seven of its students and one of its faculty members to the United States to spend a month as an education exchange with the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
Working with current businesses planning for the future and also concentrating on preparing students for the dynamic work environment that lies ahead, Panama is doing all that it can to address the current economic situation and position itself as a leader always ready to take advantage of new opportunities in the future. For all intents and purposes as a developing world nation thrust into today’s fiercely competitive capitalistic international economy, Panama must compare itself with advanced industrial nations if it hopes to be successful within a truly global arena.
Hopefully the hard work it is undertaking right now will pay off in the future in the form of a capable, competitive and dynamic Panamanian workforce, in addition to sustainable economic growth rates that remain strong with or without a foreign investment boom.
Visit www.balabeach.com and email me at adam@balabeach.com for more information
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