News

Will Virgin Atlantic be the next major airline to launch flights to Panama City? Government tourism officials are preparing a formal presentation for the airline, which could open new service from London, La Prensa reports.

Tourism executives visited London last week to meet with Virgin Atlantic management and found the airline interested, according to La Prensa coverage. Tourism officials are now preparing a more detailed package, Tocumen airport manager Carlos Duboy told the paper.

Virgin Atlantic, founded by maverick businessman Richard Branson, would be a natural partner for Panama. It specializes in tour packages and actively markets destinations.

“Virgin has a special model,” Duboy said. “They have a branch that prepares tour packages (tickets and stays), so their customers stay at the destination to which the company travels and that would be very important for Panama tourism.”

Wooing more flights from Europe would be a major boost for Panama, in the wake of news that Air China is ready to start direct service. Lufthansa has also been expanding its service, as Tocumen is in the midst of a major expansion, geared toward providing better service in its role as the Hub of the Americas. Tocumen handled 6 percent more passengers in 2017 from a year earlier, according to a recent release.

The Tourism Authority of Panama is going to launch a market study to determine the feasibility of more flights from the U.K., administrator Gustavo Him told the paper. The data will be passed to Virgin, “but we will also study other routes with high potential to attract tourists to the country,” he said.

Virgin may take six months to make a decision, La Prensa reports.

Meanwhile LOT Polish Airlines landed its first direct flight to Panama City on Dec. 25. The airline will offer charter flights every 10 or 11 days from Warsaw, during the winter season, El Capital Financiero reports.

“The establishment of a direct connection with the capital of Poland is an excellent sign of confidence in the tourist products that Panama offers,” Duboy said.

In addition to Poland, Panama now has direct flights from Turkey, Spain, Germany, Holland and France, the paper reports.