Panama City is the hot new destination this year, and multiple airlines are keying in to this trend. This week, United Airlines announced that it would be creating a new international route out of its Denver hub. Starting Dec. 3, nonstop flights to Panama City will head out of Denver several times each week.
United Airlines is following suit with its Star Alliance partner, Copa Airlines.
Last week, Copa announced it would be creating a similar nonstop route to Panama City out of Montreal, Canada. Copa has been increasing its presence in the U.S. over the past several years, and is referring to Panama City as its base for a “hub of the Americas.” Copa’s hub there currently connects to over 40 cities.
This new travel route follows the popularity of another international route that opened last June between Denver and Tokyo. The route was highly successful, opening the door to new “international gateways” between continents. “Just as Tokyo opened a gateway to Asia, Panama City will open the Rocky Mountain West to all of South America,” says Denver’s mayor, Michael Hancock.
Panama City, Panama has become a popular destination for tourism and international relocation alike, and serves as an economic hub for much of Latin America. The recent plans for the Panama Canal expansion have brought additional prosperity and financial activity to the already growing region.
The new Denver-Panama City route will not only be for individuals traveling to Panama. International passenger traffic has been reaching historically high levels, and the route will serve as a convenient connection to multiple South American, Central American, and Caribbean countries including Peru, Argentina and Brazil.