Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here鈥檚 the latest.
Copa, Panama鈥檚 National Carrier, Woos American Business Travelers
Copa Airlines has been on a tare in the last three years, and now they鈥檝e set their sights on international business travelers. Aside from new US and Caribbean routes, one of the biggest ways they鈥檙e doing this is with a new loyalty program known as Connect Miles. They are offering huge incentives and even mileage matches for elite status travelers who want to switch miles to Copa, drawing more passengers to both Panama, and the carrier.
The effort may be tied to an initiative to quickly populate Copa Connect鈥檚 upper loyalty program tiers. As the airline鈥檚 loyalty program is only three months old,聽it鈥檚 likely that few of Copa Connect鈥檚 loyalty program members have put in the requisite mileage to earn elite status.
The status match push also comes at a critical time in Copa鈥檚 growth across North America. Just last week the airline聽launched a direct route from San Francisco to Panama City, while聽聽that Boston, Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa were all recently added to the Copa network.
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Alstom-led consortium to supply $2.2 Billion for Panama Metro Line 2
Panama鈥檚 second installment of their massive Metro (subway) project is green lit, funded, and ready to go. And that means nailing down big supply contracts. Earlier this month, that task was awarded to a company called Alstom, who won supply rights and will lead a $2.2 billion consortium to build and supply the massive construction project.
Consortium leader Alstom, whose share of the contract is approximately $338 million, will supply an integrated rapid transit system that includes 21 Metropolis trainsets, traction power substations (among them a Hesop reversible substation) and Urbalis, Alstom鈥檚 CBTC (communications-based train control) system. Urbalis, which controls train movements and enables them to operate safely at higher frequencies and speeds, will enable 90-second headways.
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Panama Canal maintains April 2016 start date for expanded waterway
Despite a rash of delays in both 2014 and 2015, plus a recent water leak, the Panama Canal Authority is sticking to their promise of a spring, 2016 start date. This is still nearly two years off of their original goal, but none the less a shock to those who thought the Cocoli leaks would drive it back by months, if not another full year.
“The April 2016 date remains unchanged,” the ACP told EFE.聽The agency said it was waiting for the GUPC consortium, led by Spanish construction giant Sacyr Vallehermoso, to deliver it a report on the seepage that also states whether it will result in any delay in completing the expansion.
On Sept. 7, the ACP said it was awaiting a formal report from the GUPC, adding that it “would be inclusive of the root cause analysis conducted, as well as the recommended repair methodology.”
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Panama鈥檚 Economy Grows Nearly 6% in Q2 2015
The latest economic numbers are out, and in the first half of 2015 there has been steady, consistent growth. The early financial numbers show a growth of just fewer than 6%, and there are some straightforward reasons as to why. In our latest blog post, we go over the factors contributing to this growth, and why it will be good for your offshore investments.
Panama鈥檚 service economy is still dominant.聽Simply put, in all areas of the service sector, Panama鈥檚 economy is doing great. Specifically in tourism, hotels, restaurants, and private transportation. More tourists are coming to Panama, and better yet, they鈥檙e spending more while they鈥檙e here. In fact, tourist spending is up by more than 15%, which is a key number when you look at overall service sector growth. Panama鈥檚 yearly tourist entry tally is approaching 3 million people per year, and each person is now spending more while here. This excess spending is going directly into services, transportation, and luxury hotels.
Continue reading about Panama’s economy growing
