Panama starts to attract airlines from outside the Americas. Air France will not be alone

Rapid economic growth and the emergence of the largest hub for intra-Latin America travel have firmly put Panama on the global aviation map. But the market is only now starting to capture attention from airlines outside the Americas.

Air France has unveiled plans to launch service to Panama City in Nov-2013, becoming only the third widebody passenger operator in the market. More European carriers and potentially one of the three main Gulf carriers will almost certainly follow.

Panama City is an attractive and fast-growing hub for accessing other markets in Central America and portions of South America and the Caribbean. It is also a strong destination in its own right, with expansion of the Panama Canal and Panama City's emergence as a regional financial centre driving increasing demand for business travel.