The Foreign Airlines Operating The Most Flights To & From Panama City This December

Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport (PTY) is the primary international gateway to the Central American country of Panama. The airport is the home of the national carrier Copa Airlines, and acts as a hub for flights throughout North, Central, and South America.

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Copa Airlines is naturally the largest carrier to operate at Tocumen International Airport, serving more than 80 destinations with its 100-strong fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft. in December 2024, Copa Airlines will operate a staggering 10,671 flights to and from the airport, offering a total of 1,719,058 seats. This equates to more than 2.4 billion available seat miles (ASMs), which is a measure of an airline’s capacity, and is calculated by multiplying the number of available seats by the number of miles flown.

However, a number of foreign airlines also serve the airport, connecting Panama with a range of worldwide destinations. Using data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, which are the five largest foreign airlines at Tocumen International Airport by number of flights in December 2024?

1

avianca

520 flights

The Colombian flag carrier will operate an impressive 520 flights to and from Tocumen International Airport (PTY) in December 2024, making it the largest foreign carrier to serve the airport. In total, avianca will operate 93,600 seats throughout the month, which equates to 45,164,420 ASMs.

The avianca group is made up of various subsidiaries based in different countries around the region, as well as the Colombian national carrier itself. Both avianca and avianca Ecuador connect Panama City with Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport (BOG). From there, it offers onward connections to the likes of Madrid (MAD), Barcelona (BCN), Paris (CDG), Buenos Aires (EZE), São Paulo (GRU), and London Heathrow (LHR).

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

avianca Costa Rica flies to Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) in San José, Costa Rica. avianca El Salvador links Panama City with both José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) in Medellín and El Salvador International Airport Saint Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (SAL) in San Salvador.

On a typical day in December 2024, avianca and its regional subsidiaries will operate the following services:

The avianca group faces direct competition on all of the routes listed above from Copa Airlines, which operates multiple daily frequencies with its fleet of Boeing 737 family aircraft.

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2

United Airlines

289 flights

The second-largest international carrier by number of flights in December 2024 is United Airlines, which will operate 289 flights. This gives the Star Alliance member a total of 51,731 seats to and from Tocumen international Airport (PTY), which is equivalent to 99,909,029 ASMs.

United Airlines connects Panama City with its hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). Newark is the carrier’s primary transatlantic hub, while Houston offers an extensive network of connections throughout the West Coast.

Photo: Wenjie Zheng | Shutterstock

From Newark, United Airlines operates two daily flights, deploying its Boeing 737 MAX 9s on both services. From Houston, it flies up to three times per day with a mix of Boeing 737 family aircraft. The latest data from ch-aviation shows that United Airlines currently has 85 737 MAX 9s in its fleet, with a further 138 on order, making it the world’s largest operator of the aircraft. Each 737 MAX 9 is capable of carrying up to 179 passengers in a two-class configuration – 20 in business class and 159 in economy class.

The carrier’s route network will grow further in May 2025 when it adds new services to and from its hub at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). United Airlines will go head-to-head with Copa Airlines on its new San Francisco route, but does not face direct competition on existing services to Newark and Houston.

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United and Copa Airlines will operate 18 weekly services between PTY and SFO.

That said, Copa Airlines does link Panama City with New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), which is a route that the carrier has now been operating for more than 20 years.

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3

American Airlines

112 flights

American Airlines will operate a total of 112 flights to and from Tocumen International Airport (PTY) in December 2024, making it the third-largest foreign carrier to serve the airport. The oneworld member will offer 14,864 seats, equivalent to 17,123,328 ASMs.

The carrier will operate up to two daily flights to and from Miami International Airport (MIA) throughout December 2024, deploying its Airbus A319s on the route. American Airlines currently has 133 A319s in its fleet, each carrying between 128 and 132 passengers, depending on the configuration.

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Miami International Airport serves as American Airlines’ primary hub for services to Central and South America, and in 2023, Panama City was the third-busiest international route from the airport. The busiest international routes were as follows:

1. London Heathrow (LHR) – 976,000 passengers
2. Bogotá (BOG) – 926,000 passengers
3. Panama City (PTY) – 866,000 passengers
4. Mexico City (MEX) – 818,000 passengers
5. São Paulo (GRU) – 776,000 passengers.

On its services between Miami and Panama City, American Airlines faces direct competition from Copa Airlines. The Panamanian carrier also flies to nearby Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).

4

Delta Air Lines

79 flights

Delta Air Lines will operate 79 flights to and from Tocumen International Airport (PTY) in December 2024, giving it a total of 13,880 seats and 23,887,480 ASMs at the airport.

The SkyTeam member airline will serve just one route – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), on which it also faces competition from Copa Airlines. Delta Air Lines deploys its Boeing 737 family aircraft on the route (the carrier currently operates both the 737-800 and the 737-900ER, and is also awaiting delivery of a large order of 737 MAX 10s).

Photo: Eliyahu Yosef Parypa | Shutterstock

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the busiest airport in the world by passenger numbers, and serves as Delta Air Lines’ primary hub. From there, the carrier is able to offer connections across the globe, including to destinations as far away as:

• Johannesburg (JNB)
• Barcelona (BCN)
• London Heathrow (LHR)
• Seoul Incheon (ICN)
• Tokyo Haneda (HND)
• Athens (ATH).

5

KLM

62 flights

The fifth-largest international carrier at Tocumen International Airport (PTY) by number of flights is KLM. In December 2024, the Dutch flag carrier will operate 62 flights, equating to 19,656 seats and 107,714,880 ASMs.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

All 62 flights operate to and from KLM’s hub at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS), which is the equivalent of one flight per day in each direction throughout the month. KLM’s flight schedule between Panama City and Amsterdam is shown in the table below:

The carrier deploys its Boeing 787-10s on the route, each able to carry up to 318 passengers in a three-class configuration – 38 in business class, 28 in premium economy, and 252 in economy class. KLM currently operates 10 787-10s, and has a further five on order.

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The table below summarizes the five largest international carriers by number of flights to operate at Tocumen International Airport in December 2024:

Other international carriers to serve Tocumen International Airport include:

• Turkish Airlines – Istanbul (IST)
• Air Europa – Madrid (MAD)
• Air France – Paris (CDG)
• Iberia – Madrid (MAD)
• Cayman Airways – Grand Cayman (GCM)
• Sunrise Airways – Port-au-Prince (PAP).

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Which airlines do you think made the cut?