Copa Airlines links Guanacaste, Costa Rica with America

Copa Airlines officially incorporated Liberia, in its list of new destinations, offering its first flight between Panama and Liberia. They will be linked with the American continent through the Hub of the Americas, the largest with air connectivity in Latin America.

The airline began regular direct flights to and from Panama on Sundays and Thursdays, leaving Panama at 9:52 AM and arriving in Liberia at 10:23 AM. The flight departs Liberia at 11:25 AM, arriving in Panama at 1:58 PM both days. The route will operate with the Embraer 190 aircraft with capacity for 94 passengers: 84 in the main cabin and 10 in Business Class.

Copa Airlines decided to open the Panama-Guanacaste route because of the strong international position the region has as a tourist destination, which will have it's first flights from Latin America. This is the second destination for Copa Airlines in Costa Rica. San Jose was the first international destination for the airline in 1967.

Copa Airlines carried 8.8 million passengers in 2011 and experienced an increase of over 21% in capacity in the previous year.

The CEO of Copa Airlines, Pedro Heilbron said that with this new route, they hope to promote tourism development, economic and social development in Guanacaste.

"The arrival of thousands of tourists and business travelers from the Caribbean, Central and South America to Guanacaste will become a favorable catalyst to Costa Rica. It also opens the possibility for tourists and businessmen to connect directly to 64 destinations in 29 countries across America and the Caribbean through Copas services," said Heilbron.

Minister of Tourism, Allan Flores restated the importance of this flight to ensure the attraction of airlines. "Over time this region of the planet has been characterized for having a very strong economy. In 2011, 128,911 South Americans visited our country, representing 8.2% growth compared to 2010, so we hope this new frequency attracts visits from the South, "said Flores.

Last April, Copa Airlines, the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), the Guanacaste Chamber of Tourism (CATURGUA) and representatives of private touristic attractions in the province received their first group of tour operators from South America who arrived in Liberia as part of the new direct flights between Panama and Daniel Oduber Airport

From www.costaricanorth.com