Copa Holdings will be launching a new budget airline, based in Colombia that will offer cheap flights in the region starting December the 1st.
The new airline named Wingo initially will offer 16 destinations in 10 countries, and naturally Panama city will be one of them. Wingo will be flying from Panama Pacifico airport, located west of the Canal and will provide connections to Medellin, Bogota, Cali in Colombia and San Jose in Costa Rica.
The managing company for the airport of Panama Pacifico, Tocumen S.A., will be doing necessary construction works in order for the facility be able to handle more commercial traffic.
Organizationally Copa will manage the airline through its subsidiary in Colombia, Copa Colombia. Prior to launching this project, the airline already managed operation through this scheme, says Copa official.
Wingo will work in the way that budget airlines manage things, like Spirit or RyanAir. It will offer direct flights with “flexible amenities”, which means the airline charges extra for nearly every additional service, like luggage, food or commodities on the plane.
Such business model offers low operating costs and very competitive fees to the travelers. Meanwhile, flexible strategy allows passengers to use convenient payment methods, and also options to personalize their needs and services, saving money on each flight.
While not every passenger enjoys such approach, Wingo will offer the opportunity for better connectivity and value in the region. Often travelers feel very frustrated at the cost of airplane ride in Central America. In many ways it is much cheaper to fly out to the U.S. then even neighbouring countries like Costa Rica or South America.
One of the best connections will be San Jose, Costa Rica. A lot of tourists when traveling to Central America would like to have an opportunity to visit both countries at affordable costs. Wingo is pricing a round trip to San Jose at $125, according to their web site. A few airlines which provided this route same ticket would be prices at least at $400.
Wingo will also fly to Cancun, Havana, Aruba, Punta Cana, Mexico City, San Andres, Quito and Cartagena. The airline will be using a fleet of four Boeing 737-700. Tickets are already available through Wingo.com
