Air Panama
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Infobox airline
Air Panama is a regional airline based at Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama,<ref>"Contact us." Air Panama. Retrieved on April 18, 2012. "Marcos A. Gelabert, Airport- Main Office" and "Air Panama - Panama Travel Expert. Panama Tourism. Aeropuerto Marcos A. Gelabert, Albrook Panama, Republic of Panama."</ref> and is currently the second-largest air carrier in the country, surpassed only by Copa Airlines. The carrier offers both scheduled and charter passenger flights to more than 31 destinations from its hub at Albrook International Airport.
HistoryEdit
InaugurationEdit
The airline was founded in 1980 as PARSA, though certain services were operated as Turismo Aéreo. At the time of its startup, Panama had been ruled by a military dictatorship government since 1968, but together with Aeroperlas, the company became one of the biggest and most prominent airlines in the country. On 20 December 1989, in the wake of the United States invasion of Panama, two Britten-Norman Islander aircraft owned by PARSA were damaged beyond repair in fighting action. Despite this, the airline expanded rapidly to other destinations around Panama and Costa Rica during the 1990s, and began to acquire newer aircraft.
On New Year's Eve 1997, PARSA suffered its first fatal accident when a Britten-Norman Islander crashed into the jungle 6.5 kilometres short of Rio Sidra Airport, Darien, killing all on board.
In January 1999, the airline moved its headquarters to the new Albrook - Marcos A. Gelabert International Airport, when the old airport located at Paitilla was shut down after 70 years of operation. In 2005, the Air Panama trademark rights were acquired. The name had been unused since the demise of Air Panamá Internacional in January 1990, and PARSA formally adopted the new name that year.
Expansion yearsEdit
After the purchase of the trademark rights in 2005, Chairman George Novey unveiled on a Fokker F-27 aircraft PARSA's new identity Air Panama. Shortly afterward, the airline introduced new scheduled services to other regional destinations around Panama and began to acquire turboprop aircraft such as the Saab 340 and the Bombardier Dash 8-300 series, replacing the aging British Aerospace Jetstream 31 and Fokker F27 Friendship fleet.
In 2009, Air Panama reached a historic milestone when it transported its one millionth passenger. That same year, the airline entered the jet age when it acquired two Fokker 70s. In 2011, Air Panama bought two used Fokker 50s previously owned by Scandinavian Airlines System and transported around 172,154 people. In January 2012, Air Panama announced a codeshare agreement with Copa Airlines, Panama's flag carrier and largest airline, linking all tourist destinations within Panama with several in Latin America. The agreement became effective five months later when the company started charter regional flights to Isla Colon from Tocumen International Airport.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of 2016, this codeshare is no longer active.
On 29 February 2012, domestic competitor Aeroperlas Regional ceased operations due to financial troubles, leaving Air Panama as the sole regional carrier in the country.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The same month, the airline expressed an interest in initiating a non-stop international route from Panama to the Cayman Islands, using jet-powered aircraft.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In anticipation for these flights, Air Panama ordered two Fokker 100 aircraft, receiving the first one in June and the second two months later. As of February 2015, the planned service to the Cayman Islands is on standstill. Almost six months after Aeroperlas' bankruptcy, Air Panama assumed all of its domestic routes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In November 2012, Air Panama launched an updated version of its website (www.airpanama.com), with a new operational system that allowed travelers to purchase tickets in real time and to see flight schedules and status. It was the first time the airline had extensively overhauled its website since its official rebranding in 2006.
In 2013, Air Panama sold the two Fokker 70s in favour of more spacious Fokker 100s. Between August and November of the same year, the airline acquired two Boeing 737-300s as part of a strategic expansion plan into the international market, which started with the launch of scheduled commercial services to Medellín, Colombia, in June 2014.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2015, the airline added three more Fokker 100 aircraft. In July 2015, the airline began daily non-stop flights from Panama to San José, Costa Rica. Services to Costa Rica from David, Chiriqui are still maintained. On December 1, of the same year, Air Panama started services to Armenia, its second destination in Colombia.
DestinationsEdit
As of September 2024, Air Panama will only operate regional flights on a regular basis to the following domestic destinations in Panama:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
| Base | |
| Future | |
| Terminated |
| Country | City | Airport | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armenia | El Edén International Airport | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Cartagena | Rafael Núñez International Airport | Suspended in November 2018 | |
| Medellín | José María Córdova International Airport | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| San José | Juan Santamaría International Airport | Suspended in March 2020 | |
| Bocas del Toro | Isla Colón International Airport | ||
| Changuinola | Capitán Manuel Niño International Airport | ||
| Chitré | Alonso Valderrama Airport | ||
| David | Enrique Malek International Airport | ||
| Panama City | Albrook International Airport | HUB | |
| Pedasí | Pedasí Airport |
FleetEdit
Current fleetEdit
As of September 2024, Air Panama's fleet consists of the following aircraft:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 | 2 | — | 76 | Delivered in September 2024 | |
| Cessna 208B Grand Caravan | 1 | — | 12 | ||
| Fokker 50 | 5 | — | 48 | Three Template:Tooltip at Albrook To be replaced by the Dash Q400 | |
| 50 | |||||
| TOTAL | 8 | — | |||
Former fleetEdit
Air Panama previously operated the following aircraft:
| CitationClass=web
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type | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-300QC | 2 | 2013 | 2016 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |
| British Aerospace Jetstream | 1 | 2005 | 2006 | |||
| Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander | 8 | 2006 | 2018 | |||
| Cessna 182J Skylane | 1 | Template:Unknown | Template:Unknown | |||
| Cessna U206E Stationair | 1 | Template:Unknown | Template:Unknown | |||
| De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | 2 | 2004 | 2019 | |||
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q300 | 1 | 2007 | 2011 | |||
| Fokker 70 | 2 | 2010 | 2013 | |||
| Fokker 100 | 6 | 2012 | 2020 | |||
| Fokker F27 Friendship | 6 | 2004 | 2015 | |||
| Fokker F28 Fellowship | 3 | 2010 | 2019 | |||
| Piper PA-34 Seneca | 1 | 2006 | 2020 | |||
| Saab 340 | 2 | 2009 | 2014 |
Accidents and incidentsEdit
During its history, Air Panama (PARSA) had the following incidents and accidents:
| Flight | Date | Aircraft | Location | Description | Casualties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | Uninjured | Ground | ||||||
| citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
December 31, 1997 | Britten-Norman Islander | Near Rio Sidra Airport, San Blas (Gunayala) | On New Year's Eve 1997 at 07:45 local time, a PARSA Britten-Norman Islander (registered HP-986PS) crashed into a jungle area 6.5 kilometres short of Rio Sidra Airport following a flight from Panama City in bad weather conditions. Nine passengers and the pilot lost their lives. It was the first crash since the foundation of the company in 1980. | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
December 29, 2002 | Britten-Norman Islander | Over the Caribbean Sea, near Bocas Del Toro | On 29 December 2002 at 16:06 local time, ATC lost contact with a PARSA Britten-Norman Islander (registered HP-1016PS) during an empty ferry flight from Bocas del Toro to Panama City, while the aircraft was over the Caribbean Sea. The aircraft and its pilot were never found. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
June 1, 2006 | Jetstream 31 | Bocas del Toro "Isla Colón" International Airport | On 1 June 2006 at 07:55 local time, a British Aerospace Jetstream (registered HP-1477PST) skidded and overshot the runway upon landing in heavy rain at Bocas del Toro "Isla Colón" International Airport after a scheduled flight from Panama City. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The 16 passengers and two crew members evacuated the aircraft without any injuries. The plane was written off. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
October 31, 2007 | Fokker F27-200 | Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport | On 31 October 2007 at 20:40 UTC, a Fokker F27 Friendship (registered HP-1541PST) bound for Bocas del Toro "Isla Colón" International Airport for a scheduled passenger flight, veered off the runway at Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport. All nine passengers and four crew members evacuated the aircraft without injuries. The aircraft was written off. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
May 17, 2025 | Fokker 50 | Bocas del Toro "Isla Colón" International Airport | On May 17, 2025, at 2:01 UTC, a Fokker 50 (registered HP-1899PST) in a scheduled flight from Panama City landed on Bocas del Toro "Isla Colón" International Airport and veered off the runway. The aircraft sustained heavy damage and was written off. The 35 passengers and three crew members evacuated the aircraft without any major injuries. | 0 | 0 | 12 | 26 | 0 |