OFF THE CUFF: Panama a “mini Dubai”

WHEN FORMER  Panama president Ricardo Martinelli was at his most expansive,  he liked to boast that Panama was another “Singapore”, but last  week  the president of Emirates, the world’s biggest long haul airline, preferred to call the country  a “mini Dubai.”

Tim Clark made the comment” at a travel fair in Berlin, when explaining the postponement of Emirates plan to  create a hub in Panama and, at the same time set a commercial airlines  endurance record of 17 hours and 35 minutes when headed westbound into prevailing winds  for the  8,590-mile trip using Boeing’s  777-200LR.

The plan for  a hub connecting cities across Latin America with Asia  is on hold because government accords permitting cooperation with  Copa, a  key local carrier, took too long to put in place. The airline has secured approvals from only three or four of the 13 countries from which it needs backing for a wide-ranging code-share deal.

The long haul flights were to have started in February, before being put back  to March. and then shelved  until late 2016 or early 2017.

“Panama was a sort of entry point for South and Central America for us and has huge potential, but we needed to get the aero-political structures in place,” Clark said.

“Flights via Dubai would offer access to western Asia, the Middle East and North Africa “in a very clean and easy way,” he said.

Emirates plans to retain staff already hired in Panama City while working to deliver the accord with Copa, which promotes its base at Tocumen International Airport as “The Hub of the Americas.” and has the highest number of international services in Latin America.

Copa last year ordered 61 Boeing 737 Max single-aisle jets worth $6.6 billion at list prices in the largest-ever deal between companies in the U.S. and Panama. The planes will replace older 737s among a fleet that numbers more than 70 single-aisle aircraft.

“You may wonder why people would travel from Guatemala to Dubai — or from Belize or San Salvador — but we know there is quite a lot of business,” Clark said. “Panama itself is like a mini-Dubai when you look at some of the cities in Central and South America.”