panamaoffshorelegal

The one thing that I think Panama is really missing is more flights into the country.

I'm from Canada, and unless I go with a budget operator such as Sunwing or the like I cannot get a reasonably priced plane ticket.

Does anyone know how to get cheap flights to Panama from Canada and vice versa?

I prefer direct flights...

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soltero

Direct flights are spendy -- no way around it -- unless you're flying from one of Spirit Air's hubs (like Fort Lauderdale). To check all fares from all airlines, go to Kayak.com. After you register with them (it's free), you can put more variables on your search, like a range of days, nearby airports, etc.

gsfromc

I've swithced to a great airfare search site called www.farecast.com. Try it out. Cheapest flights to PTY from the U.S. on a well known airline is from Miami via COPA or American, best is about $330 tax in. Best I have found ever from Calgary is $850 tax in, if you are flexible in your days CO with one change in Houston is about $930 tax in. Not really out of line to what it costs to the Caribbean or Mexico.

dsc

Neat site, I'll bookmark it..

I booked a trip for the last 2 weeks in June in Panama. I depart from Calgary also.

I've used this consolidator for 2 int'l flights before this and they've had (what I thought were) pretty good prices: www.flightnetwork.com

My return flight to Panama through Flight Network is $1,020 (all taxes & fees included -- $914 before all that).

soltero

The trouble (imho) with Farecast and Flightnetwork is that neither one gives you a "flexible days" option in their searches. And the fact is, flying on one particular day of the week can sometimes be hundreds of dollars cheaper than another day. With Kayak, you can put in a variable 3-day range, both for departure and return.

Having said that, no travel aggregator is perfect -- even Kayak sometimes makes mistakes, maybe because it doesn't have the latest and greatest fares from a particular airline. What I do is always start with Kayak, find the carriers with the best fares, then go to their sites to re-check.

Btw, that's what Kayak does anyway: When you click on a result, you're taken to the airline or booking agency site; Kayak does not make any money from the transaction.

dsc

Kayak is fine.

As a Canadian, however, I have to figure in the exchange rate.

So it was good 6-7 mos ago when one loonie got $1.10 US, but doesn't make sense at the moment.

Until the USD slides further that is..

GordonS

Westjet flies non stop to Panama City from Toronto. Check if it flies direct from Calgary - after all that's Westjet's HO. Transat flies direct from October (I think) until end of April and then Westjet does the direct from May to end of September or thereabouts. They seem to share that route. Not sure of the relationship between those two carriers.

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MRWOOHOO

I have friends coming to visit and booked aprox 3 weeks ago. They got direct, out of Orlando, on Copa for $415/each. That is probably the best price I have ever heard of out of Florida.

soltero

Spirit Air flies from fort Lauderdale to Panama City for around $200 (RT, including taxes); prices vary by time of week, and they charge an extra $5-10 to check baggage.

MRWOOHOO

I did fly down with them from Ft. Lauderdale. One problem I did notice was a lack of customer service. My personal experience.