Originally Posted by
kennycrudup
Does anyone have any insight as to what's in the Panama City area to warrant such a long flight to the ME?
It's not just Panama City, but the connections it offers to the rest of the Americas.
Originally Posted by
suranyi
I think Panama City is becoming a significant hub for Latin America, particularly because of Copa Airlines.
Yep. And as others have pointed out, there's the issue of no Transit-Without-Visa via the US any more. And, everyone that's a citizen of a country in North, Central, or South America, unless they're from the US, Canada, or Chile, needs a US visa to even transit via the US. In addition to being expensive and time-consuming to get, it's simply not available to many people. EK's new service will offer a convenient option for affected people traveling to anywhere in Europe, among other places.