SANTO DOMINGO.- Low-cost airline Wingo yesterday presented a new route that will connect the Dominican Republic with Panama and will begin operating on October 6 with two weekly frequencies and a total offering of 3,000 seats per month.
The airline's commercial director, Jorge Jiménez, indicated in an interview with Efe that this will be the fifth route to or from the Dominican Republic, Wingo's most important location in the Caribbean, which accounts for 20% of the company's international operations, with flights to twenty-five destinations.
The Colombian company, part of Copa Airlines , expects mixed vacation and business traffic between Santo Domingo and Panama City, without competing with the parent company, which already covers this route, since there is a market to operate with this low-cost model without falling into self-competition.
In addition, Wingo will be operating these flights at the Panama Pacifico airport, strategically located fifteen minutes from the city center and very close to the beaches of Rio Alto, Jimenez indicated as the first difference with the route operated by Copa, which adds to the fact that its offers are aimed at different audiences.
“Ultimately, our goal is to stimulate, not take away, the travelers who already exist on the route, but to create a new market through low fares, which are our specialty. We believe there is a market for both segments,” the executive pointed out.
The launch of this new route comes in a context of uncertainty with three main elements affecting the sector - fuel prices, the devaluation of Latin American currencies and high inflation.
“Undoubtedly, for a business like ours it is very challenging to operate in these circumstances, but our low-cost model seeks to translate those difficulties into efficiency so as not to have to raise the rate” for the customer, he added.
After the pandemic, "what we are seeing is a sustained and strong demand from travelers," and the destinations offered by the airline fit very well with the tastes of the Dominican consumer who, in addition to traveling and exploring, seeks to do shopping, said Jiménez, who also highlighted the rise of medical and dental tourism.
“We believe it is a good time to open this route,” especially after the good results obtained with the direct flights to Medellín, Colombia, which began operating four months ago with a frequency of two weekly flights, which has already increased to three.
This year, from January to July, Colombia became the main country in Latin America sending travelers to the Dominican Republic and the fourth worldwide.
