Panama’s Copa Airlines to boost Las Vegas service

Panama’s Copa Airlines will boost its Las Vegas service to twice daily on four days a week starting on Dec. 13.

The new nonstops to and from Tocumen International Airport in Panama City will run Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Copa will fly Boeing 737-800 jets with 160 seats.

In doing so, Copa will hit a different bank of connecting flights to different destinations in Latin America from Panama. The current schedule has a daily flight leaving McCarran International Airport at the early hour of 4:45 a.m., arriving in Panama at 2:12 p.m., in time for the afternoon bank of connections. The return departs Panama at 9:34 a.m., hitting the gate here at 1:09 p.m.

The new flight will include a red-eye, leaving McCarran at 10:33 p.m. and arriving at 8:00 a.m. The return takes off from Panama at 6:40 p.m. and arrives here at 10:46 p.m.

Copa added Las Vegas to its route map in June 2012, coinciding with the opening of the new Terminal 3. During its first 11 months of service, Copa carried 75,000 people in and out of McCarran, placing it in the middle of the ranks of international carriers.