{
  "response": {
    "Key": "US-PA",
    "orig": {
      "code": "US",
      "type": "country",
      "country": "United States"
    },
    "dest": {
      "code": "PA",
      "type": "country",
      "country": "Panama"
    },
    "faq": {
      "q0": {
        "question": "Which U.S. cities can I fly from to reach Panama?",
        "answer": "Eighteen cities in the United States have nonstop flights to Panama, led by Miami with 251 weekly flights and a typical duration of 3h 6m, followed by Orlando at 3h 30m and Los Angeles at 6h 21m. Other nonstop departure cities include New York (5h 18m), Washington (5h 1m), Atlanta (4h 11m), Boston (5h 44m), San Francisco (7h 15m), Baltimore (4h 56m), Chicago (5h 22m), Houston (4h 11m), Tampa (3h 16m), San Diego (6h 4m), Raleigh-Durham (4h 27m), Las Vegas (6h 23m), Austin (4h 43m), Fort Lauderdale (3h 8m), and Denver (5h 55m). Copa Airlines serves most of these gateways, with American Airlines also on the Miami route, United Airlines on New York and Houston, Delta Air Lines on Atlanta, and Boliviana de Aviación on Washington. Travelers typically choose a departure airport based on proximity to home, flight frequency, and fare differences, with Miami offering the most weekly options and shorter flight times from the East Coast while West Coast departures involve longer durations.",
        "methodology": "Departure cities and their weekly nonstop flights come from our flight-schedule database, which combines published airline timetables, U.S. government schedule data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), and observed flight operations from the EUROCONTROL/OpenSky Open Performance Data Initiative (OPDI). We list every city in the origin country with scheduled nonstop service to an airport in the destination, busiest first.",
        "toolsUsed": [
          "country_to_city"
        ]
      },
      "q1": {
        "question": "Which airports in Panama are the best to fly into?",
        "answer": "Tocumen International Airport in Panama City is the primary gateway, receiving most flights from the US and offering the best connections to the rest of the country via Copa Airlines. For travellers heading to western Panama, such as Boquete or Bocas del Toro, David's Enrique Malek Airport receives some direct flights from the US and provides a convenient alternative."
      },
      "q2": {
        "question": "How long is the flight to Panama?",
        "answer": "Nonstop flights from the United States to Panama are widely available, with typical durations ranging from 3 hours 6 minutes out of Miami to 7 hours 15 minutes out of San Francisco. From New York the typical nonstop time is 5 hours 18 minutes, from Los Angeles 6 hours 21 minutes, from Atlanta 4 hours 11 minutes, and from Houston 4 hours 11 minutes. Copa Airlines operates the majority of these nonstop routes, with United Airlines also serving New York and Houston and American Airlines serving Miami.",
        "methodology": "Flight times come from our flight-schedule database, which combines published airline timetables, U.S. government schedule data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), and observed flight operations from the EUROCONTROL/OpenSky Open Performance Data Initiative (OPDI); the typical time is the median scheduled duration of each departure city's nonstop services to the destination.",
        "toolsUsed": [
          "country_to_city"
        ]
      },
      "q3": {
        "question": "Are there direct flights to Panama?",
        "answer": "There are direct, non-stop flights from the United States to Panama, with 18 U.S. cities offering non-stop service into Panama City. Miami has the most weekly flights, with Copa Airlines and American Airlines flying the route in about 3h 6m, while Orlando, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington also have substantial non-stop service. Flight times range from 3h 6m from Miami to 7h 15m from San Francisco, with most routes operated by Copa Airlines and a few by United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Boliviana de Aviación. Non-stop service also operates from Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Tampa, San Diego, Raleigh-Durham, Las Vegas, Austin, Fort Lauderdale, and Denver.",
        "methodology": "Nonstop service is identified from the scheduled operating flights in our flight-schedule database, which combines published airline timetables, U.S. government schedule data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), and observed flight operations from the EUROCONTROL/OpenSky Open Performance Data Initiative (OPDI); a destination with no scheduled nonstop from the origin country is reported as having none.",
        "toolsUsed": [
          "country_to_city"
        ]
      },
      "q4": {
        "question": "Which U.S. airports are usually cheapest for flying to Panama?",
        "answer": "Miami and Fort Lauderdale are usually the cheapest and most convenient US gateways to Panama, with frequent direct flights to Panama City on multiple airlines. Houston and Orlando also offer competitive fares and direct options, while travellers from smaller US cities often find the best deals by connecting through these hubs."
      },
      "q5": {
        "question": "Which airlines fly to Panama?",
        "answer": "Copa Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Boliviana de Aviación fly nonstop from the United States to Panama. Copa Airlines is the dominant carrier with service from most major U.S. cities, while United, American, and Delta serve select hubs. All are members of major global alliances except Boliviana de Aviación, which remains independent.",
        "methodology": "Airlines are the operating carriers scheduled on nonstop services from each departure city, taken from our flight-schedule database, which combines published airline timetables, U.S. government schedule data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), and observed flight operations from the EUROCONTROL/OpenSky Open Performance Data Initiative (OPDI).",
        "toolsUsed": [
          "country_to_city"
        ]
      },
      "q6": {
        "question": "When is the cheapest time to fly to Panama?",
        "answer": "The cheapest months to fly from the United States to Panama are April, May, and June, when fares are lowest and holiday demand is light — avoid late November through December, when prices climb sharply around Thanksgiving and Christmas. For the best deal, book about 13 to 16 weeks ahead, and aim to depart on a Wednesday in the afternoon or evening, which tends to be cheaper than weekend or Tuesday flights.",
        "methodology": "This 'good deal' estimate shows a representative best price for each departure date across roughly a 12-month window (about 3 months back and 9 months forward). It is built from real flight prices found by Priceline users searching this route, accumulated into a price history for each departure date. Rather than weighting all of that history equally, we apply exponential time decay so recent prices dominate — a price seen yesterday counts almost in full, one from about a month ago roughly a third, and prices from a few months back very little — giving a figure that tracks today's market instead of a stale long-run average. Clear price outliers are removed before any calculation, departure dates with no observations are filled in from nearby dates, and the resulting curve is lightly smoothed so it reads as a clean seasonal trend rather than day-to-day noise. This booking-window guidance is built from the same real flight prices found by Priceline users searching this route, re-grouped by how many days before departure each price was seen (from the departure day out to about 180 days ahead) across the route's price history. At each booking lead time we report the 25th-percentile price — the cheaper end of what travelers were quoted, rather than the rock-bottom minimum (which can be a fluke) or the average (which is pulled up by expensive last-minute fares). The buy-or-wait advice then applies a risk premium that grows as departure approaches, since seat availability shrinks and prices become less predictable; using that adjusted curve we flag windows where waiting is likely to save a meaningful amount (at least $20 or 5%) versus windows where booking now is the better call. Isolated single-day recommendations are filtered out, so the advice only reflects a window that holds for several days in a row. The US departure cities with nonstop service to this destination, their weekly flight frequencies, typical flight times, airlines, and red-eye availability are compiled from our flight-schedule database, which combines published airline timetables, U.S. government schedule data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), and observed flight operations from the EUROCONTROL/OpenSky Open Performance Data Initiative (OPDI). We identify every US airport with scheduled nonstop service to the destination, group them into their metropolitan areas, and rank the cities by scheduled weekly departures; the typical flight time is the median scheduled duration, and red-eye availability is flagged from scheduled local departure and arrival times. The cheapest day of the week and time of day to depart are drawn from the same large sample of real fares Priceline users found on this route in the last 72 hours, grouped by the day of the week and by the time-of-day window of the outbound departure, with the lowest and average price reported for each."
      },
      "q7": {
        "question": "How far in advance should I book flights to Panama?",
        "answer": "For flights from the United States to Panama, the optimal booking window is about 13 to 16 weeks before departure, when fares average around $710, though peak travel periods like holidays and Panama's dry season may require booking even earlier.",
        "methodology": "This booking-window guidance is built from the same real flight prices found by Priceline users searching this route, re-grouped by how many days before departure each price was seen (from the departure day out to about 180 days ahead) across the route's price history. At each booking lead time we report the 25th-percentile price — the cheaper end of what travelers were quoted, rather than the rock-bottom minimum (which can be a fluke) or the average (which is pulled up by expensive last-minute fares). The buy-or-wait advice then applies a risk premium that grows as departure approaches, since seat availability shrinks and prices become less predictable; using that adjusted curve we flag windows where waiting is likely to save a meaningful amount (at least $20 or 5%) versus windows where booking now is the better call. Isolated single-day recommendations are filtered out, so the advice only reflects a window that holds for several days in a row."
      },
      "q8": {
        "question": "Do I need a visa to travel to Panama?",
        "answer": "United States citizens do not need a visa for short tourist visits to Panama. They may stay visa-free for up to 180 days.\n\nThis is general guidance to help you plan, not official immigration advice — entry rules can change and can depend on your nationality and circumstances, so please confirm the current requirements with the relevant embassy or official government source before you travel.",
        "toolsUsed": [
          "article_lookup"
        ],
        "references": [
          {
            "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Panama",
            "title": "Visa policy of Panama",
            "favicon": "https://en.wikipedia.org/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/panama/entry-requirements",
            "title": "Panama entry requirements — GOV.UK",
            "favicon": "https://www.gov.uk/favicon.ico"
          }
        ],
        "preopenedReferences": true,
        "stageOnly": true
      },
      "q10": {
        "question": "How easy is it to travel within Panama after I arrive?",
        "answer": "Domestic flights from Panama City connect to David, Bocas del Toro and the San Blas Islands. Buses and rental cars are practical for moving along the Pan-American Highway and to nearby towns. Arriving at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City gives you the most onward travel options by air and road."
      }
    }
  }
}