Copa continues its expansion of routes and Cities it will fly out of with direct flights to Panama.  Miami International is a real pain to deal with and now you can fly out of Ft Lauderdale.

Copa Airlines doesn’t have the name recognition of JetBlue or Southwest for South Florida travelers, but the Latin American carrier is aiming to change that with new service to Panama that launches July 11.

Officials of the Panamanian carrier were at the B Ocean Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday to promote the new flights to hoteliers, tour operators and members of the business community, hoping to “spread the word that there is a new player in town that can compete with anybody and has competed successfully,” said Joseph Mohan, Copa’s vice president of commercial and planning.

Copa plans to offer flights four times a week between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, operating Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

“Flights are booking up,” Mohan said of the new service, which was first announced in late January.

Still, Mohan said there’s more work to be done to ensure the planes are full. “We need to get the [Copa] name out there,” he said.

To achieve that, the carrier is not only partnering with airport and tourism officials to market the new flights, but is also touting its on-time performance, free onboard meals and beverages and generous checked baggage allowances as key perks to attract travelers.

The new Panama service is coming at a time when Broward County is enjoying sustained tourism growth, with hotel occupancy rates rising for 51 consecutive months.

“With the addition of the new flight in July, we see that growth can only continue as we extensively market to Latin American travelers to raise the destination’s profile and presence in the region,” said Carlos Molinet, senior vice president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“This new flight is expected to bring an estimated 15,000 passengers [annually] and an economic impact of $12.1 million fueling one of Broward County’s top economic engines — tourism.”

Besides giving South Floridians another option for flying to Panama, Copa’s new service is also expected to improve connectivity for passengers heading to business and leisure destinations in Latin America such as Colombia and Brazil.

Copa also operates out of Miami, Orlando and Tampa. Since launching in December, the Tampa route has been a hit with “incredibly full flights, Mohan said. Trade missions between Tampa and Panama since have also helped to foster new business relationships.

“Some places really take off and Tampa has done really well, and we’re expecting the same from Fort Lauderdale,” Mohan said.