Copa Airlines is a Panamian-based carrier with a lot of clean, new planes, a modern look and feel, an excellent central hub at Panama City's Tocumen International Airport, and a good network of coverage throughout the Americas. Copa has frequent flights throughout central america, and they serve many major south american cities including Lima, Santiago, Sao Paulo, Guayaquil, Buenos Aires, Quito, Bogota, Caracas, and more. They have several routes in the Caribbean as well. From the U.S., Copa flies into Miami and Orlando. They also have a code-sharing agreement with Continental for flights from Newark or Houston through Panama City.


Copa's Routes...
Copa's inflight magazine had a nifty little route map in it, boldly labeling Panama City as "Hub of the Americas". When you look at the map, it quickly dawns on you how this really is just about as perfect a location as you could hope to have if you really want to be positioned to serve two continents. Most of Copa's flights are fairly short -- to places like El Salvador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, or Honduras.


Copa's Aircraft: A Modern Fleet...
The first thing that struck me when getting on the Copa flight was the look of the plane. No, there was nothing wrong with it. In fact, it was brand spanking new. What struck me was that it looked so much like a Continental plane. Same blue and white color scheme, shockingly similar logo on the tail fin, basically the globe with some little wiggly motion lines on it. This didn't look like the Copa planes I'd seen a couple years earlier! They used to have this ugly white and red color scheme and a dated looking ugly logo with blocky red letters. Upgraded images help -- I remember when Continental used to have ugly logos and a white with red, orange, and brown color scheme -- YEECH!

Ahem, I'm talking about Copa, not Continental. Yeah, so anyway, the plane is new. Showroom new. Like there aren't even scratches in the paint yet. Turns out it's one of those Boeing Next Generation 737-700s....Copa evidently bought 12 of them last year. As a matter of fact, every plane in Copa's fleet is a 737. Guess that simplifies maintenance logistics. Should also go a long way to soothe the anxieties of gringos worried about foreign flag carrier. A fleet of brand new Boeings is going to be a safe fleet.


Copa Airlines Fares...
What about prices? Glad you asked! Being the cheap S.O.B. that I am, this is naturally, a topic very dear to my heart. Copa does fairly well on some routes, but mostly, they seem to come out on tops when you fly longer trips, like from the U.S. to someplace in south america. If Panama City is your destination, don't be surprised if Copa doesn't come out cheapest. I've found that on pricing many trips, Grupo TACA beats Copa's fares (although you'll sometimes get an connection somewhere, like San Salvador).


Service on Copa Airlines...
Service? Admittedly, I didn't have any problems so didn't get to stress the system, and I only flew with them on one trip, but everything seemed to move smoothly from where I sat. Check-in was fast and easy and flight attendants were polite and professional. Like on other latin american carriers, they offer the extra touches to make you feel at home. They hand out candy as you enter the plane, and they give you free beer and drinks on all flights -- none of that stupid nickel and diming that U.S. carriers love so much. As for schedule, my flight departed on the dot! (Don't know how they do on average.)


Copa Frequent Flyer Miles...
Frequent flyer mileage? You betcha! You're probably best off if you're a Continental OnePass member or a USAirways Dividend Miles member. Copa participates in the LatinPass -- a cooperative frequent flyer program that includes several latin american carriers, including LAN Chile and Mexicana, among others. If you're a USAirways Dividend Miles customer, you should be able to transfer LatinPass miles to your Dividend Miles account -- at least you could last time I checked. As a Continental affiliate, Copa miles can go directly to your OnePass account.


Bottom Line:
Bottom line is that if you find yourself being booked onto a Copa flight, don't worry, the fleet is young and the airline offers good solid service at competitive rates. Thumbs up!


Recommended: Yes