This company was officially announced with the name Compania Panamena de Aviacion (COPA) on June 1944. Their initial service was started on 15 August 1947. This Airlines was created by group of Panama’s investor which was assisted by Pan America. However Pan America hold 32% of shares in this company. This company started their flights domestically using small aircrafts from Douglas DC-3 and Douglas C-47.
Copa Airlines initially started their International flights in 1960 when they opened the route to Jamaica, Colombia, and Costa Rica. This airline was purely owned by Panama’s Government. Until in 1980s, Copa Airlines got a great competition from Air Panama, which at that time, Air Panama was more popular for International Flights services.
Copa finally stopped their domestic flights in 1979 and bought their first Jet Aircraft, Boeing 737-100. At the same time Copa released the route to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Other destinations which were released are to Dominica Republic, Miami, and Florida. Then, Boeing 737 become the only aircraft until the company introduced Enbraer 190 in 2005.
The expansion continued around 1900s. The additional routes were added. They are Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chili: Bogota, Colombia: Havana, Cuba; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Lima, Peru; Mexico city, Mexico; Caracas, Venezuela; and other important city around America. In 1998, Continental Airlines bought 49% the company’s share. It signed the initial alliance of marketing and comprehensive cooperation.
In 2000, Copa Airlines opened the flight services to Los Angeles, Cancun, and Orlando, together with the flight service to Quito, Ecuador. In 2004, Copa Airlines started their service to carry the passenger to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Another alliance share was announced On August with Mexicana de Aviacion (one of Mexico Airlines) this cooperation finally done in 2007.
Since this airline is popular with their cheap and mostly affordable routes, it is very easy to get cheap Copa Airlines ticket online or directly buy to the official office of this airline. In order to do Copa Airlines booking, you can simply access their official website or contact the legal ticket seller which formally cooperated with Copa Airlines.
If you want to evaluate the price of the flights both regional and International, you will find that this company is popular with their Copa Airlines low airfares. That is because India is a develop country and the money exchange rate is low. However, you still have to be careful with some scammers which deliver to you the unbelievable cheap price.
The official ticket seller company which legally cooperated with the airline will mostly provide you more complete information about the schedule, why the price is cheap at that moment, and detail information about the Airport gate you mostly use when started your flights. For a save scheme, you can browse the recent testimonials appear in the Internet. Try to seek their testimonials about the save place to get cheap Copa Airlines ticket and what is the possible cheap price.
Aircraft Types
- 737-700
- 737-800
- Embraer 190
Baggage Allowance and Information
With the purchase of a ticket you may, at no additional cost, transport all baggage that complies with the following general conditions:
- Contains items such as clothes and personal effects needed for the passenger's comfort and convenience during his/her trip.
- All bags must be checked in prior to being transported.
- Identify your luggage outside as well as inside with your complete name, address and phone number for it to not be confused with someone else’s.
Additional information about traveling with excess baggage
- Pieces that meet the weight restrictions will be transported without charge.
- Fees for excess baggage are cumulative depending on registered baggage conditions. For example, if weight and size exceed the limit, the sum of both corresponding fees is charged.
- The baggage allowance for your trip will depend on your point of origin and destination.
- Taxes may be applied to these costs based on the charges established by the country.
- All baggage exceeding maximum weight, size dimensions or piece limitations, will be transported subject to space availability and surcharges will be charged in accordance with exchange of the day.
- Anything weighing more than 100 lb must be sent as cargo.
- Flights to/from Bahamas and Cuba* individual pieces over 32kg (70lb) are not allowed.
* As of April 15, 2015.
- On international flights, Copa Airlines does not allow bags to be checked in more than four hours in advance of the scheduled flight departure time.
- On domestics flights within Colombia, Copa Airlines does not allow bags to be checked in more than six hours in advance of the flight departure time.
- If your flight includes an overnight layover, you must retrieve your bags from customs and check them in again at the connection location.
If you arrive at the ticket counter 60 minutes before the departure of your flight, it is possible that your bags may not arrive at your final destination on your flight. If this occurs, we will put your bags on the next available flight. In addition to the standard tags, your bags will be tagged with "voluntary separation" tags.
Most Significant Carrier rule (MSC)
- Effective since April 1, 2011: if the geographically longest or most significant stretch of your journey is not operated by Copa Airlines, but by another airline, this airline’s rules may also apply to Copa Airlines flights or Copa Airlines flight numbers.
- If Copa Airlines operates the geographically longest or most significant stretch of the journey, then the Copa Airlines rules and charges apply.
- The applicable free baggage allowance is shown on your ticket.
- The MSC rule does not apply to journeys to/from the USA.
Hanachova
2017-11-13 06:14:05
Sao Paulo to Panama City. Food terrible, entertainment system outdated and terrible. Service lacking and staff attitude terrible. The seats are not comfortable for a 7 hour flight. Plane was clean, as it should be. Boarding was later than announced, delaying departure and arrival.
Haiyun
2017-11-13 06:13:32
Panama City to Orlando. Poor inflight service, the flight was not full however the food selection I wanted was not available. They did not offer a blanket and pillow but they were in the overhead bin. It seems like there is no service culture, it is the basics to get from point A to B.
Fanelli
2017-11-13 06:13:10
I had 4 flights with this company: from Sao Paulo to Panama: airplane was late for 2 hours due to maintenance, made me lose the connection flight, Panama to Costa Rica no information on the boarding area, this was also late for 1 hour, plus we had to wait in air for +2 hours without too much information from the pilot about the weather condition in the airport. Crew simply don't care about your experience. Costa Rica to Panama. Initially informed to be a 20 minute delay, then 2 hours, then the flight was cancelled due to maintenance, I lost my connection from Panama to Brazil. Panama to Sao Paulo. Again late for 1 hour, no information on the boarding area. Food service was a joke (breakfast was a bag of chips). No upgrade if you ask for it. Before boarding, I asked for them to be sure my bag was in the flight, I didn't want them to lose it. Arrived in Sao Paulo, they lost my bag. Had to take additional 1 hour to fill a form and have a service request created so they can try (try because they didn't find what happened to it in their system) to find my stuff. Also, I had to book it some weeks before - the price was the same as if I were going to Japan or Australia (almost 2k USD). Two of the airplanes didn't have entertainment, a seat in front of me was broken and the person couldn't move it back.
Savenduli
2017-11-13 06:10:55
I had 4 flights with this company: from Sao Paulo to Panama: airplane was late for 2 hours due to maintenance, made me lose the connection flight, Panama to Costa Rica no information on the boarding area, this was also late for 1 hour, plus we had to wait in air for +2 hours without too much information from the pilot about the weather condition in the airport. Crew simply don't care about your experience. Costa Rica to Panama. Initially informed to be a 20 minute delay, then 2 hours, then the flight was cancelled due to maintenance, I lost my connection from Panama to Brazil. Panama to Sao Paulo. Again late for 1 hour, no information on the boarding area. Food service was a joke (breakfast was a bag of chips). No upgrade if you ask for it. Before boarding, I asked for them to be sure my bag was in the flight, I didn't want them to lose it. Arrived in Sao Paulo, they lost my bag. Had to take additional 1 hour to fill a form and have a service request created so they can try (try because they didn't find what happened to it in their system) to find my stuff. Also, I had to book it some weeks before - the price was the same as if I were going to Japan or Australia (almost 2k USD). Two of the airplanes didn't have entertainment, a seat in front of me was broken and the person couldn't move it back
Saleta
2017-11-13 06:10:27
Panama to San Juan. I will lose a business meeting tomorrow because of this cheap airline. First, they said that they called me a week ago and when I said "when I did my check in in the previous report, why they did not tell me about flight changes?" and obtained no responses. "why don't you send me an email?" No responses. Then, they said that my flight was cancelled because of the weather and I said "you did not cancel a flight from a week ago because of weather". Responsible airlines resolve their mess by buying you tickets with other airlines. This one even pay me the hotel. But this was even worse: I paid an insurance that Copa offered in their website, which is based in Panama City. That insurance also did not want to pay because of technicalities saying that "we covered you if the flight was delayed for more than 12 hours, not cancelled". When I asked "Does Copa ever delay any flight for more than 12 hours?", they replied: "No". Obviously, this is a way to cheat customers because no flight is delayed for more than 12 hours. Business people: don't fly with this airline, they are irresponsible and will make you pay for everything and be absent of your relatives and next meetings. A good airline is the one that resolve problems like this, not the one that thinks: "if things go well, we are good. If there is a problem, we don't care".
Shelley S.
2016-02-06 01:23:37
I just flew Copa roundtrip from LAX to Rio and I will never fly another airline again when I go to Brazil. First of all, the flight attendants were all so nice with genuine smiles on their faces. From LAX to Panama,and from Panama to Rio, they served a meal and about an hour before we landed, we got a hot snack(sandwich). The food was pretty good. The best part was alcohol was FREE!!!!! Yes, free in coach. I think they are in the process of updating their fleet because only one segment of the roundtrip did not have individual entertainment screens in the headrest.. The screens were pretty big and had a good choice of new release movies to choose from. Love Copa Airlines!!!!
Don R.
2015-09-17 20:02:34
LAX to San Jose, Costa Rica. Though.. the flight wasn't great because you would fly to Panama city first, then take another flight UP to San Jose. Total Flight time plus layover is about 10 hours. However, you get fed so constantly that we stopped making fun of it after the 3 meal on a 6 hr flight.
Food isn't GREAT like the Korean Airlines, but hey, it's the heart that counts. I would take them again if they had direct flights to San Jose, Costa Rica.
By the way, the New 737-800 planes are nothing less than SWEEEEET!
Lindy H.
2015-09-17 20:01:41
Only complaint is that the equipment they use from LAX to PTA does not have seat-back entertainment (not even in Business/First). For an almost 7 hour flight, you'd think that amenity would be a given.
Loren J.
2015-09-17 19:42:36
Just flew COPA from Aruba to Panama City and then from Panama City to Los Angeles. This airline puts to shame its U.S. counterparts. The service was excellent. The flight attendants were genuinely friendly and attentive. They served us delicious hot meals in coach, with free drinks, including free beer, free wine, and free hard liquor. There were no baggage fees added to the ticket cost. Movies and TV were at no additional cost, too. If the price is not too much more, I would even pay extra to fly COPA in the future, rather than a U.S. carrier.
Shelley S.
2015-09-17 19:36:34
I just flew Copa roundtrip from LAX to Rio and I will never fly another airline again when I go to Brazil. First of all, the flight attendants were all so nice with genuine smiles on their faces. From LAX to Panama,and from Panama to Rio, they served a meal and about an hour before we landed, we got a hot snack(sandwich). The food was pretty good. The best part was alcohol was FREE!!!!! Yes, free in coach. I think they are in the process of updating their fleet because only one segment of the roundtrip did not have individual entertainment screens in the headrest.. The screens were pretty big and had a good choice of new release movies to choose from. Love Copa Airlines!!!!
Maurice V.
2015-09-17 19:34:30
Have not flown since 2004, and was a little nervous to fly a airline that I had no knowledge of. We booked round trip from LAX to Punta Cana, DR with one stop in Panama City. Layover was both 1:45 coming and going from Panama City. (It was advised to me to always book with short layovers when flying out of the country to decrease the chance of theft). We'll unlimited mix drinks, decent food, and a Personal LCD screen in front of you to watch movies or track your flight. Flights were on time, service was good at check in and in-flight. For the price I paid (being the cheapest) you can't go wrong. I know there are a lot of mixed reviews, but ours was good. In comparison to Jamaica Air, Copa schooled them, but then again, I don't know how much Jamaica Air has changed since 2004. Only negative was the passengers flying to South America, some real characters. Using Copa, you will always fly into Panama City. Keep that in mind.
Ernest G.
2015-09-17 19:33:55
Negatives
Poor customer service
Never respond to emails.
Many agents only speak Spanish (even though website is in English and Spanish)
They look for opportunities to charge change fees (sold me a ticket they promised was changeable without penalty...it turned out not to be)
Ernest G.
2015-09-17 19:33:53
Negatives
Poor customer service
Never respond to emails.
Many agents only speak Spanish (even though website is in English and Spanish)
They look for opportunities to charge change fees (sold me a ticket they promised was changeable without penalty...it turned out not to be)
James K.
2015-09-17 19:33:05
We recently flew from DC to Chile, overall 4 flights and 0 issues. All planes departed on time, food and alcoholic beverages were served. Everyone at the airport and in the air was friendly. Flight Panama-Santiago was operated by a newer Boeing so we had more leg room, and individual monitors. It's hard to believe we were able to fly a family of 4 for less than $1,500 .Highly recommend.
Albert P.
2015-09-17 19:31:42
An excellent airline to enjoy a long trip to the gateway of the Americas. Brand new aircraft with the latest in flight entertainment system and an excellent and well mannered crew. Economy class has plenty of leg room, even for a 6-2 guy like myself. They just need to improve the food a bit to get that last star in my book.
Nick H.
2015-09-17 19:30:24
Seats were very cramped. The crew didn't speak much english. The food taste the cr*p and the entertainment was also cr*p. Only goog was the cost fairly cheap and it go me where I needed to go. Definitely not worth flying again.
Ulises D.
2015-09-17 19:28:45
This is one of the worse air lines ever, if you want to change you fly be ready to pay a big fine, they just don't care about your situation, they are not interested to hear your problems, if you are ready to pay the fine call back, if not don't bother to call, just like that, poor poor customer service, I strongly suggest not use this air line!!!
Jean-Louis B.
2015-09-17 18:21:29
COPA airlines, copa who? My first reaction was quickly dispelled by great service a friendly staff and a modern airfleet! Now it's wow COPA!
Lisa W.
2015-09-17 18:20:57
I was very skeptical flying with Copa for the first time on a recent trip from Los Angeles to the Dominican Republic. I chose to fly with them because prices were significantly cheaper that other US airlines with a shorter layover to my destination. While my experience was by no means perfect, I was left with an overall good impression and I would certainly fly Copa again should I find myself traveling to South Americe or the Caribbean.
For starters, there is no fee for check-in bags. That's right. NO FEE for additional CHECK-IN bags. For years I've thought that the day of free check-ins was over, but Copa proved me wrong. Also, they provide ample refreshments during the flight. Our initial flight was 6 1/2 hours and we received beverages, a french toast breakfast AND an empanada snack, which to my amazement, was edible and almost tasty. Basic beer and wine is offered on the refreshment cart at no additional cost in Economy class. Unheard of! Our connecting flight was 2 1/2 hours and included refreshments and another empanada snack. I also loved that they had a large selection of movies, TV shows and games with individual monitors. It made the arduous flight much more tolerable.
My biggest complaint with Copa is the sloppy seating arrangements. On one of our flights, many groups were separated due to haphazard and poorly planned seating assignment. I sat a row in front of my husband, and many other couples and families were similarly separated. They allow you to trade seats on the plane, so the moments before take off were full of chaos with people making desperate pleas and bargains to sit with their loved ones. We booked our trip through Travelocity and checked-in in person at the desk and were not given a choice for seating. I was told that it is better to check in online or by phone the night before because you are allowed to choose your own seats. Good to know for my next adventure.
Tip: Flight attendants speak English and Spanish, but the preferred l
Ash N.
2015-09-17 18:20:13
Not sure why people complain. You get what you paid for. Anyways went to Dominica on their airline .... the plus is food.... Drinks... Entertainment . I have to pay for all these extras on another airline. I had all my needs met . I knew what I was getting into when I needed to stop in another country. Jet lagg . Tiredness and body aches. Anyways I would fly with them again .
monica y.
2015-09-17 18:19:41
After reading many terrible reviews about this airline, I was prepared for the worst traveling experience of my life.
I have heard they sell your seats if you dont check in 24 hours before departure, lose/steal things from your checked baggage, rude service, no meals/entertainment on flights, cancelled/extremely delayed flights causing missed connections, and worst of all, no reimbursement or free re-route for previous mentioned. I was ready for the flight from hell, Bring it, b*tch..
BUT....
The flight was excellent! Check in went smoothly, all flights and connecting flights were all on time, flight attendants were helpful and courteous, they served you food and fed us many times with above decent tasting meals, drinks and snacks for free, they had LOADS of free classic and recent movies on your own monitor. I don't know what they did, but this isn't the copa I read reviews about online just a few weeks ago. Not only was it the cheapest flight from LAX - Panama city layover - PUJ (punta cana), it was one of the best international services I have gotten and I travel frequently. Thanks Copa! I LOVE your new face lift!
Jamie A.
2015-09-17 18:19:08
The COPA counter at LAX needs to rethink their check in process. When the web check in line is exactly the same length and wait time as the regular line we call this INEFFICIENT. Why even web check in when I still need to wait 45 mins in line to drop my bag? Get some automated machines and people who can assign seats better. They were puzzled on how to seat a family together like it was some complex math.
The plane was newish and seat space was good. The flight attendants were all younger, friendly and generally nice looking. Some of the Spanish/English translation can get messy. I like to know exactly what I am eating, but the vocabulary threw me off. For example, breakfast was 'tostadas', but it was really french toast. Their sandwich was 'carne', but it was really sausage. Food was bad.
The worst was that our flights went down $150 a week after we bought them and when we called to see if they would price match (themselves- lol) or do an adjustment, but they said we could cancel with a $200 change fee. I don't know why they would even suggest such a ridiculous thing. It's like, OK COPA let me throw more undeserved money at you!
Note that at the Panama airport you can't bring any liquids on your flight with you (including bottled water) and you have to do security check TWICE. The second one is right at your gate. They rope off the seating area and if you need to leave the gate to use the restroom, etc you have to redo the security check again. Plan ahead!
Jamie A.
2015-09-17 18:19:08
The COPA counter at LAX needs to rethink their check in process. When the web check in line is exactly the same length and wait time as the regular line we call this INEFFICIENT. Why even web check in when I still need to wait 45 mins in line to drop my bag? Get some automated machines and people who can assign seats better. They were puzzled on how to seat a family together like it was some complex math.
The plane was newish and seat space was good. The flight attendants were all younger, friendly and generally nice looking. Some of the Spanish/English translation can get messy. I like to know exactly what I am eating, but the vocabulary threw me off. For example, breakfast was 'tostadas', but it was really french toast. Their sandwich was 'carne', but it was really sausage. Food was bad.
The worst was that our flights went down $150 a week after we bought them and when we called to see if they would price match (themselves- lol) or do an adjustment, but they said we could cancel with a $200 change fee. I don't know why they would even suggest such a ridiculous thing. It's like, OK COPA let me throw more undeserved money at you!
Note that at the Panama airport you can't bring any liquids on your flight with you (including bottled water) and you have to do security check TWICE. The second one is right at your gate. They rope off the seating area and if you need to leave the gate to use the restroom, etc you have to redo the security check again. Plan ahead!
Yvonne Y.
2015-09-17 18:18:21
My BF and I used this airline for the first time traveling to Quito, Ecuador for vacation.
All staff were very nice and helpful. They also provide food for you on the plane but the food taste ok. Can't really expect much from airplane food, it sorta like school cafeteria food.
Plane tickets were cheap so we would use this airline again.
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