Information on Copa Airlines Flights

Based in Panama City, Panama, strategically positioned between the North and South American continents, Copa Airlines is a crucial airlink across the Americas. As the largest airline in Central America, Copa operates over 370 flights daily, connecting 85 destinations across 32 countries in North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean.

In recent years, the airline has experienced rapid growth, consistently adding new destinations, increasing flight frequencies in key markets, and expanding its all-Boeing fleet. For instance, in 2024, Copa launched new routes between Panama City and Tulum, Mexico; Florianopolis, Brazil; and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. It also increased flights to/from Miami to seven daily and added over a dozen new aircraft, with another dozen expected in 2025.

Why should you consider Copa?

There are several reasons why I’m a fan of Copa Airlines. Although its network is limited to the Americas, it’s extensive, connecting destinations as far north as Montreal and as far south as Buenos Aires. All flights connect through Panama City, which, when flying economy, can be a welcome opportunity to stretch my legs and decompress.

Another key factor for me is Copa’s impressive punctuality, which is somewhat rare in the Americas. In 2023, Copa ranked as the world’s third most punctual airline (based on on-time arrivals) with a rate of 89.46%. To put this in perspective, other airlines I frequently use for travel to and from Latin America, like American Airlines and JetBlue, had punctuality ratings of 80.61% and 68.33%, respectively, in 2023.

Additionally, Copa tends to offer competitive fares and, as a member of the Star Alliance, provides excellent opportunities for earning and redeeming miles.

Lounging on your layover

If you’re flying Copa and your destination isn’t Panama City, you’ll be connecting through the Panamanian capital. Fortunately, Copa’s home base, Panama City-Tocumen International Airport (PTY), features a bright, modern Copa Club in Terminal 2. This lounge is accessible to business class passengers and economy passengers with a Priority Pass membership.

While you can buy a Priority Pass membership directly, it’s often a complimentary benefit with many premium credit cards. With a Priority Pass Select membership obtained through these credit cards, you can access the Copa Club on your travel day, regardless of fare or class, along with one guest, at no extra charge.

To make the most of your lounge experience in Panama City, I recommend heading straight to Copa’s lounge in Terminal 2. While there is another lounge in Terminal 1 that might be closer to your departure gate, it’s far less exciting.

Stopping over in Panama

Copa’s “Panama Stopover” option allows passengers to explore Panama with a stopover of up to 7 days at no additional cost. I use it often as a means for exploring Panama and its many cultural and natural riches when en route to other countries.

On multiple occasions, the program has allowed me to discover Panama City’s must-see enchanting old town, Casco Viejo, and comb its history-steeped streets. Most recently, it gave me time to engage in some world class bird watching in Soberania National Park (less than one hour outside of Panama City) and visit one of the country’s beautiful archipelagos.

To take advantage of the free stopover, book your ticket as a multi-city trip instead of a regular round-trip or one-way. Copa’s website features an easy-to-find icon that guides you to this stopover platform. Note that the complimentary stopover is allowed only on one leg of your journey (not both), with a maximum duration of six nights/seven days. In 2023, over 120,000 visitors used this program.

Copa fare classes and seats

When booking with Copa, you can choose between economy and business class fares. Within economy, the options are Economy Basic, Economy Classic, and Economy Full, each with varying benefits. For business class, you can select between Business Promo and Business Full, which is fully refundable.

Copa economy class

Copa’s three economy fares differ in baggage allowance, advance seat assignments, mileage earning, and other restrictions. I find Economy Classic to be the best value, as it includes one checked bag, advance seat selection, and one change without penalty fees.

With both Basic and Classic fares, you can pay extra for Economy Extra seats as well as options closer to the front or in the emergency exit row. Although Classic allows advance seat selection, it doesn’t include premium seats, favorable locations or exit rows with extra legroom. Economy Full, however, lets you choose any seat. That said, it often costs the same or more than a Business Promo fare, which is why I don’t recommend it.

Regular economy seats on Copa measure much like legacy U.S. and European airlines, with a 31” pitch and 17” width. Economy Extra seats present a more spacious 34” pitch and on some aircraft allow a 5” recline versus the normal 4” recline.

Copa business class

Copa’s business class can be a great experience, but it varies across its all-Boeing fleet. On Boeing Max aircraft, of which Copa has over 30, you’ll be surprised and delighted by the super comfortable, 180-degree lie-flat seats. Many 737-800s offer spacious recliners with a 49” pitch and 20” width, while others, along with the few remaining 737-700s, have recliners with a tighter 38” pitch. All business class products deliver a complete experience of meals, alcoholic beverages, and priority boarding.

When flying business class on Copa, I always aim for flights with the lie-flat seats, known as Dreams Business Class. You can identify these by checking the aircraft type under the details tab – Boeing Max planes guarantee the Dreams configuration. Copa’s 737 MAX 9-B’s have 12 seats in Dreams Business Class while the 737 MAX 9-A have 16.

Not all routes offer Dreams, but lucky for me, my preferred route between Miami and Panama City does. Of the seven daily flights connecting these cities, two carry Copa’s top-tier product, and I choose these whenever my schedule allows. Most other Dreams routes are longer haul, including Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Montevideo.

A familiar look

For North Americans new to Copa, certain aspects might seem oddly familiar. That’s because the airline’s exterior (and often interior) closely resembles that of United Airlines. This is rooted in history: in 1998, Continental Airlines, now part of United, purchased a large share in Copa, and Copa adopted its partner’s livery, font, and logo.

When Continental and United merged, the combined airline retained Continental’s branding for the most part. Though United no longer owns any part of Copa, Copa still uses a similar color scheme, font, logo, and livery to its Star Alliance partner.

Entertainment, Wi-Fi and In-flight Magazine

Starting with the downside: Copa doesn’t offer Wi-Fi on any flights whatsoever, and entertainment options vary by flight, with the 737-700s void of any entertainment. The upside? The Boeing Max planes are equipped to provide entertainment on personal devices (smartphones, tablets and computers) via Copa Showpass, the airline’s onboard system.

Also, seats on all Max and most 737-800 aircraft have individual screens with a selection of movies, TV shows, and music. Other 737-800s have drop-down screens with either feature films or shows. In all cases, headphones are complimentary.

For aircraft with Copa Showpass and/or personal screens, expect a choice of over 75 films across various genres, along with a few television shows and documentaries, all available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. However, the selection isn’t the most current. For instance, on a flight in September 2024, the TV comedy options were just a few episodes of Friends, Young Sheldon, and The Middle–that’s it. On a brighter note, Copa does have special selections from the Panama International Film Festival (IFF) uploaded, adding a nice cultural touch.

All this to say, in case you hadn’t already planned on doing so, I strongly suggest downloading your own entertainment before flying.

For those like me who still enjoy an old-fashioned monthly in-flight magazine, prepare to flip through the pages of Panorama de las Américas, Copa’s signature magazine found in every seat’s back pocket. This bilingual magazine covers lesser-known destinations served by Copa, and even as a seasoned travel journalist, I’ve discovered exciting new places through its pages.

The mileage star of Star Alliance

Copa Airlines is a core member of Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance. While many Star Alliance members can be stingy with award availability or charge high rates for redeeming miles, Copa is a notable exception.

The airline regularly offers a generous inventory of mileage seats in both economy and business class, and most partners charge reasonable rates for Copa redemptions, with minimal taxes. I’ve successfully booked Copa seats in both classes using Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer and Air Canada’s Aeroplan programs.

Outside of flying, many people accumulate frequent flier miles through transfers from major credit card programs like American Express, Capital One, Chase, and Citi. While Copa’s own frequent flier program, ConnectMiles, isn’t a direct transfer partner with any major U.S. credit card, Star Alliance partners like KrisFlyer and Aeroplan are, providing excellent opportunities to use credit card points for Copa flights.