Copa Airlines facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Copa Airlines

Founded	21 June 1944; 81 years ago (1944-06-21)
Commenced operations	15 August 1947; 78 years ago (1947-08-15)
AOC #	DCIF003F
Hubs	Panama City–Tocumen
Focus cities	San José (CR)
Frequent-flyer program	ConnectMiles
Alliance	Star Alliance
Fleet size	103
Destinations	89
Parent company	Copa Holdings
Headquarters	Panama City, Panama
Key people	Pedro Heilbron (CEO)
Employees	9,450 (2018)

Copa Airlines is a major airline from Panama. It is known as the country's main airline. Its main office is in Panama City, Panama. The airline's main base for flights is Tocumen International Airport. Copa Airlines is part of a bigger company called Copa Holdings. It is also a member of the Star Alliance, a group of airlines that work together. Copa Holdings also owns another airline in Colombia called AeroRepública, which flies as Wingo and Copa Airlines Colombia.

Copa Airlines started in 1947. At first, it flew to three cities within Panama. In 1980, the airline stopped flying within Panama. It decided to focus only on international flights. In 1998, Copa Airlines teamed up with Continental Airlines. They even started to look similar in their branding.

History of Copa Airlines

How Copa Airlines Started

A Copa Airlines Lockheed L-188 Electra at La Aurora International Airport in 1980

On June 21, 1944, some investors from Panama joined with Pan American World Airways (Pan Am). They created a company called Compañía Panameña de Aviación. People soon called it Copa. Pan Am owned 32% of the company. Flights began on August 15, 1947. They used three Douglas C-47 planes. These planes flew to cities inside Panama.

In the 1960s, Copa started flying to other countries. They offered flights to Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Colombia. In 1971, Pan Am sold its share in Copa. This meant the airline was fully owned by Panamanians.

The 1980s brought a big change for Copa. They stopped all flights within Panama. They wanted to focus only on international travel. Copa also got its first jet plane, a Boeing 737-100. Before the 1980s, Copa had a lot of competition. Another airline, Air Panamá Internacional, was very well known.

Growing Bigger: Expansion Years

Copa Airlines kept growing in the 1990s. It started flying to many important cities in Latin America. These included Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; Bogotá, Colombia; Havana, Cuba; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Lima, Peru; Mexico City, Mexico; and Caracas, Venezuela.

In 1992, Copa Airlines made a special agreement with TACA Airlines (now Avianca El Salvador). Copa began flying from Tocumen International Airport. This airport became the first major flight connection center in Latin America. Because of this, Tocumen was called the “Hub of the Americas.” Other airlines like LACSA from Costa Rica and Aviateca from Guatemala joined this alliance. This partnership ended in 1998 after six years.

A very important event happened in 1998. Continental Airlines invested a lot of money in Copa. This led to the creation of Copa Holdings. This company owned Copa Airlines. Continental owned 49% of Copa Holdings. This investment also created a partnership. They shared flights, worked together on marketing, and helped each other with technical things. Since then, Copa's fleet has grown a lot. As of 2023, they had 97 aircraft. Copa also started using a similar look and logo to Continental's (now United). Copa was part of the OnePass frequent flyer program. Continental slowly sold its shares. By 2008, Continental no longer owned any part of Copa.

Since 1980, the Boeing 737 has been a main plane for Copa Airlines' longer flights. Pictured: a Boeing 737-800 at LAX.

In 2000, Copa Airlines started flights to Los Angeles, Cancún, and Orlando. They also began flying to São Paulo. In 2001, they added service to Quito, Ecuador. By 2004, they were flying to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Copa also announced a partnership with Mexico's Mexicana de Aviación in August 2004. This partnership lasted until 2007.

On June 1, 2005, Copa Airlines bought 90% of a Colombian airline called AeroRepública. Copa had already planned to share flights with them. In 2010, Copa changed AeroRepública's name to Copa Airlines Colombia. They added more destinations and updated the planes. On December 15, 2005, Copa's parent company, Copa Holdings, S.A., offered its shares to the public. This made it the fourth Latin American airline to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 2006, Copa Airlines added six new places to fly to. These included Manaus, Brazil; Maracaibo, Venezuela; Montevideo, Uruguay; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; San Pedro Sula, Honduras; and Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. Copa also received six Embraer 190 planes and two Boeing 737s. In 2007, Copa Airlines added flights to Córdoba, Argentina; Guadalajara, Mexico; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and Washington, D.C.. Copa Airlines added four Embraer 190s and two Boeing 737s (800 series). That same year, the airline joined the SkyTeam alliance as a partner.

Embraer 190 planes were used for shorter flights in Central America and Colombia.

During 2008, Copa Airlines added five new destinations. They also received four Embraer 190s and one Boeing 737-800. The new places were Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Valencia, Venezuela; Oranjestad, Aruba; and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. In May 2008, Continental Airlines sold its remaining shares of Copa Airlines.

In 2009, Copa Airlines announced it would leave SkyTeam on October 24. This was the same day its partner Continental Airlines left. The company added two Boeing 737-800s. They also ordered 13 more Boeing 737-800s with the new Boeing "Sky Interior."

In 2010, Copa Airlines started flying to St. Maarten. They received nine Boeing 737-800s. They also announced they would join Star Alliance in mid-2012. This meant rejoining their old partner Continental Airlines (now United). That same year, Copa Airlines ordered 32 Boeing 737-800 planes. This was the largest plane order in the airline's history. These planes were to be delivered between 2015 and 2018.

In 2011, Copa Airlines began flights to Toronto; Brasília and Porto Alegre, Brazil; Chicago; Cúcuta, Colombia; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Monterrey, Mexico; Asunción, Paraguay; and Nassau, The Bahamas. They also increased how often they flew to many places.

In June 2012, Copa Airlines became one of the first Latin American airlines to join Star Alliance.

That same year, Copa Airlines launched a mobile version of its website. This allowed passengers to get a mobile boarding pass and check flight status. The airline also announced a new agreement with TAME. This started in January 2012. Copa Airlines was also the first airline in Latin America to have the new Boeing 737-800NG Sky Interior in its planes.

In 2012, the company announced five new destinations. These were Las Vegas, United States; Recife, Brazil; Willemstad, Curaçao; Liberia, Costa Rica; and Iquitos, Peru. In June 2012, Copa Airlines officially became a member of Star Alliance.

Copa also flew more often to several places. They started an agreement with Air Panama. This connected all tourist spots in Panama with those in Latin America. This agreement began on June 1, 2012.

In 2013, Copa added two new destinations in the United States: Boston and Tampa.

In January 2014, Copa Airlines announced three new destinations. These were Montreal, Canada; Fort Lauderdale, United States; and Georgetown, Guyana. In July, they added Campinas, Brazil; and Santa Clara, Cuba. In April 2014, Copa Airlines was the first airline in Latin America to use Split Scimitar Winglets on its Boeing 737NG planes. These special winglets help save fuel.

In January 2015, Copa Airlines started daily domestic flights to David, Chiriquí. This was the first time in thirty years. Copa Airlines also announced new flights to Villahermosa and Puebla, Mexico; and New Orleans, United States. Three months later, they announced another new U.S. destination: San Francisco, California. In July 2015, Copa Airlines announced flights to Belize City, which began in December 2015.

Copa Airlines was the first airline in Latin America to use the Boeing 737 MAX 9.

In April 2015, the airline ordered 61 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. On June 21, 2016, flights to Holguín began. On June 28, 2016, flights to Chiclayo started. On July 1, 2016, flights to Rosario began.

In December 2016, Wingo, a low-cost airline owned by Copa, started flying in Colombia.

On November 15, 2017, flights to Mendoza, Argentina, began. On December 11, 2017, flights to Denver, United States, started.

On January 29, 2018, Copa Airlines announced new flights. These included Bridgetown, Barbados (July 17, 2018), Fortaleza, Brazil (July 18, 2018), and Salvador da Bahia, Brazil (July 24, 2018).

On December 12, 2018, flights to Salta, Argentina, began. On December 16, 2018, flights to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, started.

On January 17, 2019, the airline announced flights to Paramaribo, Suriname. These flights began on July 6, 2019.

On December 2, 2021, flights to Armenia, Colombia, began. On December 6, 2021, flights to Cúcuta, Colombia, restarted. On December 12, 2021, flights to Atlanta, United States, started.

On June 28, 2022, flights to Santa Marta, Colombia, began. On June 30, 2022, flights to Barcelona, Venezuela, started. On September 26, 2022, the airline started flights to Mexico City's new secondary airport, Felipe Ángeles International Airport.

On June 27, 2023, flights to Manta, Ecuador, began. On June 28, 2023, flights to Baltimore, Maryland, started. On July 6, 2023, flights to Austin, Texas, began. On October 17, 2023, flights to Barquisimeto, Venezuela, started. On June 21, 2024, flights to Raleigh, North Carolina, began. On June 25, 2024, flights to Florianopolis, Brazil, started. On June 26, 2024, flights to Tulum, Mexico, began.

On July 31, 2024, the airline had to stop its flights to Venezuela. This was due to political issues in Venezuela.

On June 25, 2025, the airline started flights to San Diego, California.

Where Copa Airlines Flies

As of July 2025, Copa Airlines flies to 88 places in 32 countries. These destinations are in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

Airlines Copa Works With

Copa Airlines shares flights with these airlines:

Copa Airlines Planes

Current Fleet

As of June 2025, Copa Airlines uses only Boeing 737 planes. Here are the types of planes they have:

Current fleet

Boeing 737-700

Boeing 737-800

Boeing 737 MAX 9

Past Planes

Copa Airlines used to fly these types of planes:

Plane Designs (Liveries)

Copa Airlines has used these liveries on their aircraft.

Since 1947, Copa Airlines has used different designs on its planes. These designs changed as they updated their fleet from propeller planes to jets. They also have some special designs. In November 2003, to celebrate Panama's 100th birthday, Copa Airlines put a special design on its Boeing 737-700 planes. It showed the official birthday logo and a picture of Panama's first president.

On March 6, 2012, a new Copa Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane had the Star Alliance design. It also showed a new style for the Copa Airlines logo. This plane was shown at the celebration when Copa officially joined Star Alliance. The plane started flying six days later. It made the first direct flight from Panama to Las Vegas. On May 30, 2012, another new Boeing 737-800 also got the Star Alliance design.

Copa received a new Boeing 737-800 in October 2012. This plane had a design showing Frank Gehry's Biomuseo. This is a museum that opened in Panama City in October 2013.

In March 2013, a new Boeing 737-800 for Copa Airlines was painted with the Star Alliance design. This was the third plane in their fleet with that design.

In August 2014, Copa Airlines worked with the Panama Canal Authority. They launched a special campaign for the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal. This included a special design on the back of two Boeing 737-800 planes. This design showed a picture of the canal's locks. They planned to put this design on more than 40 planes.

From 1947 until now, Copa Airlines has used these main designs:

• Compañia Panameña de Aviación (1947–1961)
• Vuele Copa (1961–1965)
• Copa Panama (original) - White plane with a red or green line (1965–1971)
• Copa Panama (1st update) - Red and orange line with a white plane (1971–1980)
• Copa Panama (2nd update) - Red and yellow line with a white plane (1980–1990)
• Copa "Billboard Style" - Red and yellow line with a white plane. The "Copa" logo was big on the front and tail (1990–1999)
• Copa Airlines (original) - White and gray plane, with a gold line in the middle. It had the famous globe logo. This looked like Continental Airlines' 1991 design (1999–2012)
• Copa Airlines (1st update) - Same as the original, but "Copa Airlines" uses a new, simpler font. This font is similar to the one used by United Airlines (2012–present)

Services on Board

A Copa Airlines Boeing 737-800 taking off from Los Angeles International Airport, in California (2014)

Business Class

Business Class seats are on all Copa Airlines planes. Passengers in Business Class check in at special counters. They get to board the plane first and their bags are handled quickly. They can also use the Copa/United Club and other airport lounges. They earn extra miles for the Copa ConnectMiles program.

On the plane, Business Class passengers get drinks before takeoff. They also get multi-course meals. Pillows and blankets are provided on international flights, depending on how long the flight is. Business Class seats are either leather seats that recline with footrests and adjustable headrests, or lie-flat beds on their 737 MAX planes. These seats also have power outlets, a large tray table, a USB port, and a screen for movies and shows.

Economy Class

Economy Class seats are on all Copa Airlines planes. On newer Boeing 737-800s, Economy seats have adjustable headrests and a personal touch screen for entertainment. Older 737-800s have screens that fold down from above the seats. All Boeing 737 planes also have a radio. Passengers can listen to many songs and music channels. Food and snacks are available on short flights. Full meals are free on all other medium and long international flights. Alcoholic drinks are free for Economy passengers on all flights.

The main cabin also has 24 Economy Extra seats. These seats have more space, more entertainment choices, and are more comfortable. The Main Cabin also has USB ports at each seat and bigger overhead bins for bags.

ConnectMiles Program

ConnectMiles is Copa Airlines' program for frequent flyers. It lets travelers buy tickets using miles they have earned. Customers earn miles when they fly with Copa Airlines, United Airlines, and other airlines that are part of Star Alliance. If you have Premier status, you get special benefits. These include faster check-in, priority boarding, free upgrades, and discounts for airport lounge memberships.

In March 2015, Copa Airlines announced a new frequent flyer program called ConnectMiles. This new program fully started on July 1, 2015.

Copa Club Lounges

Copa Club is a special airport lounge program for Copa Airlines members. It is run together with United Airlines. The main Copa Club lounge is at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. These lounges offer comforts for travelers. Members can also use other partner lounges around the world. Copa Club locations in Central America and the Caribbean include:

Incidents and Accidents

Copa Airlines has had some incidents and accidents in its history:

Hijacking Attempts

Since it started in 1947, Copa Airlines has had one attempted hijacking:

• On August 7, 1994, someone tried to hijack a Copa flight from Panama City to Guatemala City. Later, authorities in Panama said it was a misunderstanding.

See also

In Spanish: Copa Airlines para niños