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Copa Airlines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Copa Airlines | ||
|---|---|---|
| IATA CM |
ICAO CMP |
Callsign COPA |
| Founded | 1944 | |
| Hubs | Tocumen International Airport | |
| Member lounge | Presidents Club | |
| Alliance | Skyteam | |
| Fleet size | 30 | |
| Destinations | 36 | |
| Parent company | Copa Holdings, S.A. | |
| Headquarters | Panama City, Panama | |
| Key people | Pedro Heilbron (CEO) Victor Vial (CFO) |
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| Website: Copaair.com |
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Copa Airlines is the national flag carrier of Panama, operating services to North America, Central America, South America and The Caribbean. It is headquartered in Panama City and has its hub at Tocumen International Airport.
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The airline was established as Compañia Panameña de Aviacion on 21 June 1944 and started operations on 5 May 1947. It was founded with assistance from Pan American, which took a 32% stake. It began operations with domestic flights operated by a small fleet of Douglas DC-3 and Douglas C-47 aircraft. The airline saw its first international service in the 1960s, when services were inaugurated to cities in Jamaica, Colombia, and Costa Rica. It became wholly Panamanian owned in 1972.
Until the early 1980s, the airline had stiff competition from Air Panama, until then a better known airline to the international public. Copa heightened the competition by acquiring its first jet, a Boeing 737-100, and inaugurating flights to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as to the Dominican Republic and Miami, Florida. The 737 became a staple of the Copa fleet and, until the introduction of the Embraer 190 in 2005, was the only aircraft in its fleet.
Expansion continued during the 1990s, when Copa's 737s began to be sighted at Ministro Pistarini International Airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Benitez International Airport in Santiago, Chile, José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba, Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Peru, Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City, Mexico and many other Latin American airports.
On 19 May 1998, Continental Airlines acquired a 49% stake in the airline, marking the beginning of a comprehensive marketing and operating alliance. Since then, it has adopted a livery and corporate logo which resemble those of Continental, and participates in Continental's OnePass frequent flyer program. However, as Copa became a publicly owned company in 2005, Continental's stake in the company has been reduced to approximately 10%.
In 2000, Copa inaugurated services to Los Angeles, Cancun, Mexico, and Orlando, as well as to São Paulo, Brazil. In 2004 it began service to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, and announced, in August of that year, a code-sharing alliance with Mexico's Mexicana de Aviacion.
On June 1, 2005, Copa announced that it had purchased 90% of the Colombian domestic air carrier AeroRepública, having earlier announced plans to codeshare with them. The airline also announced its plans to make AeroRepública the second largest carrier in Colombia after the nation's flag carrier, Avianca. It plans to increase domestic destinations, modernize its fleet, and initiate the airline's first international destinations in late 2005. A few days later it was announced among the four future associate members of Skyteam Alliance, due to join by 2006.
On December 15, 2005, Copa Holdings, the parent company of Copa Airlines, launched an IPO of 14 million shares in the New York Stock Exchange thus becoming the third Latin American airline to be traded in the exchange, the other two being LAN Airlines of Chile and the Brazilian carrier GOL.
In 2006 Copa Airlines announced and opened six new destinations:
- Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
- Maracaibo, Venezuela
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Manaus, Brazil
- San Pedro Sula, Honduras
- Montevideo, Uruguay
Copa also received new aircraft including several new Embraer 190 and several Boeing 737. Copa Airlines was chosen again in 2006 as the "Best Airline in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean" by Skytrax
Main article: Copa Airlines destinations
Copa Airlines flies to 36 destinations in 21 countries in North America, Central America, South America and The Caribbean.
Copa was the first airline in Latin America to operate Boeing 737-700s and 800s with blended winglet technology. Winglets increase flight efficiency and improve aircraft performance by reducing fuel consumption by 3.5 percent. In addition, winglets help the environment by reducing noise and pollution.
Copa is the first airline in America to utilize Vertical Situation Display (VSD) and the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning system in its entire fleet. These sophisticated tools give the pilot a clear view of the airplane’s flight path, calculating the altitude, speed and position and then sending the information in integrated, easy-to-interpret graphics.
Copa’s aircrafts are equipped with modern on-board entertainment systems that offer passengers a variety of programming, including music, movies, news and other short programs.
Copa Airlines has added 6 modern Embraer 190AR aircraft to its fleet. The EMB 190 is equipped with the latest advances in technology, such as winglets; efficient, powerful General Electric CF34-10E motors; and the latest in Honeywell Corporation aviation equipment. The addition of the EMB 190s to Copa’s fleet allows the airline to balance capacity and demand in smaller markets that are served more efficiently with a 94-seat aircraft.
Features:
- Maximum Speed: Mach 0.82 (1004.5 km/h).
- Reach: 2,200 nautical miles (4,074 km).
- Maximum altitude: 41,000 ft.
- Wingspan: 36.24 m.
- Cabin width: 2.74 m.
- Cabin height: 2.00 m.
- Fly-by-wire System.
The Copa Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft as of February 2007:
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-700 | 20 | 124 |
| Boeing 737-800 | 4 | 155 |
| Embraer 190 | 6 | 94 |
Main article: Copa Airlines Flight 201
On June 6, 1992 Copa Flight 201 from Panama City to Cali, Colombia crashed in the Darien Gap killing 47 passengers onboard.
- November 2002: Best Regionalization in Latin America Award, PODER Magazine, Booz, Allen & Hamilton and Egon Zehnder International.
- December 2002: "Tourism without Borders" Award, Federation of Tourism Chambers of Central America.
- April 2003: "Developing Airline of the Year” Award, AirFinance Journal.
- April 2004: "Best Airline" in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean Award, based on the annual World Airline Survey conducted by Skytrax, a British market-survey company.
- June 2004: Among the 25 Best Employers in Latin America, América Economía magazine.
- June 2005: "Best Airline" and "Best On-board Service" in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean Awards, Skytrax.
- June 2006: "Best Airline" and "Best Cabin Staff" in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean Awards, Skytrax.
- October 2006: One of the 10 Best Employers in Latin America, América Economía magazine.
Aeroflot • Aeroméxico • Air France • Alitalia • Continental Airlines • Czech Airlines • Delta Air Lines • KLM • Korean Air • Northwest Airlines
Future members: China Southern Airlines
Future associate members: Air Europa • COPA • Kenya Airways • MEA • TAROM