Copa to Add Three New Destinations and Increase Service Frequencies

Panama’s Copa Airlines is increasing daily flight frequencies to several countries in its route network and is launching service to Toronto, Porto Alegre in Brazil and Nassau in the Bahamas in June.

Copa Airlines will operates four-times-weekly round-trips to each of the three new destinations. Additionally, it will increase its service frequency between its hub at Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport and Lima, Peru from its four existing weekly round-trips to five.

The carrier will also increase its weekly Panama City-Orlando service from two to three round-trips; its Panama City-Miami service will increase from three to four round-trips a week; Panama City-Bogota will grow from five to six round-trips weekly; and Copa Airlines will increase its Panama City-Santiago, Chile schedule from two round-trips a week to three.

“Thanks to these new destinations and the increase in frequencies from our Hub of the Americas in Panama City, Copa Airlines continues to expand its coverage and reaffirm its leadership in Latin America and the Caribbean,” says Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Holdings. “Copa offers flights to more international destinations than any other airline from any other hub in the region.”

Copa Airlines operates a large and quickly growing fleet of Boeing 737NGs and Embraer 190s. The first 737NG model in the airline's fleet was the 737-700, one of which is shown here taking off on a test flight from either Renton or Boeing Field, but Copa Airlines has come increasingly to rely on the 737-800 as the mainstay of its fleet and all its future 737 orders for for 737-800s. Copa Airlines and its sister carrier Copa Airlines Colombia also operate a fleet of Embraer 190s

On June 15, Copa Airlines will transition at Tocumen International Airport from a four-bank daily schedule of closely connecting flights to a six-bank system. Copa says this will allow it to use Tocumen Airport’s existing infrastructure better as well as offering passengers more and better scheduling options.

From June 15, Copa’s “Hub of the Americas” at Tocumen Airport will add to its two existing morning flight banks and two afternoon flight banks a group of early-morning departures – ideal for travelers who want to arrive at their destinations early in the day – and another group of afternoon departures.

According to Copa, these operational changes will also create significant improvements in Copa Airlines’  flight schedules to major destinations on the American continent such as New York’s JFK Airport and Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., as well as to South America’s principal cities.

The airline says that opportunities for connections will increase throughout Copa’s route network as well, resulting in shorter connecting times.

“The Hub of the Americas continues to be the most efficient and convenient connection point on the continent,” says Heilbron. “The increase in flight frequencies will allow us to significantly improve our daily arrival and departure schedules to offer better connectivity, more flight options and more frequent connections throughout the day.  In fact some destination will now have up to six daily frequencies.”

In 2010 Copa Airlines transported more than 5.2 million passengers through its Hub of the Americas. The airline claims its better-than-90-per-cent on-time performance (measured by industry standards established by the U.S. Department of Transportation) makes it a punctuality leader in Latin America and among the best airlines in the world for punctuality. The arrival of 10 new Boeing 737-800s this year will signal even greater growth, adds Copa.

From June 15, the Panamanian airline will offer a total of 180 daily flights from Tocumen International Airport to 55 destinations in 27 countries in North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean. Copa Airlines says it will continue to strengthen Panama City as a business center and tourist destination and to improve Panama’s connectivity with the rest of the world.

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