www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Been thinking of going back for a visit to Rio. Haven't been back in 20 years. Last time I flew Varig but I think they went bankrupt. Did a price search and seems like COPA has the better fares (flying from LAX - Rio). Never flown COPA and don't know anything about them. Have flown TACA plenty of times and love them. I thought COPA was Brasilian but I guess it's Panamanian. Anybody have any opinions, just in general, about COPA? Decent fleet? Decent service? Safety? Thanks

I have flown COPA LAX-MDE three times, and have a reservation for July.

To date they have always been on time, they serve two meals between LAX and Panama, I think they even give free mixed drinks. The flight attendants are very cordial, and for the most part the ladies are good looking. Between Panama and Medellin they even serve a small lunch. The planes are nice, seem to be in good shape, and for the most part clean. On one trip I saw TP on the floor of the bathroom, but..............

One of the things that is lacking is in first aid. On one of my flights I was nodding out when the lady in the window seat screamed. I opened my eyes to see her husband, seated next to me in the middle, doing the hully gully, with his eyes rolled back in his head. The flight attnedants spent more time crossing themselves than actual first-aid. His wife slapped him in the face a couple of times and he snapped out of it. It didn't appear that any of the flight attendants had any type of first-aid training.

I like the times for departure to MDE, and departure from MDE. I don't like that you have to clear customs (if that's what you call it) in Panama which is a pain in the a**. There is only about an hour between flights and people get testy in the line that forms.

Something that seems different about their reservation system. One of the CRT members coming in for the July trip was told that the flight from Panama to MDE was sold out for the time he wanted. He booked the previous day instead. Last week I booked the same flight and got a seat on the flight segment they told him was sold out.

Over all I give them two thumbs up, and IMO they beat any U.S. carrier overall. Of course that is like winning an ugly contest.

Health & happiness........

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It's not the size of the wand that put the rabbit in the hat, it's the magic in it!!!

I've used COPA a number of times from SJO and JFK to MDE & BOG. I really like the airline, and its service is reminiscent of another time in air travel (eg hot meals, complimentary booze, free baggage and courteous service). I never had any schedule issues... always arrived on time. COPA likes to load up and be ready to go 20 - 30 minutes before departure time. Going back to the States via Panama gets a little hectic at Tocumen. The US requires a secondary, pre-arrival inspection, as it does with other countries. The secondary inspection is done right at the boarding gate and things can get jammed up ... especially if you arrive in PTY with a short connection time. There is no inspection when connecting at PTY and traveling to other countries, so the transition to the next flight is easy and without incident.

As far as reservations go, I use kayak and other search engines to get a range on ticket prices. I always find very decent prices for COPA, but when I am redirected to the COPAAIR.com website, the great fares are no longer available. Maybe, the websites play a virtual shellgame. I've used the COPA phone reservations to book Aerorepulica tickets and never had a problem.

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Blue Devil

Pura Vida...enjoying life to the fullest...

2 thumbs up!

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A Costa Rica Toast:
Here's to Looking like Movie Stars, Partying like Rock Stars and phucking like PORN STARS!

I fly COPA several times a month and I think it's probably the best airline in all of the Americas.

Copa get two thumbs up from me. I've never had an issues to date.

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El Gringo

Love Copa, almost always on time, free movie, decent food and real silverware. My only complaint is sometimes the NY-Panama flight is expensive because of their fuel surcharge.

Yeah, that non-stop flight from JFK to PTY leaves early before things get crazy at JFK, and arrives in Panama mid-morning. I like it a lot. The flight back gets you into JFK at 2:50 am so you avoid all the crazy rush hour traffic on the Belt Parkway. It's hard to nail down those great COPA fares you find on the search engines, though.

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Blue Devil

Pura Vida...enjoying life to the fullest...

That is something I forgot about.

You go through searches at the airport, and they will take things like nail clippers, and then COPA hands out 180 metal knives.

Health & happiness.................

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It's not the size of the wand that put the rabbit in the hat, it's the magic in it!!!

COPA is the only airline I will fly to southern SA anymore. I book Continental through IAH to PTY then on to SCL or EZE on COPA. They almost always upgrade me to 1st class, even though I am Silver Elite on Continental. Continental will not give Silver Elite upgrades on IAH to SCL or EZE flights.

Service is great...two thumbs up for COPA.
CH

they will if you cough up 25k miles & $500usd or so each way!

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"cuz I'm a back-door man" Jim Morrison-1969

Copa and Avianca are the best!

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I just moved to Miami, from the west coast

i have flown Copa several times and love them...from LAX via Panama to SJO, MDE and Santiago, DR. they are terrific. everything is free. they feed you decent food, free drinks, etc. no nickel & dime BS like all the american airlines. Cope gives great service and they have always been ontime. they board you early and are always ready to go. if you are late it will be an airport problem, not theirs. Panama City airport is small and easy to navigate and has great duty free shopping, too. since you will be connecting from there to the US that is where you shop. i prefer Copa!

and since Copa is partners with Continental you can earn OnePass miles.

Two thumbs up for Copa, the only way to fly to Colombia!

Zeus