As demand recovers and sanitary restrictions were relaxed, the Panamanian company recovered several destinations between June and July.
It still remains far from pre-pandemic levels, although at this stage of the year it saw hope to recover part of its operations, driven by vaccine tourism in the United States, the summer season in the northern hemisphere and the relaxation of sanitary measures in the countries with the highest traffic, managing to recover 73% of its network of usual destinations.
In June it flew again to Bucaramanga (BGA) in Colombia; Boston (BOS), Chicago / O’hare (ORD) and Tampa (TPA) in the United States; Belize City (BZE); Curaçao (CUR); Monterrey (MTY) in Mexico; Nassau (NAS) in the Bahamas; and Montego Bay (MBJ) in Jamaica; while in July it restarted its flights to San Andrés (ADZ) in Colombia.
Which means that 58 of the 79 destinations it had until March 2020 have been recovered. However, until June 2021 it had an average occupancy of 71% and its operations were fluctuating in accordance with the restrictions of Argentina, Chile and Cuba.
The destinations that make up the remaining 27% are: Córdoba (COR), Mendoza (MDZ), Rosario (ROS) and Salta (SLA) in Argentina; Bridgetown (BGI) in Barbados; Manaus (MAO), Salvador (SSA) and Recife (REC) in Brazil; Liberia (LIR) in Costa Rica; Holguín (HOG) and Santa Clara in Cuba; Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS), New Orleans (MSY) and San Francisco (SFO) in the United States; Port-Au-Prince (PAP) Haiti; Puerto Vallarta (PVR) in Mexico; Chiclayo (CIX) in Peru; Santiago de los Caballeros (STI) in the Dominican Republic; Philipsburg (SXM) in St Maarten and Paramaribo / Zanderij (PMB) Suriname.
Month by month these destinations were postponed, not finding a reliable date for their return. Low demand and sanitary restrictions make it necessary to rearrange the return dates, in addition to the fact that several of them were operated by the retired Boeing 737-700 and ERJ 190.
According to data obtained through Cirium, for July Copa Airlines will have a seat offer (ASK) 38.6% lower than the one of the same month of 2019.
We have to consider that the airline adjusted its fleet to reduce operating expenses during the first year of the pandemic. Although the retirement of many aircraft was already scheduled, the pandemic forced the disposal of all of its Boeing 737-700s (13) and Embraer ERJ 190s (14). In turn, four Boeing 737-800s were transferred to its low-cost subsidiary Wingo.
However, the company incorporated seven Boeing 737 MAX 9s, joining the other eight it already owned, hoping to close 2022 with aircraft of that model. On the other hand, around a dozen Boeing 737-800s are still in storage.
Destinations and frequencies
| Country | From | To | Frequencies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Buenos Aires/Ezeiza (EZE) | * |
| Aruba | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Oranjestad (AUA) | 2 weekly flights |
| Bahamas | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Nassau (NAS) | 2 weekly flights |
| Belice | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Ciudad de Belice (BZE) | 1 weekly flight |
| Brasil | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Belo Horizonte (CNF) | 3 weekly flights |
| Brasil | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Brasilia (BSB) | 4 weekly flights |
| Brasil | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Porto Alegre (POA) | 4 weekly flights |
| Brasil | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Río de Janeiro/Galeao (GIG) | 7 weekly flights |
| Brasil | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | San Pablo/Guarulhos (GRU) | 28 weekly flights |
| Bolivia | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Santa Cruz de la Sierra (VVI) | 11 weekly flights |
| Canada | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Montreal/Trudeau (YUL) | 4 weekly flights |
| Canada | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Toronto/Pearson (YYZ) | 5 weekly flights |
| Chile | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Santiago de Chile | |
| Colombia | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Barranquilla (BAQ) | 7 weekly flights |
| Colombia | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Bogotá (BOG) | 35 weekly flights |
| Colombia | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Bucaramanga (BGA) | 1 weekly flight |
| Colombia | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Cartagena (CTG) | 6 weekly flights |
| Colombia | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Medellín/José María (MDE) | 28 weekly flights |
| Colombia | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Pereira (PEI) | 5 weekly flights |
| Colombia | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Santiago de Cali (CLO) | 18 weekly flights |
| Colombia | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | San Andrés (ADZ) | 1 weekly flight |
| Costa Rica | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | San José/Alajuela (SJO) | 25 weekly flights |
| Cuba | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Havana (HAV) | 2 weekly flights |
| Curazao | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Willemstad (CUR) | 2 weekly flights |
| Ecuador | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Guayaquil (GYE) | 35 weekly flights |
| Ecuador | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Quito (UIO) | 28 weekly flights |
| El Salvador | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | San Salvador (SAL) | 7 weekly flights |
| United States | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Boston (BOS) | 5 weekly flights |
| United States | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Chicago/O'hare (ORD) | 7 weekly flights |
| United States | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 14 weekly flights |
| United States | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Los Ángeles (LAX) | 14 weekly flights |
| United States | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Miami (MIA) | 63 weekly flights |
| United States | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | New York (JFK) | 28 weekly flights |
| United States | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Orlando (MCO) | 35 weekly flights |
| United States | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Tampa (TPA) | 6 weekly flights |
| United States | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Washington D.C. (IAD) | 14 weekly flights |
| Guatemala | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Ciudad de Guatemala (GUA) | 14 weekly flights |
| Guyana | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Georgetown (GEO) | 3 weekly flights |
| Honduras | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | San Pedro Sula (SAP) | 5 weekly flights |
| Honduras | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Tegucigalpa (TGU) | 5 weekly flights |
| Jamaica | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Kingston (KIN) | 2 weekly flights |
| Jamaica | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Montego Bay (MBJ) | 2 weekly flights |
| México | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Cancún (CUN) | 56 weekly flights |
| México | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Mexito City(MEX) | 32 weekly flights |
| México | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Guadalajara (GDL) | 3 weekly flights |
| México | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Monterrey (MTY) | 2 weekly flights |
| Nicaragua | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Managua (MGA) | 6 weekly flights |
| Panamá | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | David (DAV) | 7 weekly flights |
| Paraguay | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Asunción (ASU) | 18 weekly flights |
| Perú | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Lima (LIM) | 28 weekly flights |
| Puerto Rico | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | San Juan (SJU) | 7 weekly flights |
| Dominican Republic | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Punta Cana (PUJ) | 18 weekly flights |
| Dominican Republic | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Santo Domingo/Las América (SDQ) | 13 weekly flights |
| Uruguay | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Montevideo (MVD) | 12 weekly flights |
| Venezuela | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Caracas (CCS) | 6 weekly flights |
| Venezuela | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Maracaibo (MAR) | 3 weekly flights |
| Venezuela | Panamá/Tocumen (PTY) | Valencia (VLN) | 2 weekly flights |
| Costa Rica/Guatemala | San José/Alajuela (SJO) | Ciudad de Guatemala (GUA) | 7 weekly flights |
* Argentina, Buenos Aires: flights are subject to government authorization
