Copa Airlines

Inauguration

On June 21, 1944, Panamanian investors joined forces with Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) to launch Compañía Panameña de Aviación (Spanish for 'Panamanian Aviation Company'), soon known simply by its acronym, Copa. Pan Am took a 32% stake in the company. Operations started on August 15, 1947, with three Douglas C-47 aircraft on domestic routes in Panama. The 1960s marked Copa's entry into the international arena, offering flights to Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Colombia. Pan Am divested its stake in Copa in 1971, leaving the airline under Panamanian control.

The 1980s saw a strategic shift for Copa as they discontinued domestic flights to focus solely on international travel and acquired its first jet, a Boeing 737-100. Until the early 1980s, the airline had significant competition from Air Panamá Internacional, which had a higher profile.

Expansion years

Expansion continued during the 1990s, when it began service to Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; Bogotá, Colombia; Havana, Cuba; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Lima, Peru; Mexico City, Mexico; Caracas, Venezuela; and many other important Latin American cities.

In 1992, Copa Airlines signed a strategic alliance with TACA Airlines (now Avianca El Salvador), and the airline began flying from Tocumen International Airport, making it the first flight connection center in Latin America. As a result, Tocumen was dubbed the "Hub of the Americas" and several Latin American airlines such as LACSA of Costa Rica, Aviateca of Guatemala and NICA of Nicaragua joined the alliance. The alliance ended in 1998 when the six-year agreement expired.

A defining moment arrived in 1998 with a significant investment by Continental Airlines. This led to the formation of Copa Holdings, a holding company for Copa Airlines, which was 49% owned by Continental. The investment also included a strategic alliance, fostering code-sharing, marketing initiatives, and technical collaboration. Since then, Copa's fleet has grown significantly, boasting 97 aircraft as of 2023. Copa has adopted a livery and corporate logo similar to Continental's (now United). Copa participated in the OnePass frequent flyer program until Continental's merger with United Airlines. Continental gradually reduced its ownership, eventually exiting entirely by 2008.

In 2000, Copa Airlines inaugurated service to Los Angeles, Cancún, and Orlando, as well as to São Paulo; in 2001, it began service to Quito, Ecuador. In 2004, it began service to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Copa also announced in August of that year a codeshare agreement with Mexico's Mexicana de Aviación, which lasted until 2007.

On June 1, 2005, Copa Airlines acquired 90% of the Colombian domestic air carrier AeroRepública, having earlier announced a codeshare plan with the carrier. Copa rebranded AeroRepública to Copa Airlines Colombia in 2010, increased destinations and modernized the fleet. On December 15, 2005, parent company Copa Holdings, S.A., launched an IPO of 14 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange thus becoming the fourth Latin American airline to be traded on the exchange, after LAN Airlines of Chile and Brazilian carriers Gol Transportes Aéreos and TAM Airlines.

In 2006, Copa Airlines began service to six new destinations: Manaus, Brazil; Maracaibo, Venezuela; Montevideo, Uruguay; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; San Pedro Sula, Honduras; and Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. In addition, Copa Airlines took delivery of six Embraer 190s and two Boeing 737s. In 2007, Copa Airlines added services 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 an associate member.

During 2008, Copa Airlines added five new destinations and received four Embraer 190s and one Boeing 737-800. The new destinations are 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 4.38 million shares of Copa Airlines for $35.75 a share, yielding a net profit of approximately $149.8 million.

That same year, Copa Airlines' CEO Pedro Heilbron announced on the ALTA airline leaders forum in Cancún that the airline had decided to leave SkyTeam and were in exclusive talks with Star Alliance.

In 2009, Copa Airlines announced it would withdraw from SkyTeam on October 24, the same date that partner Continental Airlines left the alliance. The company added two Boeing 737-800s. and announced a firm order for 13 Boeing 737-800s with the new Boeing signature "Sky Interior".

In 2010, Copa Airlines began service to St. Maarten, received nine Boeing 737-800s and announced that it would join Star Alliance in mid-2012 to rejoin old partner Continental Airlines (now United). That same year, Copa Airlines announced a firm order to purchase 32 Boeing 737-800 planes valued at $1.7 billion, thus becoming the largest plane order in the airline's history.