Our History

Copa Airlines was founded in 1947 as the national airline of Panama. It began operations with domestic flights to three cities in Panama on Douglas DC-3/C47 planes. By 1966, the airline boasted three weekly flights to San Jose, Costa Rica, which was its first international destination. In 1969, the first AVRO 748 was introduced for flights to Kingston in Jamaica, Managua in Nicaragua and Barranquilla in Colombia. In the 1970s, Medellin, Cartagena, San Salvador and Guatemala became part of the expanding network of destination cities.  

1980

1980

In 1980, the airline withdrew from the domestic market to focus on its international reach. This year a Boeing 737-100 was added to the fleet. During this decade  , the airline expanded its network of destinations to include Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, San Juan in Puerto Rico and Miami in the U.S.

 

1992

1992

In 1992, it began operating from the first Panamanian headquarters for flights connecting within Latin America, creating the Hub of the Americas in the Tocumen International Airport.  

In the nineties, flights were added to Caracas in Venezuela, Mexico City, Santiago in Chile, Cali and Bogota in Colombia, Quito and Guayaquil in Ecuador, Lima in Peru, Buenos Aires in Argentina and Havana in Cuba.

 

1998

1998

In 1998, a strategic alliance was formed with Continental Airlines and in 1999, the airline launched its new brand as Copa Airlines and adopted the OnePass® frequent flyer program. At the same time, it began to upgrade its fleet with Boeing 737 Next Generation planes.

 

 

2000

2000

The strategy  from  2000 onward was to focus on expansion within the region. For the year 2005, the airline incorporated flights to Cancun in Mexico, Sao Paulo in Brazil, San Andres in Colombia, Tegucigalpa in Honduras, and Orlando, Los Angeles and New York in the United States.

 

 

2005

2005

In 2005, Copa Airlines, a subsidiary of Copa Holdings S.A., began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming the third Latin American airline to be listed on this important exchange.

 

 

2006

2006

In 2006, it added the destinations: Cordoba in Argentina, Guadalajara in Mexico, Washington, D.C., in the United States, and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. It simultaneously increased the frequency of its flights to seven destinations. 

 

2008

2008

In 2008, it began operating flights to Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago, and Belo Horizonte in Brazil, while announcing new destinations such as Santa Cruz in Bolivia, Valencia in Venezuela and Aruba. 
 
Copa Airlines continues adding destinations and upgrading its modern fleet with Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 planes, and Embraer 190 planes.


Awards

Prestigious organizations have recognized Copa Airlines for its hard work and continual development.

 

  • It was given The Award of Excellence in Sept. 2001 by the América Economía magazine for its "innovation, creativity and leadership in aviation."
    The airline was named The Most On-Time Airline in Mar. 2002 by Mexico City International Airport Central Operations for its punctuality in 2001.
  • Recipient of the Best Regionalization Strategy in Latin America Award from PODER Magazine, Booz, Allen & Hamilton and Egon Zehnder International, in recognition of its "successful development of a hub in Panama, which contributes to the continual development of Latin America." 
  • The Federation of Tourism Chambers of Central America (FEDECATUR) bestowed on the airline the Tourism Without Borders Award in Dec. 2002 in recognition of "projects and activities undertaken in an effort to enhance Central American integration." 
  • Nominated as the Airline of the Year by OAG in Apr. 2003, a prize for which airlines in the Caribbean, Central America and South America compete. 
  • Recognized as the Best Developing Airline of the Year in Apr. 2003 by the publication AirFinance Journal. 
  • The 2003 Rose of the Skies award to the "Best International Airline" was presented by the Colombian Association of Travel Journalists. 
  • Recognized as one of the 10 most admired companies in the region in February 2005, Copa was listed in the Central American magazine Estrategia&Negocios. 
  • And in March of that year, the Central American magazine Summa recognized it as one of the 50 best places to work. 
  • The Department of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Panama awarded it the Export of Services Award in Sept. 2005. 
  • Listed in the magazine AméricaEconomía as one of the "10 Best Latin American Employers" in June 2004 and Oct. 2006, presented by the human resources consultant Hewitt Associates.
  • Latin Trade magazine's Bravo Award went to Pedro Heilbron, recognizing him as "Best CEO" in the category for companies earning less than US$1 billion dollars. 
  • Central American magazine Wise'N Vest listed it as one of the "50 Best Companies in Panama" in 2008.
  • Named as Best Airline in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean, and Best In-Flight Service in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 by SkyTrax, based on a worldwide passenger survey.