CM266 FLL-PTY

November 23rd, 2024

Posts in this series:

Introduction - The Best of Peru with Belmond

Review - Copa Airlines Business Class B737-800 Ft. Lauderdale to Panama City

Review - Copa Airlines Business Class B737-800 Panama City to Lima

Review - Miraflores Park, A Belmond Hotel, Lima

Review - El Salon by Newrest Lima

Review - LATAM Airlines Premium Economy Class A319 Lima to Cusco

Review - Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, Cusco

Review - Hiram Bingham, A Belmond Train

Review - Sanctuary Lodge, A Belmond Hotel, Machu Picchu

Review - Avianca Business Class A320 Lima to Bogotá

Review - Emirates Business Class B777-300ER Bogotá to Miami

Check-in:

We kicked off our massive Peru trip by trekking north on statistically the most dangerous highway in the country - the I-95. 14.88 fatalities per 100 miles, that is, according to 2019 NHTSA data. I’ve only flown out of FLL a couple of times, which is home to America’s most beloved airline - Spirit. Now that I’ve been a Florida resident for a couple of years and have paid my dues in various drawbacks of living in the Sunshine State, I feel like I’ve earned the right to trash it. The fact that Spirit is a Florida-based airline should give you a sense of what the state is all about…🤪

Copa Airlines operated out of terminal 1, sharing the facility with United, Alaska and a few other randos. Copa’s check-in counters were located all the way at the back of the check-in hall, next to Allegiant. We booked this last minute and paid ~$1,500 per person for the one-way ticket to Lima. Under normal circumstances, this itinerary can frequently be had for less than $600 in business class, which is a fantastic deal for over 6 hours of flying. Just for comparison, AA was charging $980 one way for a basic economy ticket on our same date. Alternatively, you could use virtually any Star Alliance program to redeem for Copa business class, pending availability. Anecdotally, Avianca Lifemiles has the lowest mileage requirement, and our itinerary should be priced at around 34,000 Lifemiles. United MileagePlus, however, has more access to availability, at a higher price of +/- 50,000 MileagePlus miles.

There were only two counters for Copa. Fortunately, we were the last people to check in for this flight, so we were helped immediately. We actually arrived at the airport right as boarding was scheduled to start, which was an hour before the departure time. It seemed excessive for a B737, but our later flights with Avianca and LATAM also boarded an hour before departure, so I can only assume that was customary in the Latin world.

Lounge:

Unlike domestic first class tickets in the US, Copa Airlines did offer lounge access to business class passengers. The lounge at FLL for Copa was the United Club. We didn’t have a chance to visit it, although I doubt we missed anything.

Boarding:

By the time we made it through security and to the gate, priority boarding had already wrapped up. Thankfully, the priority lane was kept clear, so we could approach the podium and board ahead of the remaining economy passengers. On some other airlines, the priority lanes just became standard lanes once the priority groups had been called.

At first glance, the Copa business class cabin cabin was adequately modern. Our bird featured recently refurbished interior, with adjustable headrests, personal monitors and large overhead bins. To my best knowledge, none of Copa Airlines’ planes are equipped with WiFi or streaming entertainment.

Does this cabin feel like a déjà vu? There’s a reason for that. United Airlines acquired a 49% stake in Copa Airlines back in 1986. 12 years later, in 1998, Continental Airlines purchased this stake from United. Another 12 years later, United merged with Continental. This explains why Copa Airlines livery looks almost identical to the Continental livery, and Copa Airlines operates a hub-and-spoke model, also influenced by Continental.

The one nice feature Copa business class had was the footrests. I truly wish these were more pervasive in US, as they add so much comfort with so little investment.

As boarding came to a conclusion, the business class flight attendant came around with a tray of welcome beverages in paper cups. The options were the usual suspects: agua y jugo de naranja (who’s been doing Duolingo???). Disposable earphones (like those in economy) were distributed, and blankets were available upon request.

We pushed back a few minutes ahead of schedule, thanks to how early the boarding process started. Copa is a very reliable airline, since most people have very short connections in Panama City.

It was 5pm, and the sun was already setting. I gazed out the windows for some moderately interesting plane-spotting.

Inflight:

While I hate how early it gets dark at this time of the year, the wintry sky at dusk sure was mesmerizing.

Once we leveled off, I explored a bit in the IFE system. There was surprisingly 90 movies in the selection, so it was sufficient for a sub 3-hour flight. Between the two seats you could find the power sockets. Note that older cabins do not have them.

Service started with a round of apéritifs. I went with white wine. It was decent, and mostly importantly, cold. The drink was accompanied by a ramekin of savory snacks and nuts.

The rest of dinner was then served on a tray, including a really tasty salad with green beans, olives, potatoes and capers, a warm(ish) bread roll, a chicken and rice main course and a chocolate mousse dessert. The other main course option was raviolis. The catering was much better than I expected. The salad was fresh and different from your average spring mix. The main course was a fun one. Naturally, you’d think it was arroz con pollo, but dare I say it reminded me of Hainanese chicken rice? The rice was cooked in chicken broth, the taste was gingery, and it was even garnished with scallions.

Overall, I found the catering on this flight to be a notch above those of US carriers. I liked the dinnerware as well, which added a touch of flair in an otherwise bland and corporate cabin.

Soon we were approaching Panama City. While the flight attendant didn’t proactively offer anything else after the meal service, she did come around to each passenger to thank them for flying with Copa. She was also militant about placing a napkin under any beverage served.

One musing on this flight was the “please do not rest your feet on the wall” sign on the bulkhead.

It goes without saying that this is a rather common occurrence around the world, but it was funny to me when I turned to look out the window and noticed my neighbor behind me had clearly not gotten the memo…

On Arrival:

We touched down at Tocumen International Airport right on schedule. I came away with a favorable first experience with Copa Airlines. Don’t get too carried away - not a single hot towel was in sight during this flight. On the other hand, though, the flight attendant was polite, the seats were competitive, and everything else was on par with what you’d hope for from a flight of this length in this region. The prices were hard to beat. As I mentioned earlier, Copa’s strengths are network and punctuality. Copa Airlines flies a sub-fleet of B737 Max 9s with lie-flat beds on longer routes, such as those to Rio and São Paulo. I’m sure I’ll come across those in the near future.