My journey from Panama City to Los Angeles onboard a Copa Airlines 737 MAX in business class represents a big step forward for the Panamanian carrier. A lie-flat bed in business class and upgraded soft products make Copa far more competitive than it ever has been.
Copa Airlines 737 MAX Business Class Review
I booked my one-way ticket from Guatemala City – Panama City – Los Angeles for $327, which I thought was ridiculously expensive considering nonstop flights were half the price, but allowed me to use my United Airlines Plus Points to upgrade the PTY-LAX flight.
I requested the upgrade here on United’s website, and it confirmed immediately, deducting 40 PlusPoints from my MileagePlus account. However, it took Copa three days to re-issue the ticket. In fact, Copa proactively did nothing. I knew the reservation and ticket were out of sync and called Copa to re-issue three days before my flight. The agent said it would be done within 24 hours. It wasn’t. I called again 24 hours before and the agent told me not to worry and it would be done soon. It wasn’t. Finally, four hours before my flight I called and insisted I wait on hold while the ticket was re-issued. It finally was, allowing me to check-in online.
Lesson learned: hound Copa until your ticket is re-issued.
Transit In PTY
Panama City is such an easy airport to transit it. My scheduled layover was only 63 minutes and while I knew I would easily make the flight, I was not sure if I would be able to be first onboard to secure pictures of Copa’s new business class.
But my flight from Guatemala City arrived early and I my connection to Los Angeles was only a short walk away. In PTY, you clear security at the gate, so I had to go through security once more and even remove my shoes since this was a USA-bound flight.
I skipped the lounge, but would have had access to the Copa lounge (which is really nothing special).
About 50 minutes before scheduled departure, boarding began…
