Copa Airlines

Customer Reviews

3 star Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 420 reviews
4/10
3 star Skytrax Rating
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1/10

"No decent inflight entertainment"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Charge for Comfort seats is US$83 for each leg, be it a 3 or 7 hours long flight. No decent inflight entertainment. Shared screens that air whatever they please. Very low quality audio and earphones. They change your family reserved seats to separate middle seats. Food is scarce. Gluten-free meals just for Business class.
AircraftBoeing 737
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypePremium Economy
RouteMiami to Porto Alegre
Date FlownJanuary 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"Their business class is a joke"

(United States)

Trip Verified | We've flown Copa 6 times because there were no options. If you have an issue, there is no person in customer service to speak to. Their business class is a joke. We didn't get priority boarding. The seats were just as narrow as coach. No wifi, you need to plug in with their headphones unless you packed yours. Ticket info is almost always wrong, gates change frequently. We had a major gate issue which caused us to run for 25min to another gate. My wife was 2 pregnant ... the worst thing happened around 20min of that run. I was even carrying her bag so she wouldn't have too much stress on her body. But it happened and she cried for a few hours while on our flight. Her Business Class seat went back and then broke. So she had to lay down for the 7hr flight. During landing they made her take the last seat on the back of the plane.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSan Francisco to Cartagena
Date FlownJanuary 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"do not recommend whatever the circumstances"

(Brazil)

Trip Verified | I bought a ticket with that company one week in advance because it was written on the conditions that I could change it with no penalties only paying the difference of price. When I tried to change it, they told me that penalties of $400 will apply (I paid the ticket $350). They told me that it was the normal procedure if we were to make change 15 days before departure. Just that this was not mentioned or written anywhere when I bought the ticket. Instead it was written very clearly that no penalties will apply. When I mentioned that very calmly and politely they hung the phone abruptly. I tried to reach them several times but all my attempts were unsuccessful and they have no physical shop in Rio. For me it is exactly like if I had been stolen from my money. In the end I could not travel and lost my money. I do not recommend whatever the circumstances to choose another company to fly with.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteRio de Janeiro to San Jose via Panama
Date FlownDecember 2022
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
2/10

"service was minimal in business class2

(United States)

Trip Verified | We flew business class on Nov 23 from Dulles to Panama City Panama. It was an old plane but the seats were well maintained and serviceable. However, there were no 110V outlets and no screen or port access to video or music programs. Cabin service was minimal in business class. We were not offered a drink (even water) until over 1 hr into the flight when breakfast was served. The breakfast was adequate but several hours later there was no snack or other food provided. No alcoholic drinks were offered. After breakfast, we had to go to the galley to ask for a cup of coffee or water. The bathroom was in business class with miniscule with no room to turn around. Overall, it was at best a main cabin experience at business class prices on a long international flight.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteDulles to Panama City
Date FlownNovember 2022
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
5/10

"the frills are rapidly disappearing"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Just back from a quick trip from JFK to Medellin via PTY in Copa's Business Class. As usual, they do the basics right, planes leave and arrive on time, cabin service is professional and the seat, while still a recliner, has a lot more leg room than most other airlines serving northern South America. Beyond that, in a supposedly full serve airline, the frills are rapidly disappearing. No pillows, no choice of meals (in Business) plastic tumblers for the wine on the connection from and to PTY, a tiny wifi screen and terrible earphones, disorganized and repetitive document checks and all this comes at quite a price. There is a quite nice new lounge in the recently opened terminal extension, but the only food on offer are so called "tuna sandwiches", in effect stale bread rolls with an impossibly thin layer of tuna paste. Instead of scrimping and cutting incessantly, why not think the other way around and put another $10 on the J ticket? That might fund a little bit more tuna and turn the rolls into an actual sandwich, it might fund the return of pillows and a dinner roll, slightly larger dinner portion, maybe more carefully prepared, a real wineglass and a few more lettuce leaves in the mini salad? Small thing matter to make an 8 hour trip into a less of an endurance test.
AircraftBoeing 737
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteNew York to Medellin via Panama City
Date FlownDecember 2022
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
4/10

"the cost of business is not worth paying"

(Brazil)

Not Verified | Main point: the cost of business is not worth paying unless you are ok with a limited recliner seat that is only wide though hardly reclines (could recline much further). This service cost me close to 2k return! I believe there should be a description of what is offered inflight especially if it’s less than that of the leading carriers. Time to make changes as Copa is privileged to have many flights and connects through the hub of the Americas. They cannot help but increase business and if management were more attentive to all aspects of service then there would be benefits all around. Unlikely to happen in a quasi monopoly. Further to this comment I can add that linking through the bigger airports in Brazil with higher traffic will get you a more modern aircraft or at least a seat that will go (almost) flat. Do not choose Brazilia to go to Panama if you are coming from another province: until now it will be the limited recliner at an exorbitant cost. Lastly, the app is very troublesome and many times it will not work and is undergoing modifications. Copa now have their own terminal a PTY Tocumen. Why not rise to the occasion?
AircraftBoeing 737-800
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RoutePanama City to Brasília
Date FlownDecember 2022
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
2/10

"makes such fundamental mistakes"

(United States)

Trip Verified | My family group of six passengers was booked to fly IAD-PTY-POS and return Nov 19 to Nov 27, 2022. I've flown COPA before with decent experiences. Our outbound flight departed on time, but experienced mechanical difficulties on the tarmac and returned to the terminal. Outbound flight was then cancelled. After a ridiculously long wait because only one staff member seemed to be available to rebook, we were rebooked on a United flight to Trinidad the following day. Annoying, but I understand mechanical difficulties and the need to be cautious about them. After our arrival in Trinidad, we heard nothing for a week. Ominously, there was no reminder to check in 24 hours before departure. The website said to call Copa so we did, only to find that our booking but not the flight had been cancelled. Seems that COPA's IT system is too incompetent to understand that a passenger rerouted on another airline because of a COPA failure has arrived at destination. We were offered miserable options. 2 people could go on the scheduled flight, but the remaining four would have to wait for a day. Later that day, it became clear from Kayak that more seats were available on our original flight at 4am the following morning. I called to request that all of us be put on our original flight. The representative insisted that any change to our original flights would require a change fee of $75 per person. And, in the end, he claimed there were no seats anyway. To deal with this, my entire party of six (including a five and a seven year old) went to the airport at POS at Midnight for the 4am flight. We were put at the bottom of the standby priority list (which COPA said didn't exist/wasn't available) and were given the last seats, after many other standbys had been given seats. We had to run to get the flight. What sort of an airline cancels your booking because its system is so incompetent that it doesn't recognize that you flew outbound on the flight it booked for you after it cancelled your outbound flight? And then cancels your return booking? And then demands $75 per person to get back onto the flights it had cancelled in error from under your feet? Such a waste as other important things, like plane quality and service were OK. But it's impossible to give a decent rating when Copa makes such fundamental-- and hugely damaging-- mistakes.
AircraftBoeing 737
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RoutePanama to Washington
Date FlownNovember 2022
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"lost my first flight due to oversold tickets"

(United States)

Trip Verified | I lost my first flight due to oversold tickets .. all they said was sorry and put us on the next flight for the next day. I hope no one goes thru this situation because I felt terrible upset knowing I planned my vacations for a whole year and lost more than 800 in only one day of my vacations plus parking money. Then in our way back they announced to the public who wanted to volunteer to stay because again they were overbooked! This airline is horrible.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLos Angeles to Punta Cana via Panama City
Date FlownNovember 2022
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"customer service is disgusting"

(United States)

Trip Verified | The worst airline I have traveled with, customer service is disgusting, the lack of responsibility towards travelers is nil. After the flight is delayed because there is no runway at the Panama airport, they send it to another airport to refuel and finally arrive in Panama more than 3 hours late, and the traveler misses the connection, and the only thing say you is "We are very sorry, I reschedule your connection for the next day, but it is not our problem where you spend the night". Also the luggage never reached the final destination with the passengers, until more than 36 hours after the passenger arrived to its final destination, the luggage finally appears.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteMedellin to Panama
Date FlownNovember 2022
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"Seat was broken"

(Australia)

Trip Verified | Seat was broken offering no support to my back. Aircon was not working, it felt like 28 degrees during the 6 hours of the flight A passenger fainted out during the flight, I believe this was due to the heat. Wrote a complaint but did not get a satisfactory answer.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLos Angeles to Panama City
Date FlownOctober 2022
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no