Copa Airlines

✅ Trip Verified | I got to the airport 1 hour before departure, a quiet airport that wasn't busy. They told me they couldn't accept my bags due to being 3 minutes late. They offered me zero help. It then cost $650 to change my flight. What a terrible company

Not Verified | The worst airline I have ever flown with. Outdated and uncomfortable planes, terrible service, rude crew, dirty bathrooms upon arrival, extremely uncomfortable seats. I don't understand how an airline continues to operate flights in such poor conditions. Horrible and traumatic.

✅ Trip Verified | My girlfriend and I had planned a 5 night stay at the Marriott in Aruba. We did a lot of planning and I took care of getting our Copa plane tickets from David, Panama to Aruba. I went to the Copa office in David to buy the tickets and I asked the agent if we needed to have anything besides our passports to travel to Aruba. She told me no, that all we needed was our passports to be current. About 10 days before our departure, I went back to the Copa office in David to inquire about our connection in Panama City. We only had 1 hour and 5 minutes to make the connection and the airplanes arriving from David and departing to Aruba tend to be in different terminals with no good transportation between the two, plus you have to go through security again. She assured me that the flight would wait on us. I was skeptical since I had been left by Copa at least twice in the past on other connecting flights when the flights ran late and not because of weather. In those instances Copa did nothing to accommodate me even though it was their fault. I asked her again if we needed anything else to fly to Aruba. No, she said, just your passports. We checked in online yesterday and printed our boarding passes. Today when we went to the airport and went to the agent desk to drop our checked bags, they informed us that we had to have a Yellow Fever card. I explained that I had asked on two occasions at the Copa office regarding any other requirements beyond our passports and had been told nothing else was needed. After getting nowhere with the agent, Diego Polando, I asked to speak to his supervisor. The lady supervisor, Ashley Duarte showed up with armed police and informed me that no we could not fly. I was shocked that she would show up with armed police. We never raised our voice or showed any threatening behavior. After it was obvious that they were not going to let us go on the airplane, I asked for a refund. They refused. Needless to say I am appalled at Copa's behavior. They are the worst of the worst and I have been flying for over 50 years. I only fly them as a last resort. Avoid them if you can.

✅ Trip Verified | I am very disappointed with Copa Airlines. I’ve had a few flights with them lately, they are fine on short distance, but absolutely horrible long-haul. I’d understand their low standard if it was a budget airline, but their flights certainly weren’t cheap. I had a 7hour flight from Panama to Las Vegas. There was only one meal, no snacks, as you’d get with most airlines. But what was shocking is that they don’t have any special meals. As a vegetarian I couldn’t select vegetarian meal in advance, assuming they’d have a veggie option during the flight. How wrong was I! The two options they had was beef and chicken. Just as well I had the sense and bought something (overpriced) at the airport, so I wasn’t left starving the whole flight. I was very disappointed though, at this day and age special meals should be automatically included. Their staff doesn’t seem to be well trained or have basic customer service skills either. Felt like they selected a few spare people at the airport, threw them into the plane to act as stewards. One was walking around and shouting like he was at a market stall, the other two seemed to be more interested in sharing their personal lives than us as paying customers. And another shocking part of the flight was that there are no screens on seats. For a long-haul flight. The only option was to connect to their Wifi, which was free for the entertainment channel, and watch it on the phone. With own earphones. Which was hard since I needed to charge my phone and had only wired earphones with me. The government in Panama is trying to entice tourists to visit their country, promoting it everywhere, but they should first look at their main airline. I wouldn’t go back to Panama if I had to fly with them again.

Not Verified | I paid for business and they changed to economy. They gave me 400 dollars but it doesn’t pay for business ticket. They simply don’t care about customers. I have sent a complaint but they even care to answer! Worse airline!

✅ Trip Verified | Today I flew with Copa Airlines from my home POS to PTY. I typically pay for seating with extra leg room as I experience lower back pains, and the lack of leg space exacerbates this, so and this was no exception. As the flight finished boarding all of its passengers I noticed there were many empty seats, both in coach and business, as such I asked one of the attendants if there was a possibility to be upgraded to business, more some comfortable seat for my back. The attendant then asked me if I had status with Copa to which I said I have not flown with them in a bit, and my miles had expired. He proceeded to tell me to fly more and maybe next time. Now, I understand I did not pay for business, but if I politely ask considering many empty seats, and being that I also paid for my seat, I would think that the airline staff would wanting me to fly more would accommodate and upgrade, but the fact that I was told to fly more, in my opinion is a reason to not fly with them going forward.

✅ Trip Verified | Copa Airlines turned our travel into an absolute nightmare. My partner was denied boarding at check-in despite having the proper documents to enter Colombia. Their staff clearly had no clue about travel regulations, and they refused to take responsibility or even communicate with us properly. Calling their customer service was just as bad—rude, dismissive, and unwilling to help. They shrugged off our ruined trip like it didn’t matter. Copa’s incompetence and complete lack of respect for customers are shocking. Do yourself a favor and choose any other airline—this one is a disaster.

✅ Trip Verified | Were awaiting flight CM314, destined to leave from gate 207 at terminal 2 from Panama to Trinidad, boarding at 836pm,as indicated on our boarding pass and screen at gate 207. We sat for 3 ours in the seating area next to terminal 207. Approximately 40 mins after boarding time we were confused why no announcements were made for boarding and proceeded to step to the terminal gate 207 for assistance as a representative had only recently arrived. Terminal 207 was in our site at all times and displayed our flight information as our boarding pass. At this point a different flight appeared on the terminal screen and we were informed our flight had just left from a other terminal 20 minutes walking distance. Further adding to our confusion and panic no gate was seen assigned on the screens, after we were informed of the flight departure. The airline app also showed no change and we received no emails regarding a gate to our flight either. There was no call for boarding or individual names called on the announcement systems at any point in time. We proceeded to the COPA airlines help desk where we were informed that we had to pay in full for ticket changes for the next available flight. Our credit cards were at their limit but luckily the bank accepted else we would be stranded for good. We are currently stranded at Panama airport with no idea where our bags are, having no rest and feeling cheated and robbed. The airline attendants were completely dismissive, unpleasant and unhelpful. They informed us that “gates are subject to change without notice at any given time” and that we should have” looked at the screen” In all our years of international travel , never have we missed a flight or encountered this problem. On the morning of September 27th 2024 at 540am COPA airlines representative at terminal 2 Panama International Airport admitted that "something was wrong with the ‘Tocumen’ system and that we need to check in with her regularly to get gate changes. She further explained that this was a regular occurrence here and gates do not get updated on the monitor at the gate until close to boarding. COPA airlines needs to rectify this and make regular announcements or warn passengers ahead of time. This experience has left us traumatized.

Not Verified | This summer I came across the airline Copa Airlines, booking a ticket for flight from San Jose to Panama for $233. I was given a reservation number, to confirm it I called the hotline, where the lady informed me that I didn’t have a ticket, because they couldn’t (or rather didn’t want to) contact the bank. I had to buy a new ticket but this time at a price of $487 for 1,5 hours of flight. This time there was no problem with the bank. A very, very dishonest airline. I am writing this to warn other passengers on what principle this company with a star in its logo operates .

Not Verified | On the plane the staff hardly gave us any water and the water tasted like the plastic cup it was in. I am not surprised if anyone got dehydrated. The legroom was good and the seat was okay. Overall it was okay, I wouldn’t recommend it.