Connecting forgotten cities and a hub in Panama: how the Copa can fly between the giants

The history of the Copa begins in 1947 when the now defunct Pan Am joins the Motta family, strong Panamanian investors. They managed to take off with three giant Douglas C47s, those military transport aircraft that were transformed into passenger aircraft.

In those yearsPanama was a brand new country: it separated from Colombia in 1903. And, while having owned the channel that joins the Pacific with the Atlantic since 1914, that strategic passage was administered by the United States.

The Motta, however, already weighed on its economy and are recognized for having had the vision of building a hub to transform Panama into operations center connecting North America with the Caribbean and South America.

Judging by the size of Tocumen, its main airport, they have succeeded: it has just been expanded to the pace of a hectic business. The network of flowing routes indicates that Panama has become the first center of Latin America.

This air hub contributes the equivalent of 15% of GDP of Panama which amounted to 63,000 million dollars in 2021. The Canal contributes in part $ 2 billion a yearalmost 3.5% of GDP.

Copa replaced Pan Am with Continental and Continental itself closed shortly after. In 2005 they debuted on the New York Stock Exchange. At that moment, the Motta diluted their participation. And in 2016 Copa bought Aerorepública to transform it into Wingo, its low cost line.

This week in Panama City reference was made to 75 years of the Cup. It is no small thing in a business like aviation where the pandemic erased numerous companies from the map and left others with millionaire debts that were impossible to meet.

Some may survive, such as Aerolineas Argentinas, for the generous state subsidy. This is not the case with Copa. According to the IATA (International Air Transport Association), 33 airlines have stopped flying due to the pandemic.

cup was six months without flying, adequate staffing, voluntary retirement for pilots and he even sent his planes to the Mexican desert to protect them as the humidity that reigns in Panama deteriorates them even when they are parked in hangars.

meet today 88% in 2019 and its CEO Pedro Heilbron assures that in just four years they will make a full recovery. In the path lost $ 800 million and they managed to continue thanks to the issuance of bonds convertible into shares and the banks that lent them.

In between came the war in Ukraine and the rising cost of fuel, which this year represented $ 350 million more than in 2019.

In that city overlooking the Pacific, and surprising for its population of skyscrapers and its recently renovated historic center with 1,000 balconies, says Copa Executive Vice President Bolívar Domínguez Clarione: “Our recipe is connect forgotten cities from other airlines, knowing how to adapt, investing in efficiency and technology and being very punctual. This means cost savings “.

In Argentina they connect abroad Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Rosario and Mendoza. And they will open Salta. Worldwide, they land in 75 cities and still have a long way to go to reach the 80 destinations in 33 countries that counted before the pandemic, in part due to Boeing delivery delays.

-How does the Copa survive among the great aeronautical mergers ?, Clarín asked Heilbron.

-It’s a challenge. We bet on innovation and efficiency. The pilots who left during the pandemic are now back and we will be expanding our team by 1,300, for a total of 7,000 employees. We will reach 100 aircraft in 2023.

A separate chapter is its training center which operates in the City of Knowledge, a true symbol of Panama: it was the former headquarters of the Southern Command for the Americas of the American army.In recently renovated buildings, Copa trains the pilots and has its own school with state-of-the-art simulators that cost between $ 16 million and $ 55 million, depending on the complexity.

In a room they have dubbed “anything is possible,” they face challenging trials. Gastón Rivera Aburto is the commander in charge and shows what is coming, airplanes powered by biofuels. “I’ve piloted them and they work wonderfully,” he enthuses.