Copa Airlines is based in Panama and serves destinations across America. With it’s hub in Panama City, it can reach all of North and South America with their fleet of single-aisle Boeing B737 and Embraer E-jets. They are now introducing the latest Boeing B737 MAX9 planes with a reconfigured cabin, including fully flat business class seats and extra legroom premium economy seats. The B737 MAX will serve their longest routes, making longer flights significantly more pleasant!
Copa Airlines used to be owned by Continental Airlines and it shows in their planes and service – it was fine when I flew with similar seats, slightly better food and service, but nothing to write home about (read my detailed review of Copa Airlines Economy). While their fast connections in Panama and a nice lounge make it easy to reach points all over Latin America from the US in one stop, the flights are long enough to be tiring and there was no true “long-haul” offering.
That makes the introduction of the new B737 MAX9 with fully-flat business class seats a significant improvement. The planes will be outfitted with 16 Dream seats in a 2-2 configuration. Seats feature 16in screens, power and USB outlets and more space for your personal items.
They are also introducing an Economy Extra cabin with 24 seats in a 3-3 layout with extra legroom, 10in personal screens, USB ports and (shared) power outlets.
The Economy cabin is outfitted with new Meridian B/E seats, with USB outlets to power your own device, a spot to store it, but no personal screens.
Flights with the new B737 MAX9 are starting this month and a total of 71 new planes is on order, allowing many of the longer routes to be taken over. I welcome this introduction as it will make the longer flights across America much more comfortable and I’d be more likely to book with Copa, either for the Economy Extra cabin or for long overnight flights in Business Class. Copa Airlines is a StarAlliance partner, so you could book these flights with United MileagePlus miles!
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