Copa Airlines (business class), Buenos Aires-Panama City
Nov 25, 2007, 11:19 am
#1
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Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Dallas
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Posts: 4,092
Copa Airlines (business class), Buenos Aires-Panama City
Copa Airlines 278 – EZE-PTY November 24, 2007
Business Class
I arrived Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport at roughly 10:30 a.m., well in advance of the scheduled 12:20 p.m. scheduled flight departure time and proceeded directly to the Elite Access check-in line (For those who are unfamiliar with Copa Airlines, it is sort of like a “Latinized” version of Continental Airlines. In 1998, Continental purchased a 49% interest in Copa, and entered into a comprehensive alliance agreement under which Continental provides extensive support to Copa in marketing, purchasing, operations, etc. ).
After a short wait, I was beckoned to the counter, where the friendly agent glanced dubiously at a carefully packed cardboard box I was attempting to check as my second bag. He asked what was inside, and I truthfully told him 12 bottles of wine. At this point, he called over a colleague… after a brief discussion between the two of them, I was allowed to check the box, provided a signed a waiver of liability, which I did.
After more of the usual check-in formalities, I was given my boarding pass as well as a pass to the American Express Centurion lounge and was directed to “Counter 42” to pay a US$18 dollar departure tax. There was no line at Counter 42 (which accepts credit cards, cash, dollars and pesos), so I quickly paid my tax and received a receipt as well as an additional bar coded stamp which was affixed to the back of my boarding pass.
Prior to clearing security, I had breakfast at one of the airport’s numerous food outlets: coffee, a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, mineral water and a strawberry “licuado” for 31 pesos (a little over US$10).
Upon reaching the entrance to the security line, I was asked for my boarding pass, which was scanned for the tax stamp, then ushered through to the WMD line (none of the laptop, shoe carnival nonsense, etc.) where I set off the alarm and was subjected to a perfunctory patdown, and then on to the immigration line for passport control. A well dressed, sophisticated looking American guy standing a few feet behind me kept loudly asking why we in line again(?) and seemed completely bewildered by the concept of passport control. The wait was brief, and I then found myself in the airside departure area/shopping mall.
Although the American Express Centurion Lounge down a hallway to the left of Gate 2, and I was leaving out of Gate 4 (located behind a jewelry store), I decided to investigate dining options for future trips: I found sandwich cafes at gates 5 and 8, as well as a full sit down restaurant (not too fancy) located all the way over by Gate 12 (which is actually located in the old terminal and accessible by a long overhead walkway which connects the two terminals) .
I then headed back to the Lounge. Upon entry, I gave the attendant my lounge pass and she informed me that they would call the flight when ready. Although the place was completely packed, it is worth noting that they had free drinks (served by a bartender at a walk-up bar) and some self-serve snacks that didn’t look great in terms of either quality or quantity.
After a brief wait, the flight was called and I proceeded to the boarding area. As with Continental in the U.S., the entry to the jetway featured an Elite Access carpet, rope, etc. Although some passengers had their passports checked, mine was not. I just handed them my boarding pass and boarded, taking my assigned seat, #1E on what appeared to be a very new 737-800 that looked almost exactly like a Continental Airlines plane (both inside and out) except for the substitution of a Copa logo for the Continental logo. No departure drinks were served and I had to practically tackle the flight attendant to get her attention and have her hang my jacket. Business class boarded full and coach appeared to also be pretty full.
At 12:16 p.m. (4 minutes before scheduled departure) we took off for our scheduled 7 hour, 26 minute flight aboard the 737.
Shortly after take-off, amenity kits and menus were distributed. The amenity kits were blue pouches which contained:
The English version of the menu is provided below:
----------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------
As we were midway through our climb out, the pilot came on and made the usual announcements in both Spanish and English.
A short while later, orders were taken. I selected a rum and coke for my cocktail and the red wine of the month and fish for lunch. Although I didn’t care, they appeared to have only a few beef orders and that they ran out after a bit, and were offering passengers either the fish, or chicken or beef from the coach. There was a bit of controversy with this, as they didn’t seem to offer the beef option to the passengers who didn’t speak Spanish (I was speaking Spanish and was offered the beef, the guy behind me who spoke English wasn’t, even though his order was taken first). One passenger seemed to figure this out and got a little bit upset. I don’t think it was done with malevolence, I suspect that the FA wasn’t confident enough in his English to explain the non-standard service option properly and therefore just omitted it.
After a brief wait, I received my drink and promptly guzzled it (I had worked out early that morning and hadn’t properly hydrated afterwards in my race to get to the airport). Although the flight attendant could see my drink was empty, no refill was offered, and when she came to ask me for my glass I asked her for a refill. This drink service was followed my distribution of tiny warm towels.
She apparently forgot about my drink request until lunch was served awhile later, at which point something seemed to click in her head and I got my drink, along with a tray containing my salad (no choice of dressings was offered, contrary to the menu), red wine, water, roll and soup. Silverware was metal of decent weight, wrapped in a cloth napkin, but salt and pepper were provided in paper satchels branded with the name of the Argentinean supplier. Upon completion of the soup, the bowl was collected and replaced by the entrée. Nothing much to say about the food, the fish wasn’t great, but I was hungry and ate it anyway.
Midway through lunch, the first movie, No Reservations, was started, viewable through drop down screens.
After lunch, trays were collected, and a trolley desert service was offered. I chose the ice cream, which I had with nuts and caramel (strawberry and chocolate toppings were also offered). I almost missed out on coffee, since I made the mistake of not ordering it in the same sentence with my ice cream. As a result, the FA served me without asking me if I wanted any coffee or looking at me and continuing down the aisle (I had to lean over my seat and tell I wanted coffee, as well).
After many Copa flights, this seems to be a common theme with Copa FAs: they are nice enough, but don’t interact with the passengers at all and appear to be quasi-robotic in their approach to service. Nothing appears to be volunteered if it is not explicitly listed in the menu card, forcing one to ring the bell for coat hanging, a drink refill, etc. Not that big a deal, but kind of annoying, particularly on a seven hour long flight in business class.
After a bit, the service items were taken away, we were issued large bottles of water, and I settled in for a bit of a nap. Copa uses the same seats as Continental, so the head rests have the “wings” which can be folded to provide head support… critical (to me) for sleeping.
I awoke in the middle of the next movie, Transformers, just in time for the snack. I chose the ravioli, and it was truly some of the worst pasta I’ve ever had… how could this happen on a flight from Argentina (home of great Italian food), I will never know. I also was offered another drink.
I also began to notice that this crew wasn't doing a very good job of policing the use of the forward lavatory by coach passengers. As a result, passengers would some times queue up 4 deep, standing in the middle of the business class cabin waiting to use the restroom. Every once in awhile, they would tell someone to go back to coach, but it was very inconsistent. It was a little bothersome at times having waiting passengers use the back of my seat as a handrest, as it would cause the seat to move back and forth.
Roughly six hours into the flight, the captain made an announcement over the PA that we were running short of fuel due to headwinds and would have to stop in Cali, Colombia for refueling. Shortly thereafter, we commenced our descent into some spectacular countryside, followed by landing at the relatively quiet Cali airport.
We taxied into a gate, at which point a Copa ground staff member boarded, along with a couple of rampers. All passengers were required to remain in their seats for refueling, and a fire truck stood by as an additional precaution. Initially, there appeared to be a bit of confusion as to how the fuelling process was going to be accounted for, and the pilot told the ground staff to contact Panama head office for clarification. Also, some authority apparently wanted to check the aircraft’s paperwork, because one of the rampers went into the cockpit with a screwdriver and unscrewed a large metal frame attached to the rear wall of the cockpit which contained all of the aircraft’s operating permits and carried it off the plane for a few minutes, then brought it back and screwed it back into place.
The Cali airport appeared relatively quiet: the only other aircraft at the airport was an Avianca jet, which remained on the ground for the duration, as well as another Copa aircraft which taxied into the gate next to us while we were refueling.
After about 30 minutes, we departed the gate, taxied back to the runway and took off. On the taxi back to the runway, I noticed the airport firefighters had started a barbecue in front of their facility and a kids’ soccer match was going on at a field improbably situated not more than 50 feet from the taxiway (the airport itself is located in the countryside).
About an hour later, we landed in Panama City without further incident and taxied to our gate, where we arrived at 6:41 p.m. local time, 55 minutes late.
All-in-all, it was a decent flight, but it would be nice if the FAs could be a little bit more proactive and using a 737 for a 3,313 mile route seems a little bit much (JFK-LAX is only 2,475 miles, by comparison).
Business Class
I arrived Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport at roughly 10:30 a.m., well in advance of the scheduled 12:20 p.m. scheduled flight departure time and proceeded directly to the Elite Access check-in line (For those who are unfamiliar with Copa Airlines, it is sort of like a “Latinized” version of Continental Airlines. In 1998, Continental purchased a 49% interest in Copa, and entered into a comprehensive alliance agreement under which Continental provides extensive support to Copa in marketing, purchasing, operations, etc. ).
After a short wait, I was beckoned to the counter, where the friendly agent glanced dubiously at a carefully packed cardboard box I was attempting to check as my second bag. He asked what was inside, and I truthfully told him 12 bottles of wine. At this point, he called over a colleague… after a brief discussion between the two of them, I was allowed to check the box, provided a signed a waiver of liability, which I did.
After more of the usual check-in formalities, I was given my boarding pass as well as a pass to the American Express Centurion lounge and was directed to “Counter 42” to pay a US$18 dollar departure tax. There was no line at Counter 42 (which accepts credit cards, cash, dollars and pesos), so I quickly paid my tax and received a receipt as well as an additional bar coded stamp which was affixed to the back of my boarding pass.
Prior to clearing security, I had breakfast at one of the airport’s numerous food outlets: coffee, a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, mineral water and a strawberry “licuado” for 31 pesos (a little over US$10).
Upon reaching the entrance to the security line, I was asked for my boarding pass, which was scanned for the tax stamp, then ushered through to the WMD line (none of the laptop, shoe carnival nonsense, etc.) where I set off the alarm and was subjected to a perfunctory patdown, and then on to the immigration line for passport control. A well dressed, sophisticated looking American guy standing a few feet behind me kept loudly asking why we in line again(?) and seemed completely bewildered by the concept of passport control. The wait was brief, and I then found myself in the airside departure area/shopping mall.
Although the American Express Centurion Lounge down a hallway to the left of Gate 2, and I was leaving out of Gate 4 (located behind a jewelry store), I decided to investigate dining options for future trips: I found sandwich cafes at gates 5 and 8, as well as a full sit down restaurant (not too fancy) located all the way over by Gate 12 (which is actually located in the old terminal and accessible by a long overhead walkway which connects the two terminals) .
I then headed back to the Lounge. Upon entry, I gave the attendant my lounge pass and she informed me that they would call the flight when ready. Although the place was completely packed, it is worth noting that they had free drinks (served by a bartender at a walk-up bar) and some self-serve snacks that didn’t look great in terms of either quality or quantity.
After a brief wait, the flight was called and I proceeded to the boarding area. As with Continental in the U.S., the entry to the jetway featured an Elite Access carpet, rope, etc. Although some passengers had their passports checked, mine was not. I just handed them my boarding pass and boarded, taking my assigned seat, #1E on what appeared to be a very new 737-800 that looked almost exactly like a Continental Airlines plane (both inside and out) except for the substitution of a Copa logo for the Continental logo. No departure drinks were served and I had to practically tackle the flight attendant to get her attention and have her hang my jacket. Business class boarded full and coach appeared to also be pretty full.
At 12:16 p.m. (4 minutes before scheduled departure) we took off for our scheduled 7 hour, 26 minute flight aboard the 737.
Shortly after take-off, amenity kits and menus were distributed. The amenity kits were blue pouches which contained:
- Blue socks
- Two stickers, one reading “Please Do Not Disturb,” and the other reading “Please Wake Me For Meal”
- Eyeshades
- Earplugs
- A toothbrush and toothpaste
The English version of the menu is provided below:
----------------------------------------------------
SPIRITS
Scotch Johnnie Walker Black
Rum Rum of the Month - Zacapa 23 anos
Vodka Absolut
Gin Tanqueray Special Dry
Cognac Hennessy V.S.
Beers Warsteiner, Tecate, Heineken
Red Wine Trivento Reserva Malbee(sp.) 2005, Santa Ana Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon, Wine of the Month- Banfi Col di Sasso
White Wine Trivento Reserve Chardonnay 2005, Santa Ana Mendoza Chardonnay, Wine of the Month – Banfi le Rime
Sparkling Wine Cordoniu
Liqueurs De Kuyper Crème de Menthe, Amaretto Disaronno, Baileys Original Irish Cream, Grand Marnier
COFFEE SERVICE
Café Duran
Assorted Teas
TO START
Warm roasted nuts served with your preferred cocktail or beverage
SOUPS
Cream of heart of palms soup
SALAD
Green salad offered with your choice of dressings
Freshly baked assorted rolls with butter
MAIN COURSES
Grilled beef filet in brandy sauce accompanied with potato pie and sautéed vegetables
Breaded fish filet in marinara sauce accompanied with rice and steamed vegetables
DESSERT
Vanilla ice cream offered with your choice of toppings
Apple tart in cinnamon sauce
SNACK
Cheese and fine herbs raviolis accompanied with a mornay tomato and basil sauce
Smoked salmon wrap with a dill dressing
Scotch Johnnie Walker Black
Rum Rum of the Month - Zacapa 23 anos
Vodka Absolut
Gin Tanqueray Special Dry
Cognac Hennessy V.S.
Beers Warsteiner, Tecate, Heineken
Red Wine Trivento Reserva Malbee(sp.) 2005, Santa Ana Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon, Wine of the Month- Banfi Col di Sasso
White Wine Trivento Reserve Chardonnay 2005, Santa Ana Mendoza Chardonnay, Wine of the Month – Banfi le Rime
Sparkling Wine Cordoniu
Liqueurs De Kuyper Crème de Menthe, Amaretto Disaronno, Baileys Original Irish Cream, Grand Marnier
COFFEE SERVICE
Café Duran
Assorted Teas
TO START
Warm roasted nuts served with your preferred cocktail or beverage
SOUPS
Cream of heart of palms soup
SALAD
Green salad offered with your choice of dressings
Freshly baked assorted rolls with butter
MAIN COURSES
Grilled beef filet in brandy sauce accompanied with potato pie and sautéed vegetables
Breaded fish filet in marinara sauce accompanied with rice and steamed vegetables
DESSERT
Vanilla ice cream offered with your choice of toppings
Apple tart in cinnamon sauce
SNACK
Cheese and fine herbs raviolis accompanied with a mornay tomato and basil sauce
Smoked salmon wrap with a dill dressing
----------------------------------------------------
As we were midway through our climb out, the pilot came on and made the usual announcements in both Spanish and English.
A short while later, orders were taken. I selected a rum and coke for my cocktail and the red wine of the month and fish for lunch. Although I didn’t care, they appeared to have only a few beef orders and that they ran out after a bit, and were offering passengers either the fish, or chicken or beef from the coach. There was a bit of controversy with this, as they didn’t seem to offer the beef option to the passengers who didn’t speak Spanish (I was speaking Spanish and was offered the beef, the guy behind me who spoke English wasn’t, even though his order was taken first). One passenger seemed to figure this out and got a little bit upset. I don’t think it was done with malevolence, I suspect that the FA wasn’t confident enough in his English to explain the non-standard service option properly and therefore just omitted it.
After a brief wait, I received my drink and promptly guzzled it (I had worked out early that morning and hadn’t properly hydrated afterwards in my race to get to the airport). Although the flight attendant could see my drink was empty, no refill was offered, and when she came to ask me for my glass I asked her for a refill. This drink service was followed my distribution of tiny warm towels.
She apparently forgot about my drink request until lunch was served awhile later, at which point something seemed to click in her head and I got my drink, along with a tray containing my salad (no choice of dressings was offered, contrary to the menu), red wine, water, roll and soup. Silverware was metal of decent weight, wrapped in a cloth napkin, but salt and pepper were provided in paper satchels branded with the name of the Argentinean supplier. Upon completion of the soup, the bowl was collected and replaced by the entrée. Nothing much to say about the food, the fish wasn’t great, but I was hungry and ate it anyway.
Midway through lunch, the first movie, No Reservations, was started, viewable through drop down screens.
After lunch, trays were collected, and a trolley desert service was offered. I chose the ice cream, which I had with nuts and caramel (strawberry and chocolate toppings were also offered). I almost missed out on coffee, since I made the mistake of not ordering it in the same sentence with my ice cream. As a result, the FA served me without asking me if I wanted any coffee or looking at me and continuing down the aisle (I had to lean over my seat and tell I wanted coffee, as well).
After many Copa flights, this seems to be a common theme with Copa FAs: they are nice enough, but don’t interact with the passengers at all and appear to be quasi-robotic in their approach to service. Nothing appears to be volunteered if it is not explicitly listed in the menu card, forcing one to ring the bell for coat hanging, a drink refill, etc. Not that big a deal, but kind of annoying, particularly on a seven hour long flight in business class.
After a bit, the service items were taken away, we were issued large bottles of water, and I settled in for a bit of a nap. Copa uses the same seats as Continental, so the head rests have the “wings” which can be folded to provide head support… critical (to me) for sleeping.
I awoke in the middle of the next movie, Transformers, just in time for the snack. I chose the ravioli, and it was truly some of the worst pasta I’ve ever had… how could this happen on a flight from Argentina (home of great Italian food), I will never know. I also was offered another drink.
I also began to notice that this crew wasn't doing a very good job of policing the use of the forward lavatory by coach passengers. As a result, passengers would some times queue up 4 deep, standing in the middle of the business class cabin waiting to use the restroom. Every once in awhile, they would tell someone to go back to coach, but it was very inconsistent. It was a little bothersome at times having waiting passengers use the back of my seat as a handrest, as it would cause the seat to move back and forth.
Roughly six hours into the flight, the captain made an announcement over the PA that we were running short of fuel due to headwinds and would have to stop in Cali, Colombia for refueling. Shortly thereafter, we commenced our descent into some spectacular countryside, followed by landing at the relatively quiet Cali airport.
We taxied into a gate, at which point a Copa ground staff member boarded, along with a couple of rampers. All passengers were required to remain in their seats for refueling, and a fire truck stood by as an additional precaution. Initially, there appeared to be a bit of confusion as to how the fuelling process was going to be accounted for, and the pilot told the ground staff to contact Panama head office for clarification. Also, some authority apparently wanted to check the aircraft’s paperwork, because one of the rampers went into the cockpit with a screwdriver and unscrewed a large metal frame attached to the rear wall of the cockpit which contained all of the aircraft’s operating permits and carried it off the plane for a few minutes, then brought it back and screwed it back into place.
The Cali airport appeared relatively quiet: the only other aircraft at the airport was an Avianca jet, which remained on the ground for the duration, as well as another Copa aircraft which taxied into the gate next to us while we were refueling.
After about 30 minutes, we departed the gate, taxied back to the runway and took off. On the taxi back to the runway, I noticed the airport firefighters had started a barbecue in front of their facility and a kids’ soccer match was going on at a field improbably situated not more than 50 feet from the taxiway (the airport itself is located in the countryside).
About an hour later, we landed in Panama City without further incident and taxied to our gate, where we arrived at 6:41 p.m. local time, 55 minutes late.
All-in-all, it was a decent flight, but it would be nice if the FAs could be a little bit more proactive and using a 737 for a 3,313 mile route seems a little bit much (JFK-LAX is only 2,475 miles, by comparison).
Last edited by HKG_Flyer1; Nov 25, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Nov 26, 2007, 12:56 am
#3
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I've flown this route in both Biz and Coach, and agree with most of your comments. Not a bad deal for Biz when it was a 50K award. Doesn't compare to AA or CO Biz flights, though.
Nov 26, 2007, 3:56 pm
#6
Original Poster
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Nov 29, 2007, 4:06 pm
#7
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Long Beach, CA, USA
Programs: DL, AA, US, UA, VX
Posts: 454
Yes indeed, I flew that one last year. And do you want to know something? It's 100% better than LAX-SJO on Taca!! I would fly to PTY to go to SJO on Copa any time rather than non-stop on Taca!
Great report BTW!
Great report BTW!
Nov 30, 2007, 11:48 am
#10
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Apr 7, 2008, 7:13 pm
#12
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: West of CLE
Programs: Delta DM/3 MM; Hertz PC; National EE; Amtrak GR; Bonvoy Silver; Via Rail Préférence
Posts: 5,384
Great Report--Thinking About Flying on Copa
on paper, food service appears to be better than on DL BE EZE-ATL; however, DL FAs know how to provide service on the long-haul flights.
Aug 9, 2013, 2:03 pm
#13
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Impressed that there is a second service before landing. I will be doing PTY-SCL, which is a 6.36pm departure and 2am arrival. I wonder if there is a full breakfast service before landing since it is so early in the morning. Does anyone know if that flight is dinner and breakfast? or just one dinner meal?
Aug 9, 2013, 3:31 pm
#14
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: LAX
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Posts: 1,582
I know this is an old report, but interesting nonetheless. My wife and I flew this route in Y coming home from our honeymoon last year. Really my only lasting impression was that 7.5 hours indeed felt like a loooooong time to spend back in coach on a 737 surrounded by screaming kids.