CM236
ORD-PTY
Depart: 909am (schedule) 929am (actual)
Arrive; 228pm (schedule) 229pm (actual)
Equipment: 737
Load: 12/12
Seat: 1A (Business Class)

Upon boarding there was no one at the door to greet us so we just sat down and settled in. A small pillow and blanket were waiting for us at our seat. No amenity kits were offered on this flight. Menus were handed out a few minutes later as were landing cards for Panama. Pre-departure drinks of water or orange drink, but not juice, were offered in plastic cups a few minutes before take off. Meal orders were taken and we were informed that they only had 5 of our 6 KSMLs.
After take off, hot towels were offered and blue tablecloths were placed on the trays. The menu seemed to be a lunch service despite our early departure and had a heavy focus on the alcohol. I did notice that it had hot chocolate, something I've only seen on BA. The distributed menu had both the ORD-PTY choices and the PTY-ORD choices. 15 minutes after tablecloths were put down, meals still weren't out yet although the kitchen smelled like it was in full swing.
My diet coke was quickly served with a bowl of snack mix, which was spicy and good. My coke was in a business class branded glass and no can was offered. The food came out and sure enough was labeled "business class dinner". It contained a plate with peppers and fish, a piece of lemon coconut cake, couscous and olives, and a hot main of meat and potatoes. Food was catered by Borenstein. The food was mediocre, normal KSML fare. But I actually found myself missing Y on AA. Another glass of Diet Coke was served with the meal. Trays were cleared quickly after I finished. I ordered the rum of the month, which was from an unfamiliar brand, but very good. The movie started not long after the service completed. There was no in-seat entertainment, just overhead screens. Nor was there in-seat power. My 3rd flight in a row without personal TVs. The FA working J passed thru the cabin regularly top refill drinks and clear empty cups. I spent most of the flight catching up on reading I had to do. One thing I noticed was that the galley had curtains which were kept closed the entire flight.
Around an hour before landing, I ventured to the back to check out the Y product. It seemed decent by Y standards. An FA was doing a water service. I was curious to see if J would have any pre-landing service. The FA serving J entered the cabin to take drink orders. I asked for a club soda, which came in a plastic cup and was mostly flat. I suppose they ran out of clean glassware. The flight ended uneventfully.
Verdict: Copa J is a lot like domestic F. The service however is better and it comes with lounge access. I would definitely recommend this product and is the only nonstop service between ORD-PTY