Originally Posted by
Kacee
COPA is a well run airline. They will generally get you where you are going on time. Service ranges from passable to very good. If things go wrong, you basically do not want to be on any latin american carrier. COPA is probably better than most. But they have different norms of customer service and IRROPS can be a complete disaster. You can't argue with them or "insist" on your rights, they will simply shut down and refuse to deal with you. It's cultural.
If you are high-level elite on UA, you will be treated much better during IRROPS with UA. If you are not elite, it's going to suck on either airline, probably slightly less with UA.
COPA's front line agents generally speak English well.
Mostly +1 to the above.
I agree that the front line agents generally speak English well, but one drawback is that gate announcements are made in Spanish first and then not always intelligible English. I was a little stressed out about this back in the days that I did not speak Spanish.
My only experience with IRROPS went well, though it was a simple one. Due to late take off from JFK, I missed my early morning connection. However, as I walked off the plane I was handed a business-class BP for the next flight, leaving two hours later. I should note that was my first missed connection in about 75 transiits through PTY in the last 3 years.
No matter what airline you fly, as many posters on FT have said on many occasions, if you need to be somewhere to get on a boat or join a tour, plan to fly in a day or two early. Even the best-run airline is going to have IRROPS situations. Also, keep in mind that COPA has many more flights per day to BA than UA. If there is a problem on UA, you're probably facing a 24 hour delay. On COPA, there is a good chance it will be much less than that.