Originally Posted by
KenInEscazu
Every time I price a trip to the USA on Copa, I get a big lump in my throat. It is hundreds of dollars more expensive than SJO, even though they are almost equidistant from PTY.
It's far more expensive to go anywhere in the USA on any airline from MDE than it is from SJO. I knew this going in, but it still bothers me. Reminding myself of the other things on which I'll realize huge savings and a better quality of life is going to have to become a ritual for me to keep my sanity. I fly too much.
Are the taxes comparable? Colombian airport, resident exit, and sales taxes typically add $150 or more on top of the fare for my flights.
You may also want to look at booking through UA even though you have had issues with them. For my two trips this month, booking a UA ticket on all-COPA metal saved $200 on each trip (MDE-IAD and MDE-IAD/JFK-MDE). I have no idea why UA would have COPA inventory cheaper than COPA, but sometimes it happens.