If I were CM, I would be looking for a partner to distinguish me from AV. The obvious candidate is Delta in a similar relationship to the one they now have with UA, or their own program as a member of ST.

Copa's quality of service is a good match for what Delta passengers now seem to expect, and Delta is definitely lacking in South American access. It could be a win/win move.

With Latin American airlines as their primary competitors, don't look for Copa to be changing their mileage-flown based RDM policy any time soon. It would be suicidal for them to attempt such a move alone. While Copa probably carries the largest number of O/D North American pax of all Latin American airlines, their flights are still filled with mostly Latin Americans.