Stopover in Panama & Copa Lounge in T2
Once off the plane at the far end of Terminal 2 I made the long trek to the opposite end of Terminal 1, where the gates usually used by Avianca are located. At 20 minutes without using walkways it was certainly a good exercise after several hours sitting still on a plane. The Avianca gate was just opening and I quickly got my printed boarding passes. Now back to T2.
Access to the Copa lounge in Terminal 1 is located quite inconspicuously between a candy shop and a coffee outlet, on the landside-facing corridor of the concourse.
This used to be the only CM lounge and was equipped with showers, but since the opening of Terminal 2 and the lounge there the shower area here was shut down.
Access to the Copa Club in Terminal 2 is via escalators in front of the Attenza Duty Free in the center of the concourse, though I am sure there is also an elevator.
With the boarding pass from the flight I arrived on in J and the statement that I would continue on another *A carrier I was invited in.
The lounge offers a manned bar, several different seating areas, a TV room, a working area, family room, resting room, and great views of the apron and one of the runways. There are also washrooms and four shower rooms available in the lounge.
On offer at the lounge buffet were lemon crumble tart and bread pudding for the sweet tooth, and Tex-Mex salad, chickpea salad, yucca ceviche, toast, hot sauce, and beef and chicken empanadas. A coffee machine and a beverage dispenser rounded up the offerings.
These items were constantly restocked but remained unchanged throughout my 6-hour stay from 2:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
I helped myself to a bit of everything except the chickpeas. Contrary to what I had expected, the beef-filled empanadas were bone-dry while the chicken ones had a proper moist filling.
Later I may have had a G&T or 3 from the bar while catching up on TR’s.
Closer to my departure time I had a shower to freshen up and then made my way back to T1 and the AV gate.
Panama City PTY – Bogotá BOG
Avianca AV 057
STD / ATD: 21:40 / 21:33
STA / ATA: 23:14 / 22:56
A20N N963AV
Seat: 30A
Boarding started at 20:55, early for the relatively light load on this flight and by 21:44 we were airborne off runway 3L.
Let’s see if I find something on the BOB menu.
A focaccia sandwich and a beer hit the spot nicely, though I was the only passenger to order anything that evening.
The cockpit crew started the descent into BOG just as we were overflying Medellin (MDE) and twenty minutes later we parked at the gate, starting the long trek through a deserted arrivals concourse to international connections. Fortunately, there was no queue at security and I was airside again in no time. My next and last flight of this trip would depart in just a tad more than 7 hours and I decided that it would be too much hassle and too little time to go to a hotel for the short night, staying in the terminal instead.
Not the Raffles, not the Regency, not the Ritz but a rock-hard lounger to spend the night on.
Now, BOG is an airport that has no curfew and operations go on throughout the night. Trying to get some sleep between the usual boarding calls and five “last” calls for Viva Aerobus to Mexico City to my left at 2 am and then the boarding calls and another five “last” calls for American to MIA at 3 in the morning to my right was not very conducive to peaceful sleep.
A week or so after my return I learned that BOG now offers sleeping pods in the international terminal at a place called Sleep Oasis for USD 8,50/hr. Good to know for next time!