Booked with COPA, I'm flying CLE-MCO-PTY-GRU. The MCO segment does say "operated by COPA Airlines." The CLE-MCO is obviously a codeshare, and could be a problem.

Regardless, I did ask that I only wanted to use the regional upgrade if I can use it on PTY-GRU, That segment gave all the negative responses I described above. (If that did clear, I would have asked if it could be used on the other legs as well, but I didn't get that far). I am pretty confident on automatic uopgrades on the other segments (and actually maybe on the PTY-GRU, though that is less likely than the others).

[QUOTE
I noticed that your home location is Ohio, and COPA only flies from IAD, ORD, and MIA (LAS soon). I believe the normal upgrade rules would apply with mixed metal, even if the UA part was a COPA codeshare.[/QUOTE]

Don't forget MCO! I flew MCO-PTY-SJO last night, and on 2:50 MCO-PTY flight had pretty much a transcon meal service. Complete with ice cream cart, and on one of their New Sky Interior 738's. Great service, great flight. EUA'ed on 3 of 4 flights 6 days out, and the 4th cam at T-48^.

No lounge near their gate at MCO is the only downside.

That is not FAIR!!! I flew them POS to PTY which is longer and we did not have an ice cream cart. And there were only 4 of us in Business in a 737-700.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's the problem. In a perfect world, you should be able to use the RDU on the COPA leg.

However, I suspect the problem is this:

CO has to associate your RDU with a CO reservation. As far as the CO system is concerned, your CO leg makes it a CO flight and therefore the rules for using RDU and SWU under CO apply (rather than COPA rules).

It would be nice if the CO would figure out a way to allow COPA rules on COPA legs, but I doubt that's a priority.

One option for the future would be to book through CO to get to MCO and then COPA for MCO-GRU. Of course, it may be more expensive and you will have to reclaim bags in MCO.

Sorry about that. :)

It must have been a brain cramp, as I have flown PTY-MCO a number of times in the last year.

I think you hit on the problem.

In the past, I have taken your 2nd suggestion (CO CLE-MCO, CM to CNF via PTY), but had close call with a delayed CO flight. Since the tickets were not linked (two different reservations), was quite concerned about missing the CM flight. Turned out I did make it, and even got my upgrade.

Any way to use United miles/ copay to upgrade a Copa flight LAX-PTY? Phone rep says no.

Move UA MP miles to your CO OP account via www.united.com/transfermymiles -- then use the CO OP miles to do the upgrade.

or wait until 3 March

Thanks for the help. I'm traveling Mar 3rd coincidentally, is that the day they allow UA miles without transferring to OnePass? Copa phone rep said I could do this immediately if I go to the airport.

March 3 is the day they will go to a single passenger processing single and merge the frequent flyer programs. So what the agent states may be true but I would not count on everything going prefect on 3 March -- especially early in the day. Also waiting to 3 March assumes the upgrades will still be available.

+1^

In my experience, few COPA personnel have any idea how to deal with any elite upgrade processes. In order to process an SWU or RDU even the COPA elite desk directs you to call Continental as they know nothing about the program.

I would be very surprised if the agent at the airport would have any idea how to process a mileage upgrade, particularly if you are flying from a US airport that has only a few (or one) flight a day.

An important thing to understand (see some posts above) is that mileage and RDU upgrades are actually processed in the CO reservation system. Since the COPA employees don't have access to that system, I really don't see how they could process any kind of instrument upgrade.

Good stuff as always, thanks all.

Thanks Davemflyer - worked like a charm, upgraded ORD-PTY, waitlisted PTY-ASU with a RPU

OK, so what exactly did you do? a) BOTH legs booked on UA (with the COPA flight being a codeshare?)??? Then you applied the regional only to the COPA codeshare? ORD-PTY a UA flight, where you received a UDU? (b) Both legs booked with COPA, UA codeshare for ORD-PTY obviously)? c) Some other combination?

Have now flown 4 Copa segments this year, and all were upgraded. One even had new BF-type seating (I posted about that in the main United forum).

Still could now get a guest upgraded using RPUs. IMO, all 1Ks (and probably Premier Plats) have a much higher chance of being auto-upgraded than on UA flights; main reasone I love Copa. But I would still like the questions in my previous post to be answered; still confused about this.