Copa, PTY connection questions.
 

I generally fly OW airlines and know little about *A airlines/hubs. I am considering Copa for an upcoming trip because I can stopover in PTY and I can add some miles to my UA Mileage Plus account. My questions:-

What is PTY airport like for connections? The COPA flights I am looking at have a two hour connection in PTY is this sufficient?

Does PTY have a good duty free store, I'm primarily interested in liquor not cosmetics or tobacco.

Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

2 hours is more than sufficient. Personally I regard PTY as one of the most transfer friendly airports I've ever seen. You can walk through the whole place in 10 minutes, there's no extra security check (they do perform a gate check if you're boud for the US though) or immigration.

Lots of duty free shops, actually the place looks more like a shopping centre with a runway. I'm not impressed with the selection of liquor though. Put that might just be me.

Ah, at peak hours it can be very cramped.

Bottomline is you won't be bored, and 2 hours is more than enough.

PTY is easy. You simply walk off the plane into the waiting crowd, find a monitor for your next gate, and the walk is most likely less than 10 minutes. No separation of arriving/departing passengers, no security for transit. US-bound departures will have extra security (and liquid confiscation) at the gate.

Having the typical equatorial weather with afternoon showers and a simple airspace and airfield layout, PTY has no complicated weather/capacity issues like NYC. Copa itself sells a lot of 45-minute connections and can manage them well.

I agree with all that is said in the prior posts. I transit all the time, and would be comfortable even with a 45 minute connection. One warning: Not all announcements are made in English, especially for flights to non-English speaking countries, and the ones that are made in English are hard to understand. If you don't speak Spanish, keep a close eye on the monitors and what your fellow passengers are doing.

To expand on the liquid confiscation, when you are getting on a US-bound flight you will go through a hand luggage inspection and pat-down at the gate. They will deny boarding to any liquids except for duty-free stuff that you will get on the jetway.

Therefore, unlike the US, you cannot carry on a drink that you bought on the concourse. Also, if you buy a liquid at the duty free at your originating airport, you cannot carry it on your US bound flight in PTY. You won't have access to your checked luggage, so you will be out of luck. For example, if I were to buy booze at the Medellin duty free when flying MDE-PTY-IAD, I would lose it at the gate. There is no size exception, so even a small bottle of perfume would be lost. I am not sure what they do about medical stuff.

Note: Many of the store operators have multiple stores. In one case, I shopped at a store that was not the closest to my gate. When I went to check out, I was told that I had to make my purchase at their store closest to the gate, as that location did not service my gate. Annoying, especially since "my" store was closed due to an electrical problem.

If you are headed to your Latin America destination, they will actually give you your stuff in the store to carry out. As far as I know, the classic duty-free system of collecting your stuff on the jetway only applies to North America-bound flights.

I like this airport and you should have no problem whatsoever with the connection. Lots of Duty Free stores though most are quite small.

Super Easy!
 

PTY has got to the the best/easiest international airport I have ever connected through. No security/customs/immigration recheck or clearance required.
Airport is well laid out & easy to navigate.

Word of warning though; Copa likes to Pre-board SUPER early!!! Two weeks ago we were flying PTY>UIO. Departure time was 7:05pm, they started the pre-boarding at 6:05pm. Wasn't an issue as we were at the gate already.

If you are flying in Business, make sure you try their Rum of the Month. Had a rum from Panama & one from Costa Rica, DAMN FINE STUFF (-:

Many thanks for the helpful replies and all the tips.

I'm looking at a J award IAD -> GIG via PTY with a connection time of 33 min. Too close?

Tricky. I have a really good on time performance with Copa, I cant remember ever being late and I surely never missed a connection in PTY, but 33 minutes is risky.

I agree 33 minutes is tight but doable. I would probably risk it but be aware that I might misconnect.

That's an awfully long time to be in those seats though. No availability on UA metal?

World Cup :)

It's UA C or Copa J.

Sorry, but why would you even consider picking Copa J over the UA lie-flat? Especially since IAD-PTY is on the old 737-700 with a domestic F seat? UA has its problems, but the international BF hard product absolutely blows Copa away.

Sorry typo! UA Y or COPA J. Of course I'd fly UA biz if they had seats but they're being stingy around WC- I was stalking for months before they were released, still nothing.

Anyway I think the 33 min. is too close. Alternative is 7 hours but might be nice to spend the afternoon in Panama City on route to GIG.

Normally No...
 

BUT if its PTY, then YES, I would go for it (-:

try the canal
 

The canal is nearby (you can see it when landing) and was recommended to us as an interesting site to see during a layover. We didn't do it for various reasons so I can't comment, but it looked doable and appealing.

There are also beaches, jungles and downtown Panama City within taxi distance, though given the country's developing world status (e.g. the airport's power went out just as we arrived) you'd have to be pretty confident in your travel skills to go there.

everything here is correct-- 45 mins would be reasonable- 1 hr better. the recently opened new terminal has 10 gates and it is a little walk. (6-10 mins to get to main terminal) the subway sandwiches restaurant has reliable free wifi. US bound flights do require extra security at gate. Most connections are very easy/straightforward. The recently renovated Copa club is similar to UA clubs.. I hear the new one even has showers. duty free is so so. PTY is a great place to connect to most central america and south america- and there are also a few caribbean flights.

+1 on the duty free. I have yet to find any bargains (though I am not much of a shopper).

Here is a general warning about buying duty free liquids (i.e. booze) at your originating airport and the transferring through PTY on US-bound flights. (Ex: MDE-PTY-IAD and buying duty free at MDE):

With the US-required extra security at the gate, you cannot bring liquids on board. If you buy liquids at your originating airport, you won't be allowed to bring them on with you at PTY unless you somehow have access to your checked luggage. You can buy duty-free at PTY, because they will give you the liquids on the jetway, just like in the USA.

This would apply to any airport that has secondary screening at the gate, not just PTY.

Absolutely, I just lost a bottle of water at secondary screening in HKG. They've taken them from me in MEX and BOG, too.

As far as I can tell, virtually all imported consumer goods are more expensive in Panama than in the US. Except they did have a pretty good deal on a Longines watch at the PTY duty free. They were willing to bargain off the sticker price.

Given how easy transferring at PTY appears to be I am wondering if a 3 hour connection would be enough time to leave the airport? The canal looks mighty close on the map... If this appears feasible, do you have any recommendations as to where to go?

If 3 hours is too short to leave the airport, could anybody tell me what the Copalounge is like?

Many thanks in advance for your input!

It's not enough time to leave the airport. Don't even think about it. You need a minimum of five or six hours to visit the Canal. It's literally on the far side of Panama City from the airport. The traffic can be horrific.

The Copa Club is pretty poor IMO. It was still under construction last time I was through there in October.

+1. Unfortunately, there is nothing near the airport to see. Even the big mall that provides shuttle transportation requires about a 4 hour layover (and if you've seen one mall, you've seen them all). Definitely not worth leaving and experiencing the hassle of immigration.

The club renovation is not finished, but there is no visible construction going on. They put a properly finished wall in the elevator area. I asked if the temporary entrance was now going to be permanent, and was told that they still planned to return the entrance to its original location.

I will add that I have eaten at the sit-down restaurant at the end food court twice in the last two months - once for breakfast and once for lunch. Both meals were pretty good. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but I think it's something like "Margaritaville." It's sort of Jimmy Buffet themed.

Many thanks for the advice. Staying at the airport it is then.

Margaritaville sounds right. Thanks for the tip, I will have to check that out.

I typically get the cheap empanadas from the coffee place that's next to the Haagen-Daz shop. Not exactly gourmet, but they serve the purpose.

I do the exact same thing when I'm in PTY!

No one hangs out in the COPA lounge then I take it?

The food offering in the Copa Lounge doesnt do it for me, so I go upstairs for empanadas.

Depends on the crowd and whether the wifi is functional. It's a total zoo in there for large portions of the day.

I'm usually there during a layover. Unless you're hungry, it's still pretty much the best option. If it's a zoo in the lounge, that means the rest of the airport is busy and the Airport's free wifi will be slow too. At least you can get a decent chair and a free drink.

Great, many thanks for all your input.

Agreed. It's actually a nice space when it's not totally packed.

The only thing I would add is there's another lounge down by the Dunkin' Donuts that takes Priority Pass. The space is less appealing, but it's also less crowded with better wifi and free liquor if that's of interest.

... Does that mean no free booze in the Copa lounge?

Carry-on baggage lockers in PTY???
 

Flying CM for the first time next week JFK-PTY-MVD and then back first week in Feb MVD-PTY-JFK with a 12hr layover in PTY. Couple of questions: My friend and I plan on doing carry-on and heading to the canal and some other sites for the day...wondering if there is a secure area or lockers where we can leave our carry-on's for the day. If not, and we decide to check our bags in MVD would CM hold them for the 12hrs and check them through to JFK or would we need to clear customs when exiting the airport and collect our bags and then recheck??

Finally, how are the showers in the CM lounge? Long long wait in the afternoons? Certainly would like to hose off before getting back on the plane at 6pm.

Thanks!
Adam

You can have CM check your bags all the way to MVD/JFK, no need to pick them up when you clear customs. Although CM is a pro at managing transfers, I'd double check at the initial airport that the luggage tags indicate your final destination that day.

There are no lockers at the airport. There is a left luggage office landside. Turn right in the arrivals hall after exiting customs. I think it's run by the airport employee's union.

You can also leave your bags at the holding area at the entrance of the CM lounge, though since it's open for anyone use, not the most secure place to leave valuables. The CM lounge doesnt have any showers, nor for that matter, any worthwhile food choices.

Booze is complementary at the Copa Lounge. Be sure to taste the amazing rum. I think it's called Abuelo.

OK thanks for the info!!!

Ron Abuelo it is indeed -- the rum of Panama. I aways pick some up at the duty free shops when traveling through PTY. Hard to find outside Panama - only exported to select countries.

Thanks for the tips, marcuswelby and DarrenChannel ^

Well missed our connection in PTY coming from JFK due to delay of 1.5hrs of weight redistribution. All the bags had to come off and out of the plane. Myself, my friend and 6 others (some other FT members) got stranded in PTY for the night. Missed the connection to MVD by 25 min. Copa is putting us up in a hotel and can't get out to MVD till tomorrow afternoon. The 1 hour layover wasn't enough....gotta go with flow.

Is the USA-bound security check done by X-ray? or simply a hand search? The latter is pointless, and it seems easy to keep a bottle of water purchased at the airport rolled up in dirty laundry that will not be sifted through.

It is a full TSA compliant security check, with scans of both carry-on bags and pax.

Not sure where you got the idea it was otherwise.