Kacee

And not just that, but the food options at PTY outside the club are awful, too.

The other things that have kept me away from CM recently are:

(1) their fare structure make no sense. Occasionally they'll send me an e-mail offering a great sale fare, but every time I'm actually looking to buy, they are priced substantially higher than UA/AV.

(2) their flight times to/from SFO/LAX are not convenient to anyone except an aircraft scheduler seeking to maximize efficient turns, and the connections to Colombia off the SFO/LAX flights are not good at all.

KenInEscazu

Surprising to me, one of my Costa Rican employees who has Silver status flew SJO-PTY-MDE on April 24th and MDE-PTY-SJO on May 1st. Upgraded on all four legs. IME, the flights between PTY and SJO are tough in both directions, and flying on Sunday has little impact on the odds. He certainly enjoyed it.

ACC2008

Had a flight from YYZ to PTY and then to LIM. Was able to upgrade on both legs.

Thanks COPA!

KenInEscazu

My Colombian visa was going to expire on Friday the 6th. When I entered the country on the 1st, the Migración officer at MDE told me that I needed to get an extension until I could get my renewal paperwork in order. (First time to renew. Newbie mistake. No excuses.)

I had my attorney prepare what little was required for the extension, made an appointment at Migración for the 5th, and I knew I was ready. My gut, however, told me to prepare for the worst case scenario. Sure enough, the official at Migración had excusitis and wouldn't approve it until I jumped through non-existent hoops.

Fortunately, I had gone to copaair.com on Wednesday night and made a reservation on hold to leave on Friday the 6th for Miami so I could re-enter as a tourist if necessary. Went home from my failed appointment, paid the $304 for the trip, had all 4 legs upgraded within an hour and here I sit in Miami preparing to leave in the morning and go home to finish the new visa process.

I was surprised to see the new, cool seats on the short PTY-MIA flight, but it sure was a welcome sight. I slept from the bienvenido to the gracias para preferirnos.

AA was the logical choice with a non-stop, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money this time, and I didn't want to sit in economy. The way it's going, I may be able to keep my CM Pres. Plat. status next year in addition to my AA EXP.

I would fly CM to the US every time if they went to all the places I have to go. AA no longer gives EXPs 4 bags when flying up front, so they lost that edge without gaining any allure anywhere else. I simply have to fly around once I am in the US, and AA flies to all the places I need to go.

Finally, I have never come "to" Miami other than for a connection. I can't stand the confusing mess at the baggage claim and CBP entry in the D terminal. What a pleasant surprise it was to breeze through Global Entry, grab my bags and walk out the door to catch a cab.

kkss

Question for you guys...I'm wondering how many people here only have status with Copa because they were offered complimentary status from being with United or did a status match...or what would you guys guess? Assuming most will still bank with United and no longer have Connectmiles status next year.

I'm wondering this because I just recently switched over (they wouldn't status match me) and am currently gold...will be Pres Platinum in a couple months. Now, I'm wondering if its even worth it. I fly with Copa A LOT and I'm finding that I'm not upgraded that often. Home airport is IAD but I also fly out of ORD and JFK occasionally.

We all know Copa business class is subpar but its still better than nothing...and since I fly to s america often I thought this would be a cheaper way to travel a little more comfortably.

Viajero Millero

You may be the exception here as of now regarding upgrade, but once you become Presidential Platinum you'll have a hard time missing upgrades.

I was matched and my Presidential Plat is expiring early next year. Would probably prefer Avianca status (and planes, lounges) if I had to have one in Star Alliance.

YadiMolina

Today I bought a r/t PTY-MGA, less than 48 hours out. As a PresPlat, I can get upgrades 5 days out. I expected my upgrade to be fouled up, or at best, come through only after pleadings with agents. To my surprise, the upgrade message arrived about 2 hours later after booking. Used the website to select my seat in clase ejecutivo. Color me impressed.

kkss

I hope your right Viajero Millero...seems like you don't have any interest in renewing your status with Copa, which is kind of what I was thinking about most people...I just switched from Avianca and I'm kind of leaning toward going back...just much more expensive and bad connections

YadiMolina..do you mind if I ask if you status matched?

YadiMolina

Officially, being a MileagePlus 1K got me matched to PresPlat. But, I got 1K by accruing PQM half & half on United and Copa, as I've been doing for several years. After the split I project to be Gold on both (I hope).

YadiMolina

Exact repeat of my last flight. Upgraded on outbound, no problem selecting seat in Clase Ejecutivo. Upgraded on inbound, get the red warning box on the website when I call up my reserva. Used m.copaair.com on my browser, and milagro, selected my seat.

pmarrsouth

I am currently on the phone with Copa for the same reason! Agent cannot select the seat either!

Edit - I was able to do your mobile site on browser trick and it worked fine. Agent was trying to tell me that only row 4 was available



smh

YadiMolina

I've also noticed that the "lista de ascensos" tab on the flight status doesn't seem to work anymore. I've tried querying my flights, plus miscellaneous flights, all come up "La aeronave que operará este vuelo no tiene cabina de Clase Ejecutiva."


Reminds me of a funny incident several years ago on Copa while it was still on MileagePlus. A coworker with Global Services status was trying to get me a companion upgrade instead of my lowly Gold on a flight to ASU. The gate agent was totally clueless, never grasped what we were trying to do. As part of the negotiation she swore she couldn't divulge the upgrade list, which I then promptly divulged to her on my smartphone. (An agent in the Copa Club proficiently made the switch.)

pmarrsouth

I called them on that too, they said that they knew of the issue. My guess is that they were purposefully blocking the info

ACC2008

Taking a flight tonight from LIM to PTY and then to IAD. Got an email two days ago upgrading first flight and then yesterday upgrading 2nd flight. Looking forward to this treat. Returning on Sunday and hope to see upgrades as it looks like Biz class is completely empty. Thanks COPA!

YadiMolina

Scored upgrade PTY-ASU. We took off with 6/16 empty seats in J.

Service could be better (J FA hung out in aft galley for an hour or more), but hard to complain.