Just a rant, but maybe it helps someone making the right decision...

I recently decided to do my Latin America flying with Copa instead of United due to better connections and competitive business class product and prices. That would be about 30 return trips per year. However, the third ever booked flight is giving me such a headache.

Booked a flight and the payment couldn't be processed. Weird, because the flight I booked an hour earlier went through just fine. OK, I am at PTY right now, so I just ask at the service desk. They cannot or do not want to help me. Tell me to call a number. Can't call because my phone doesn't work here. Nothing else they can do. Went to the Copa Club's service desk. Same thing, cannot help, call number. But they have phone cabins, so I call. Agent tells me that there has been a security issue and they need to validate my information. But phone agent cannot do this. Please write an email to this email address.

Not pleasant so far, but I get the "I'm not responsible" thing. So, email it is. They tell me they need a copy of my passport and the last credit card statement. I send passport copy and picture of cover sheet of cc statement. Not good enough, need entire pdf with all purchases. I tell them that I am not comfortable with sending such private information. They insist, but tell me that I can just show the statement to an agent at the service desk instead of sending it.

I go to service desk agent. She has no clue what to do. This has been really frustrating and I don't know what else to do. I am also quite pi**ed that I have to jump through those hoops just to make a reservation. At least someone could try to help. I have everything right here, passport, physical credit card etc.

A flight booking should take five minutes tops and I'm afraid that was it with Copa for me. If they want to make me giving them money super difficult, I'll just bring my money elsewhere. Weird experience and back to United where a flight booking takes me two minutes and works every time.

That's an interesting experience.

In 27 years flying CM every year, I've never had an issue booking a flight, either online, over the phone, or at the sales offices.

I tried out Copa earlier this year but it was an award ticket booked thru United. I understand your frustration and the requests seem excessive, however you mentioned this was the third booking and one had just been completed an hour earlier earlier. Makes me wonder if they have an algorithm that flags multiple charges in a certain period of time, thus necessitating a security review, Did you have other credit cards that you could use?

I also had a few United Award bookings before and got the impression that this is a very decent airline. That's what makes this experience so surprising for me.

I now have two pending charges on my credit card and they're not replying to my emails anymore in which I asked how to proceed, and told them in a rather frank way that this behavior is unacceptable . I guess I am on the black list now. Now I do not know what to do. I could just try with another credit card or just book with another airline, but what if they later decide to actually validate and confirm my reservation. This is such a mess. Nobody has a clue what is going on or what I should do to resolve this. Ugh.

From what you described above, it seemed they are unwilling to complete the booking until you have met all the conditions of the security review. If you can, I would suggest waiting a few day to see if the pending charge disappears. This is what I have experience in other situations when something is cancelled after being ordered, for example. The seller is quick to make a pending charge.

Anther problem seems to be that you are being directed to multiple people to try and resolve your situation and getting different answers or directions. Have you tried escalating to someone higher? People you have been interacting with may not be thoroughly trained in handling your situation.

I imagine you have looked at Copa's English version web site and seen the pages for Customer Service and Call Center. Down at the bottom of the main page there is a link to their customer commitment under the Legal section. Points 4 an5 5 may or may not be germane to your situation.

Waiting until the pending charges charges disappear is my measure of last resort. I don't want to wait because the trip planned is around Thanksgiving and flights are becoming more expensive or unavailable every day now. Plus, technically they can just charge me again if someone decides that the payment and booking is valid. May be unlikely though.

The customer commitment section may help. Thanks for the hint. I didn't see that before.

Only if this won't get resolved I will try to escalate higher. If this is resolved somehow I don't see the need or benefit of investing even more time to make anyone in the company aware of such mess. There is nothing they could do to make me book Copa again anyway.

Good luck!

Just an update: I sent a bank statement yesterday morning and 24 hours later they haven't replied at all. Called the hotline and asked what's up. The agent told me that they received the additional documentation and will decide with 24 hours whether they reactivate my credit card. I asked whether the agent could just cancel the booking and the agent casually told me that it is cancelled already and if my card is marked as valid again in the system I could book again and they would respect the prices I got at the time of booking. I asked him whether I could have in writing via email that the flight is cancelled and I would have to actively rebook it, but the agent refused to send an email. Since I am at a point where I cannot just believe the information that I am getting, I have to wait more.

So, flights are cancelled and nobody told me that. Phone agents cannot do anything. No reaction to my email for two days is ok for them. No reliable information can be documented via email.

I hope I am getting out of this mess soon. At this point I am looking forward to be able to book the flights with Avianca instead, and that's saying something.

Any update?

Sorry, missed this.

No update. They never replied to any of the emails that I have sent with new information and documentation. Just silence. Really bizarre.

I will fly my last paid trip with Copa in February and will never book with them again. I may fly Copa whenever convenient as part of a trip booked with other airlines, mostly United where I have my highest status.