Copa Airlines Colombia is a commercial passenger
airline
An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...
founded and registered under the corporate name of AeroRepública S.A. in November 1992, and is the second airline in
Colombia for international passengers carried after
Avianca
Avianca S.A. ( acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered und ...
and the third in total traffic. It covers national and international destinations from the
El Dorado International Airport
El Dorado International Airport is an international airport serving Bogotá, Colombia and its surrounding areas. The airport is located mostly in the Fontibón district of Bogotá, although it partially extends into the Engativá district and ...
in
Bogotá and from the main cities of
Colombia. As of October 5, 2010, the airline used the trade name of Copa Airlines Colombia.
The national operations of Copa Airlines Colombia were replaced by a new low-cost airline subsidized by its parent company
Copa Holdings known as
Wingo, in December 2016.
History
Founding
In 1992, during the economic liberalization policy of Colombian President
César Gaviria
César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo ( ; born 31 March 1947) is a Colombian economist and politician who served as the President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 to 2004 and National Di ...
, under the leadership of Alfonso Velandia and Amos Ginor, negotiations began to create AeroRepública, the first private airline to be created in
Colombia in years. The airline started operations on 19 June 1993, with
Boeing 727-100 aircraft painted with the yellow, blue and red colors of the flag of Colombia, initially flying to Colombian coastal cities, such as
Santa Marta,
Cartagena, and
San Andrés from
Bogotá.
In the first months of operations, AeroRepública added new domestic destinations such as
Cali,
Medellín,
Barranquilla,
Montería
Montería () is a municipality and city located in northern Colombia and is the capital of the Department of Córdoba. The city is located away from the Caribbean sea, by the Sinú River. The city and region are known for their distinct cultur ...
, and
Leticia. It also launched international services to
Aruba and
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. Meanwhile, the three 727-100s were replaced by second-hand
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 purchased from
Continental Airlines and
Alitalia
Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. The ai ...
.
Operational mishaps and restructuring (1993–2005)
During the first years of operations, AeroRepública's reputation became tarnished due to constant mechanical problems with its ageing fleet, low punctuality, and mismanagement. Furthermore, the airline was grounded by Colombia's
Aerocivil
The Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia ( es, Unidad Administrativa Especial de Aeronáutica Civil, also known as ''Aeronáutica Civil'', ''Aerocivil'' or UAEAC) is a government agency of the Colombian Ministry of Transport. It is the agency in c ...
for two weeks in May 1997 due to safety reasons. The airline's board of directors reversed the situation by restructuring its business processes, launching a new corporate image, acquiring a fleet of
McDonnell Douglas MD-80s, eliminating unprofitable routes, and adding the slogan "Live the Change" on advertisements.
Acquisition by Copa Airlines and expansion (2005–present)
In 2005, Panama's flag carrier,
Copa Airlines
Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., (commonly referred to as Copa and branded simply as "Copa Airlines") is the flag carrier of Panama. It is headquartered in Panama City, Panama, with its main hub at Tocumen International Airport. Copa i ...
, wanted to enter the Colombian market. After negotiating for several companies, including entering the auction for bankrupt
Avianca
Avianca S.A. ( acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered und ...
, Copa acquired 90% of AeroRepública. With this acquisition, AeroRepública was completely transformed. The former president of the airline's board, Alfonso Avila Velandia, resigned and was succeeded by Roberto Junguito. AeroRepública adopted a corporate image similar to Copa's and Continental's (now United) and began the retirement of the MD-80 fleet, in favor of the more efficient Embraer 190 and Boeing 737-700 aircraft.
In early 2007, an AeroRepública
Embraer 190
The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer.
The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding ...
took off from
Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport
Olaya Herrera Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Olaya Herrera) is an airport located in Medellín, Colombia, that serves regional and domestic flights. Additionally, the airport is used by general aviation and features several hangars for charters.
To ...
, in Medellín, for a demonstration flight, although current regulations do not allow that type of aircraft to operate from/to that airport. In addition, domestic routes were consolidated and international services to
Quito,
Caracas,
Panama City
Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, and elsewhere were launched, and service to
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
,
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
and other cities was planned.
In 2010, Copa Holdings changed the airline's name from AeroRepública to Copa Airlines Colombia, thus unifying the brand.
On 20 October 2016, Copa Holdings announced the creation of
Wingo, a new low-cost airline operating under Copa Airlines Colombia, which will serve domestic and international routes and replace the Copa Airlines Colombia brand, which had been losing money for several years, and had lost $29.7 million in the first half of 2016.
The new airline started operations on 1 December 2016, with a fleet of four
Boeing 737-700s, each with a 142-seat all-Economy configuration.
Since March 2020, Copa Airlines Colombia no longer has its own fleet. Its flights are currently operated with the Copa Airlines fleet through fleet exchange agreements.
Destinations
In October 2016, Copa Holdings announced that Copa Airlines Colombia would gradually activate some of its domestic routes through Wingo, its new subsidiary of low-cost flights. Initially only flights to
Cartagena and
San Andres Island were offered, but it was expected that Wingo would incrementally add national routes, even supplying domestic destinations that Copa Airlines Colombia has recently cancelled.
Copa Airlines Colombia currently flies to 17 destinations in 9 countries in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
Codeshare agreements
Copa Airlines Colombia has
codeshare
A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
agreements with the following airlines:
*
Aeroméxico
Aerovías de México, S.A. de C.V. () operating as Aeroméxico (; stylized as AM), is the flag carrier airline of Mexico, based in Mexico City. It operates scheduled services to more than 90 destinations in Mexico; North, South and Central Ame ...
*
Cubana de Aviación
Cubana de Aviación S.A., commonly known as Cubana, is Cuba's flag carrier, as well as the country's largest airline. It was founded in , becoming one of the earliest airlines to emerge in Latin America. It has its corporate headquarters in Ha ...
*
Gol Transportes Aéreos
Gol may refer to:
Places
*
* Gol, Gilan, a village in Gilan Province, Iran
* Gol, South Khorasan, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran
* Gol, Bukan, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Gol, Chaldoran, a village in West Azerbaijan ...
*
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
Fleet
Copa Airlines Colombia, as of March 2020, no longer has dedicated planes for its operations. Instead, aircraft is sourced from parent carrier
Copa Airlines
Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., (commonly referred to as Copa and branded simply as "Copa Airlines") is the flag carrier of Panama. It is headquartered in Panama City, Panama, with its main hub at Tocumen International Airport. Copa i ...
with aircraft rotated in and out of Colombia.
Former fleet
Copa Airlines Colombia previously operated the following aircraft:
ConnectMiles
''ConnectMiles'' is Copa Airlines Colombia's frequent-flyer program, through a partnership with
Copa Airlines
Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., (commonly referred to as Copa and branded simply as "Copa Airlines") is the flag carrier of Panama. It is headquartered in Panama City, Panama, with its main hub at Tocumen International Airport. Copa i ...
. Customers accumulate miles from flight segments flown on Copa Airlines Colombia, Copa Airlines, and other Star Alliance member airlines. Benefits of Premier status include priority check-in, priority boarding, complimentary upgrades, and discounted airport lounge memberships (United Club/Copa Club). Due to the Continental-United merger, Copa Airlines Colombia phased out the OnePass frequent flyer program on 31 December 2011, and adopted the MileagePlus program on 3 March 2012.
In March 2015, Copa Airlines announced that it would phase out the MileagePlus program in favor of ConnectMiles. The new program was fully implemented on 1 July 2015.
Accidents and incidents
*On 4 December 2002, a
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
After ...
(registration HK-4230X) had an incident while taking off from Bogotá due to the pilots raising the nose of the plane excessively, causing the tail to hit. Upon arriving in Barranquilla, the maintenance personnel examined the magnitude of the damage, and upon returning to Bogotá, the plane was seen in total loss by
Aerocivil
The Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia ( es, Unidad Administrativa Especial de Aeronáutica Civil, also known as ''Aeronáutica Civil'', ''Aerocivil'' or UAEAC) is a government agency of the Colombian Ministry of Transport. It is the agency in c ...
and
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...
.
*On 8 January 2005, a
McDonnell Douglas MD-83
The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...
(registration VP-BGI) overran the runway at
Cali's
Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport
Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport , formerly known as Palmaseca International Airport, is an international airport located between Palmira and Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia. It is Colombia's fourth-busies ...
, and the landing gear was torn off. There were no fatalities among the 6 crew and 164 passengers. The aircraft was written off.
*On 17 July 2007, an
Embraer 190LR (registration HK-4455) operating as Flight 7330, overshot the runway at
Simón Bolívar International Airport in Santa Marta, went down an embankment and came to rest with its nose in the ocean. There were no fatalities. Due to the extensive damage, the aircraft was written off Making it the first hull loss of any
Embraer E-Jet family aircraft.
*On 2 November 2007, a
Embraer 190
The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer.
The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding ...
, which covered the Pereira-Bogotá route, had to return to the
Matecaña International Airport
Matecaña International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional de Matecaña, ) is an international airport serving the city of Pereira, Colombia. It also serves as an alternate airport for the cities of Armenia, Cartago, Manizales, ...
when smoke spread through the fuselage, 15 passengers panicked and it was explained that in less than 10 minutes after the plane took off this accident occurred, fortunately no one was seriously injured. The pilots said this had occurred due to a failure in the aircraft's air conditioning system.
See also
*
List of airlines of Colombia
This is a list of airlines which have an air operator's certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia.
See also
*List of defunct airlines of Colombia
*List of airlines
References
{{Americas topic, List of airlines of
...
References
External links
Copa Airlines Colombia official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Copa Airlines Colombia
Airlines established in 1992
Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association
Copa Airlines
Transport in Bogotá