News

In the News from Panama

Copa Airlines Has Grown 400 Percent in 10 Years

Panama’s homegrown Copa Airlines has quadrupled its capacity since 2006, making it one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, according to data in a new analysis. The airline now serves 74 destinations, up from 33 a decade ago, with a fleet of more than 100 aircraft and more than 1,100 flights a week, according to the report by Airline Network News and Analysis (ANNA).

While anyone familiar with Panama’s growth is certainly aware of Copa’s expansion, the numbers are still staggering. Airline flights are often as a key early driver of investor activity, making Copa’s numbers well worth noting.

Since 2006, Copa’s seat capacity has grown from about 172,800 to more than 676,800. The biggest year of growth was 2011—post-global meltdown—when capacity grew by 26 percent, ANNA reports. In the last year seat capacity has grown by 4.1 percent.

Since the summer of 2015, Copa has added six destinations- Belize City, Chiclayo, Holguin, Rosario, San Francisco and Villahermosa–and dropped only two (Iquitos and Sao Paulo Viracopos), the report notes. The destination growth is linked to the Star Alliance of airlines, which means Copa is an easy connection to many of the biggest airlines around the world.

It’s also interesting to note the most popular destinations. San Jose was number one, followed by Havana, which saw a 16.8 percent increase in the last year. Bogota, Cancun and Lima round out the top five, followed by Miami.

The full report can be found here.