Date: April 1, 2008
From: Panama City, Panama (PTY)
To: Miami, FL (MIA)
Airline: Copa Airlines
Seat: 1A
Plane: 737-700

My flight to Miami was leaving at 9:57am so i woke up around 7am eager to start the day. After a quick shower and light breakfast, i was on my way to the airport at about 7:45am. I got to the airport just after 8pm and the Copa check-in counters were pretty empty.

As i was in business i went straight to the "Clase Ejecutiva" check-in line and the kind lady checked me in and gave me my boarding pass within 5 minutes. I have been flying Copa for many years so i immediately recognize a few of the check-in staff. Because Copa is growing they are hiring a lot of people, and in the past I have been checked in by new staff who had NO idea what they were doing!... Luckily, this day was very smooth and i took my boarding pass and went to clear security and immigration.

After immigration it was about 8:15am and i decided to head to Continental's Presidents Club to have some drinks and use the internet.





Here are some views of the terminal. This part is new and i think that the Airport authority did a good job of improving the passenger terminal.




The Presidents Club

The President's club gets pretty crowded in the mornings and evenings for the Copa rush of flights and today was no exception. However, i was there a bit early so it was kind of empty when i got there.









The food and beverage section is pretty good, but not as good as some other airlines in Europe and Asia. The morning selection included bagels, muffins, fruits, jams, cheeses, and juice.

I was not that hungry therefore i decided to just have some cranberry juice and surf the web.




My favorite seat and my favorite website.

At about 9:15 i decided to head to the gate for boarding. A couple of times i have missed my flight in PTY because i lost track of time in the Presidents club.


Boarding started just as i got to the gate and i was among the first to enter. This was taken from the jetway as i was boarding.


1A, my seat for the 3 hour flight to Miami.


Pretty decent leg room for a 737. As some people can tell, the interior is IDENTICAL to Continental Airlines. This is because CO owns a part of Copa.


View from my seat


As boarding continued i was offered some orange juice. As it was a morning flight there was no option of Champagne. Little did they know that i had a couple rounds of Champagne in the Presidents club!!

At this point in time the person next to me asked me if i could switch to 2F so his friend could sit next to him. I usually dont like being asked to move, especially if i have 1A (i like the bulkhead because there is no one in front of you to recline the chair), but i gave in and quietly agreed to move over.


As you can tell, i am now in 2F. This is a Continental flight pushing back headed to Newark.


As they were finishing up the boarding the flight attendant came and handed out the menus. I chose the Chicken.


We pushed back and taxied over to runway 03L for a quick takeoff.






Cargo section of the airport


Climbing out







20 minutes after take off the flight crew started the food and beverage service. I requested to start off with a mimosa with the nut selection.





My food. Chicken with carrots, mashed potatoes, and a "chimichurri" sauce. Accompanied with bread and salad. Overall the food was not bad, but not as good as a Continental BusinessFirst. Red wine and water was also included.



After the meal i was pretty bored and decided to walk around to stretch my legs and take some pics. I didnt watch the movie offered because it was some boring girl movie.



After some time we began the descent into Miami.






Making a 180 degree turn to intercept the runway.


Final approach


50...40...30...20...10...reach out reach out....




It was a quick ride to the terminal and there werent any spotting opportunities besides this Lan 767. Overall this was a great flight and a great example why Copa is a great airline, just like Continental.