Thought this deserved its own thread. Copa will be using the B/E Aerospace Diamond seats for its 737 MAX fleet, starting with a MAX 9. These are the same seats used by airlines like PAL, AA, UA, DL, KLM and many more. Copa will launch these seats (and the MAX) on some of its longest routes, such as SFO and LAX

Now we have two 737 MAX Airlines with lie flats. Copa kept 2 x 2 configuration


https://www.ausbt.com.au/copa-launches- ... 7-max-jets

Fly Dubai chose a different configuration than Copa

https://www.businesstraveller.com/tried ... ess-class/

I think COPA's new seats are fine for 6/7 hour flights. They don't need flatbeds such as FlyDubai's.
By the way, COPA optimise their aircraft utilisation combining their further destinations with their closest ones, so probably we will also see these planes flying to places such as BOG, MIA, CUN, HAV, etc.

OTOH their regular economy class was "upgraded" to Economy Extra with 24 seats and the "Main Cabin", AKA economy class was dowgraded, as it loses the PTV and get a tablet holder for entertainment.

winGl3t wrote:

OTOH their regular economy class was "updated" to Economy Extra with 24 seats and the "Main Cabin", AKA economy class was dowgraded, as it loses the PTV and get a tablet holder for entertainment.

No, as the Economy extra gets 34 inches of legroom vs 31 of the current Economy. Also, the PTV was only available in half of the B737-800 those with 154 seats, used for long haul, as the version with 160 did not have PTV. Now they will offer streaming (but still waiting for full internet connection) and still 31 inches of legroom.

Newbiepilot wrote:

Now we have two 737 MAX Airlines with lie flats. Copa kept 2 x 2 configuration


https://www.ausbt.com.au/copa-launches- ... 7-max-jets

Fly Dubai chose a different configuration than Copa

https://www.businesstraveller.com/tried ... ess-class/

Looking forward to using a United upgrade voucher if they fly this bird from Mendoza!

Not a very wide seat...probably only a few inches wider than a coach seat. That center console takes up a lot of room!

Very nice looking plane. I'm a big Airbus fan, but there isn't an A321 product that matches the first class and economy plus seating of the 737, the way Copa has it outfitted. Great job, Copa.

I like the livery. I am just curious as to why the engines are a darker blue and do not match the fuselage?

jmmadrid wrote:

I think COPA's new seats are fine for 6/7 hour flights. They don't need flatbeds such as FlyDubai's.

The new Copa seats are flat beds...

FriscoHeavy wrote:

Very nice looking plane. I'm a big Airbus fan, but there isn't an A321 product that matches the first class and economy plus seating of the 737, the way Copa has it outfitted. Great job, Copa.

I'm a Boeing 'guy'. But I think Jetblue's 321 mint is right there with it.

Varsity1 wrote:

FriscoHeavy wrote:

Very nice looking plane. I'm a big Airbus fan, but there isn't an A321 product that matches the first class and economy plus seating of the 737, the way Copa has it outfitted. Great job, Copa.

I'm a Boeing 'guy'. But I think Jetblue's 321 mint is right there with it.

You are right. I agree with you. But the 737 has the ability, as shown here, to compete every bit as effectively on the comfort front as the related Airbus product, is my point. I wasn't very articulate in my original post on the matter.

It's about how the plane is configured, not the marginally wider fuselage that can't be discerned by 99% of people. In addition, the overhead bins and storage on Boeing has always been superior and more 'airy' feeling than that of Airbus; that's across all Airbus planes.

FriscoHeavy wrote:

Very nice looking plane. I'm a big Airbus fan, but there isn't an A321 product that matches the first class and economy plus seating of the 737, the way Copa has it outfitted. Great job, Copa.

AA's A321T in First would beat it hands down. Qatar and BA both have narrow body Airbuses with similar / better business class seating. And of course JetBlue's mint product which has already been mentioned.

Looks almost identical to what DL has been using in Delta One on their 757s for several years now:



https://thepointsguy.com/2017/08/delta- ... ht-review/

It would be nice if lie-flat seating continues to creep into the Domestic First Class cabins of single-aisle commercial jets. I think airlines will discover that on longer Domestic and shorter International flights, there is a base of premium cabin customers who are willing to pay more for a nicer experience.

Congrats Copa! What a great new airplane and what a great new strategy with those 3 different classes. The new economy standard seat with no PTV is perfect for people like me that only uses the cellphone to watch netflix.

hiflyeras wrote:

Not a very wide seat...probably only a few inches wider than a coach seat. That center console takes up a lot of room!

It looks like they're going to use one hell of a narrow aisle to keep the seat at about 21 inches, which is in line with a lot of airlines J offerings. It could be just a mirage, but that aisle looks like anyone over 30lbs would have to walk sideways or jump over the seats.

Newbiepilot wrote:

Fly Dubai chose a different configuration than Copa

Geez, what a waste of space isn't it?
Is Fly Dubai wealthy enough to get rid of a seat this way?

ojjunior wrote:

Newbiepilot wrote:

Fly Dubai chose a different configuration than Copa

Geez, what a waste of space isn't it?
Is Fly Dubai wealthy enough to get rid of a seat this way?

It is the same alternate 2-1 configuration BA inherited on the ex-BMI A321s. The ‘throne’ single seats are great for a solo traveller with a ridiculous amount of personal space, but the seat in front is close. I think, on balance, it is swings and roundabouts - each configuration type has its plusses and minuses.

vhtje wrote:

ojjunior wrote:

Newbiepilot wrote:

Fly Dubai chose a different configuration than Copa

Geez, what a waste of space isn't it?
Is Fly Dubai wealthy enough to get rid of a seat this way?

It is the same alternate 2-1 configuration BA inherited on the ex-BMI A321s. The ‘throne’ single seats are great for a solo traveller with a ridiculous amount of personal space, but the seat in front is close. I think, on balance, it is swings and roundabouts - each configuration type has its plusses and minuses.

The throne seats are awesome, based on great experiences in the jetBlue Mint seats! Good to see flydubai offering this configuration as well.

horizon360 wrote:

FriscoHeavy wrote:

Very nice looking plane. I'm a big Airbus fan, but there isn't an A321 product that matches the first class and economy plus seating of the 737, the way Copa has it outfitted. Great job, Copa.

AA's A321T in First would beat it hands down. Qatar and BA both have narrow body Airbuses with similar / better business class seating. And of course JetBlue's mint product which has already been mentioned.

AA's 321T First Class is FIRST CLASS. This is Business Class. It is comparable to what United offers, what Delta One offers, and AA's 321T Business Class. But AA's First Class is a higher class of service, and is not comparable.

LatinAirliner wrote:

Congrats Copa! What a great new airplane and what a great new strategy with those 3 different classes. The new economy standard seat with no PTV is perfect for people like me that only uses the cellphone to watch netflix.

Personally I don’t understand why they’d go to the expense and trouble to put AVOD in extra legroom Y but not Y. There are cases where J cabin has seat back monitors but Y doesn’t (UA 77A used on transcons, Hawaii and hub-hub) but this seems shortsighted and tacky to me.

Particularly since it’s only fairly recently Copa even added AVOD on their newer Sky Interior 738s (circa 2014)

They look identical to the AA/UA/DL transcon J offering - what's with the shoulder seatbelts?

Great news. I think Copa needed these upgrades long ago and its customers deserved them too.

Copa uses its 737s on very long routes, nothing new here. The airline has a huge Brazilian customer base and flies many 6-7 hours flights from Panama to Brazil (and other South American countries for that matter), many of which are overnight or with odd departing hours before dawn.

Their premium customers will definitely be happy about these changes; I know for a fact many who used to be loyal Copa customers because of the airlines overall reliability and easiness of connections in PTY but have changed to LATAM or Avianca which offer better onboard product in their wide-bodies on routes within the Americas. Now Copa is upping its game and can better compete head to head.

Now it's time for a new Copa Club. The opening of the new terminal in PTY can't come soon enough. The current lounge in Panama is below standards.

Southamerica wrote:

Great news. I think Copa needed these upgrades long ago and its customers deserved them too.

Copa uses its 737s on very long routes, nothing new here. The airline has a huge Brazilian customer base and flies many 6-7 hours flights from Panama to Brazil (and other South American countries for that matter), many of which are overnight or with odd departing hours before dawn.

Their premium customers will definitely be happy about these changes; I know for a fact many who used to be loyal Copa customers because of the airlines overall reliability and easiness of connections in PTY but have changed to LATAM or Avianca which offer better onboard product in their wide-bodies on routes within the Americas. Now Copa is upping its game and can better compete head to head.

Now it's time for a new Copa Club. The opening of the new terminal in PTY can't come soon enough. The current lounge in Panama is below standards.

Speaking for the pax O/D USA via PTY, I am pretty sure that any of these "loyal" passengers will not think twice about using AA, DL, UA, AV, JJ or any other airlines that offers direct services to/from US-South America (Which is the vast majority of people traveling through PTY) if the price of this "upgrade" becomes greater than a direct ticket with another airline.
COPA did something useful and welcome, but do not expect any queues at their call center for reservations of these seats for most of the leisure travelers.

His name was Rico
He wore a diamond
He was escorted to his chair, he saw Lola dancing there

superjeff wrote:

horizon360 wrote:

FriscoHeavy wrote:

Very nice looking plane. I'm a big Airbus fan, but there isn't an A321 product that matches the first class and economy plus seating of the 737, the way Copa has it outfitted. Great job, Copa.

AA's A321T in First would beat it hands down. Qatar and BA both have narrow body Airbuses with similar / better business class seating. And of course JetBlue's mint product which has already been mentioned.

AA's 321T First Class is FIRST CLASS. This is Business Class. It is comparable to what United offers, what Delta One offers, and AA's 321T Business Class. But AA's First Class is a higher class of service, and is not comparable.

I have to agree. AA’s configuration on the 321T is top-notch.

superjeff wrote:

AA's 321T First Class is FIRST CLASS. This is Business Class. It is comparable to what United offers, what Delta One offers, and AA's 321T Business Class. But AA's First Class is a higher class of service, and is not comparable.

If you read carefully the original post by FriscoHeavy, he was making a claim that there wasn't an A321 product ANYWHERE irrespective of class that matches the seating Copa uses on their 737.

FriscoHeavy wrote:

I'm a big Airbus fan, but there isn't an A321 product that matches the first class and economy plus seating of the 737, the way Copa has it outfitted

I was disputing his statement by saying there IS a better product out there.