COPA Airlines on February 25 announced the addition of three more destinations to its route: Villahermosa and Puebla, Mexico, and New Orleans, capital of Louisiana in the United States (US).
Copa announced the new destinations, which strengthen the “Hub of the Americas” position as the most efficient hub offering the best connectivity in Latin America, and outlined the airline’s 2014 achievements during an event in Panama.The airline will offer four flights per week to each of the three new destinations and will begin non-stop service to New Orleans on June 24, to Villahermosa on July 31, and to Puebla on Aug. 4. With this announcement, Copa will now be servicing 11 U.S. destinations and six in Mexico once the new flights begin. Officials at the airline noted that “It will grow 7% in 2015, and expects to transport approximately 12 million passengers for the year, an increase of more than 600,000 passengers over 2014.
“Our sustained growth in the last few years has allowed us to strengthen our leadership position in the Region and establish the “Hub of the Americas” as the most successful and efficient hub for travel to, from, and within Latin America,” said Copa’s Senior Vice-President of Finance, Jose Montero. “Copa Airlines connectivity has promoted business and contributed to increased commercial opportunities and investments in the countries where we operate,” he noted.
Copa’s growth initiatives will continue to have a positive impact on the local economy, Montero said, announcing a new alliance with the Panamanian Tourism Authority, “designed to continue positioning Panama as a great destination with everything to offer, to increase tourist traffic to the country, and to continue contributing to the development of commerce and tourism in Panama”
Between April and August 2015, the airline will promote Panama, with special emphasis on David and Rio Hato, Panama, in markets including the U.S., Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Canada and other countries in Latin America. The airline will utilise a variety of traditional and digital media communications platforms.
Montero further explained that with this new alliance, Copa is on track to continue its contributions to the aviation sector and to the economic and social development of the country, generating more than 43,000 direct and 137,000 indirect jobs and this is according to an International Air Transport Association (IATA) study, Economic Benefits of Air Transportation in Panama.
Jim Hetzel, Vice- President of Business Development for FlightStats, attended the event in Panama and presented Copa Airlines with FlightStats’ 2014 award for “most on-time airline in Latin America” for the airline’s 90.66 percent on-time performance rate.

“Copa Airlines owes this important recognition to our co-workers, especially our crews in the hangars, on the loading ramps, on our aircraft and in our operations centre, who work together day in and day out to achieve the levels of on-time performance for which our airline is recognised on the international level,” said Montero. “This recognition really belongs to them.”
The Governor of the state of Puebla, Rafael Moreno, and New Orleans City Councilman Jared Brossett, chair of the city’s Transportation and Airport Committee, also attended the event, as did members of the diplomatic corps from the U.S. and Mexico and high-ranking officials of the Panamanian Government.
Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia, subsidiaries of Copa Holdings, are leading Latin American providers of passengers and cargo services. The airline currently services 73 destinations in 30 countries in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. During Copa Airlines’ more than 65 years of uninterrupted operations, it has transformed the “Hub of the Americas” in Panama into the leading hub on the continent.