Copa is Your Passport to Fishing in Panama
One of the many things we’ve liked about our three – soon to be four – trips to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge is the ease of getting there. All three of the major US carriers fly there relatively inexpensively, and we’ve flown two of them. There are also several European airlines and a variety of others who can get you there. One huge advantage of flying into Tocumen is that it’s the hub for Copa. That likely puts downward pressure on pricing. If nothing else it contributes to a wealth of scheduled flights that can help you get into Panama City when you need to be there, and help you depart after you return from the island.
What US Cities Does Copa Serve?
We’ve already booked our round trip direct flights from Washington-Dulles to Panama City for our trip next May for $575 per person (Classic Economy). As I’ve noted before, they continued to expand their direct flights to the US. Here are the current list of US cities they serve:
Miami
Orlando
New York JFK
Los Angeles
Washington DC
Chicago ORD
Boston
San Francisco
Denver
Atlanta
Las Vegas
Fort Lauderdale
Tampa
Austin
Baltimore
Austin and Baltimore were the two most recent additions. The latter is of particular interest to us because while it’s not super-convenient, we do fly out of there occasionally and if the price/schedule is optimal it might give us a reason to go there instead of Dulles. They also fly directly to Toronto and Montreal.
What non-US Fishing Locations Can You Access With Copa?
All of Copa’s direct flights are within the America’s, which means that they can serve as a hub to many other fishing destinations in Central America and South America if you’re coming from the United States or Canada. Those include some of the places we go regularly, and others that are on our to-do list.
We use them to get from Panama City to David, Panama for our tuna trips, even if we didn’t fly Copa to/from the US.
They can get you to Mexico City if you’re looking to head to one of Mexico’s western bass lakes or billfish destinations.
They fly to Guatemala City if you’re looking to chase sailfish at Casa Vieja Lodge or to San Jose, Costa Rica If you want to take advantage of that country’s angling or ecotourism.
If you cannot get an American flight out of Miami to Manaus (Brazil) to chase peacocks and payara, Copa provides a route through PTY that doesn’t cost you time and is usually price-efficient.
Anglers heading to La Zona or Patagonia can transit Copa’s airports in Santiago (Chile) or Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Copa has flights from PTY to various cities in Colombia, which may prove exceptionally useful if that country figures out their current sportfishing mess.
Don’t Forget Copa’s Layover Program
While there may be numerous reasons to take other airlines to those fishing destinations listed above, Copa offers one that most/all of them do not: The Panama stopover program. In other words, if you’re headed to Manaus or Buenos Aires, you can include a stopover of 20 hours to 7 days in Panama without paying any additional money – so if you want to enjoy a few days of R&R in one of the coolest cities in Central America, or you want to add some tuna fishing onto your South American peacock bass adventures, there’s a cost-efficient way to do that.
Copa’s Baggage Policies
We’ve generally been pleased with Copa’s treatment of our baggage – no damage or delays so far – but we haven’t had to take rods or lures/hooks with us to Panama. If you need to transport tackle, their policies could be a dealbreaker for you.
“Fishing” is included in their “small sports equipment” category and this includes “two fishing rods, one reel, one landing net, one pair of waders, one tackle box.” It doesn’t say how they must be packed, but the checked luggage maximum weight and dimensions are 100 pounds and 115 linear inches. For some fare classes it may be 50 pounds. Charges will apply depending on your route, status, the fare class you’ve purchased, and possibly the mood and attitude of the gate agent on a particular day. Online I’ve seen multiple complaints about the airline regularly charging $150 for a rod tube of any size.
In their “Special Considerations” section they make clear that fishing reels are not allowed in carry-on baggage. Nothing is mentioned about carrying on travel rods.
What is COPA’s Frequent Flyer Program?
Copa’s frequent flyer program is called “ConnectMiles” and it’s easy to sign up. They are a member of the Star Alliance, so you can also earn awards on airlines including United if you go through certain fairly simple steps.
I’m not particularly well-versed in how to use their awards program, but here are some experts’ recent opinions:
21 Best Ways to Redeem Copa Airlines ConnectMiles for Maximum Value
Copa Airlines: The Complete Guide to ConnectMiles Frequent Flyer Program
There are also numerous credit cards that will provide Star Alliance miles, as well as specifically branded ConnectMiles cards, although the latter may be tied to citizenship in Central America. Look into these options as a means of helping you accumulate miles if you’ll be headed to Panama a lot.
Does COPA Offer Lounges?
Copa offers six “Copa Clubs” in the following locations:
Panama City, Terminal 1
Panama City, Terminal 2
Bogota, Colombia
Guatemala City, Guatemala
San Jose, Costa Rica
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Even though we were eligible to do so, we haven’t used either of their lounges at Tocumen in Panama City. We did use the Copa Club in Guatemala City in February of 2023 and found it to be underwhelming – minimal food or amenities, no bartender – and that is likely the reason it was effectively empty, which was a nice feature for us. We accessed it through our Priority Pass membership. You may be able to do so as the result of flying Business or First Class, thanks to your possession of certain credit cards, or by buying a day pass.
Here are others’ reviews of their lounges and related amenities:
The Bottom Line for Traveling Anglers
If you’re expecting Copa to be similar to Emirates or Qatar Air, with gourmet meals and pampering, it’s probably not going to be your jam. As one writer put it, “Copa is basically a cross between Continental Airlines (RIP) and Icelandair.” That shouldn’t be surprising because former 49% owner Continental was instrumental in developing their current operations. That said, we’ve been generally pleased with their professionalism and the quality of their fleet. The frills haven’t been there, but schedule and cost drive our choices more than anything else. Mostly, we really like Panama and they make it much easier (and sometimes cheaper) to get there than to some otherwise similarly-situated fishing destinations.
