Copa Airlines Colombia
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| Founded | November 23, 1992 (as Aero República) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | October 6, 2010 | ||||||
Parent company | Copa Holdings | ||||||
| Headquarters | Bogotá, Colombia | ||||||
| Key people | Eduardo Lombana (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Copa Airlines Colombia is a commercial passenger airline founded and registered under the corporate name of AeroRepública S.A. in November 1992, and is the second airline in Colombia for international passengers carried after Avianca and the third in total traffic. It covers national and international destinations from the El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá and from the main cities of Colombia. As of October 5, 2010, the airline used the trade name of Copa Airlines Colombia.
Today AeroRepublica S.A flights using the Copa Airlines brand Copa Holdings in some destinations and also the Wingo brand in others.
History
Founding
In 1992, during the
In the first months of operations, AeroRepública added new domestic destinations such as
Operational mishaps and restructuring (1993–2005)
During the first years of operations, AeroRepública's reputation became tarnished due to constant mechanical problems with its ageing fleet, low punctuality, and mismanagement. Furthermore, the airline was grounded by Colombia's
Acquisition by Copa Airlines and expansion (2005–present)
In 2005, Panama's flag carrier, Copa Airlines, wanted to enter the Colombian market. After negotiating for several companies, including entering the auction for bankrupt Avianca, Copa acquired 90% of AeroRepública. With this acquisition, AeroRepública was completely transformed. The former president of the airline's board, Alfonso Avila Velandia, resigned and was succeeded by Roberto Junguito. AeroRepública adopted a corporate image similar to Copa's and Continental's (now United) and began the retirement of the MD-80 fleet, in favor of the more efficient Embraer 190 and Boeing 737-700 aircraft.
In early 2007, an AeroRepública
In 2010, Copa Holdings changed the airline's name from AeroRepública to Copa Airlines Colombia, thus unifying the brand.[2]
On 20 October 2016, Copa Holdings announced the creation of
Since March 2020, Copa Airlines Colombia no longer has its own fleet. Its flights are currently operated with the Copa Airlines fleet through fleet exchange agreements.[4]
Fleet
Copa Airlines Colombia, as of March 2020, no longer has dedicated planes for its operations. Instead, aircraft is sourced from parent carrier Copa Airlines with aircraft rotated in and out of Colombia.
Former fleet
Copa Airlines Colombia previously operated the following aircraft:[5]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Boeing 727-100
|
3 | 1993 | 1998 | |
| Boeing 737-700 | 4 | 2010 | 2020 | |
Embraer 190
|
5 | 2008 | 2019 | |
Embraer 190LR
|
12 | 2006 | 2019 | |
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30
|
10 | 1994 | 2006 | |
McDonnell Douglas MD-81
|
5 | 2001 | 2007 | |
McDonnell Douglas MD-82
|
3 | 2005 | 2009 | |
McDonnell Douglas MD-83
|
4 | 2004 | 2010 | |
| Total | 46 | |||
ConnectMiles
ConnectMiles is Copa Airlines Colombia's frequent-flyer program, through a partnership with Copa Airlines. Customers accumulate miles from flight segments flown on Copa Airlines Colombia, Copa Airlines, and other Star Alliance member airlines. Benefits of Premier status include priority check-in, priority boarding, complimentary upgrades, and discounted airport lounge memberships (United Club/Copa Club). Due to the Continental-United merger, Copa Airlines Colombia phased out the OnePass frequent flyer program on 31 December 2011, and adopted the MileagePlus program on 3 March 2012.[6]
In March 2015, Copa Airlines announced that it would phase out the MileagePlus program in favor of ConnectMiles. The new program was fully implemented on 1 July 2015.[7][8]
Accidents and incidents
- On 4 December 2002, a Aerocivil and Boeing.
- On 8 January 2005, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (registration VP-BGI) overran the runway at Cali's Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport, and the landing gear was torn off. There were no fatalities among the 6 crew and 164 passengers. The aircraft was written off.[9]
- On 17 July 2007, an Embraer 190LR (registration HK-4455) operating as Flight 7330, overshot the runway at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Santa Marta, went down an embankment and came to rest with its nose in the ocean. There were no fatalities. Due to the extensive damage, the aircraft was written off Making it the first hull loss of any Embraer E-Jet family aircraft.[10]
- On 2 November 2007, an Embraer 190, which covered the Pereira-Bogotá route, had to return to the Matecaña International Airportwhen smoke spread through the fuselage, 15 passengers panicked and it was explained that in less than 10 minutes after the plane took off this accident occurred, fortunately no one was seriously injured. The pilots said this had occurred due to a failure in the aircraft's air conditioning system.
See also
References
- ^
"Aero Republica to launch Mexico and Cuba services". Retrieved 2010-08-16.
Aero Republica
- ^ "Aero Republica becomes Copa Airlines Colombia". 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
- flightglobal. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- ^ "Copa Airlines dice que podría no tener suficiente liquidez para sobrevivir crisis y volver a volar". Reuters. 2020-04-27. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
- ^ "Copa Airlines Colombia Fleet Details and History". Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "Member preview of 2012 MileagePlus program". Archived from the original on 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
- ^ "Introduction". Copa Airlines. Archived from the original on January 27, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
- ^ "Introduction". Copa Airlines. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
- ^ Flight International July 2005
- Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 17 November 2016.
External links
- Copa Airlines Colombia official website (in Spanish and English)
 Airlines of Colombia | |
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| Scheduled |
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| Low cost |
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| Charter | |
| Cargo | |
| Helicopter | |
| Defunct | |