Found a pretty good deal on Copa to MDE, and the ticket is in Business class.. I for one hate flying Economy on some of the more lengthy flights, so this is a must for me..

I wanted to just get a few opinions about what some thought of their experiences with Copa Business class.

Thanks in advance!
J666

I got bumped up to Business on a full fight once. It's really just a larger seat up front. Coach on Copa is just fine and much better than most US airlines. I could never imagine paying extra for the Business seat since the difference was so little IMO. Also, Business on the PTY-MDE legs would be meaningless.

Copa's business class seats are more or less the same as US domestic first class. It's decent enough but not the same as what you normally think of as international business class. Think domestic first class on a Continental 737. It's like that.

Business class on a 3 hr flight for ME? I hope your coming from the west coast or better yet another country...

Although business class may make more sense on longer trips there are a number of advantages (or potential advantages) that one gets from business class on shorter trips, in addition to a better seat, free drinks, etc.:

(1) better luggage allowances
(2) shorter check-in lines
(3) use of the airline lounge
(4) get off the plane quicker and through immigration before the rest of the plane forms a long line, sometimes saving 20 or 30 minutes.
(5) at some airports getting through security more quickly
(6) at a very limited number of airports, getting a special expedited immigration line.

The benefits of flying business class are generally more than getting a better seat, and some of these benefits are equally helpful irrespective of whether your flight is a long or short one.

Always keep in mind that the short, 1-2 hour "why bother with an upgrade?" flight can turn into a lot more "ass in seat" hours than that. Boarding a half hour before scheduled departure, then maybe a ground stop, then maybe sitting on the tarmac for who knows how long, then maybe circling over your destination for who knows how long waiting to land. I once had a 1-hour short flight from Logan to National turn into a total of 6 hours on the plane. So, unless it's a lot of dough or a ton of miles, never give up a chance to upgrade unless you know for sure that the plane is half empty, the weather is nice all the way and there's not a lot of ground traffic at the airports.

Flying from Seattle on Continental.. but ..There are multiple stops with Copa in CanCun,SJO,PTY..THEN MDE so wanted to make sure Im comfortable.. but if it sucks, the other business class seats on AA is only like $300+

I typically don't fly coach, but have never flown with copa..Definitely not life or death, but all good points

J666,
your equipment from SEA to IAH will either be a 757 or a 737, depending on the time of day you depart. The 757 is more comfortable, however, if you are in business first you're fine either way. If coach, the 757 is your best bet. The Copa aircraft is also a 737, and since you will be in business first you will be fine, regardless. The 737's don't have a large FC/BC, but nevertheless, it's always better than any other class of service with a better seat and fewer passengers to contend with. Have a super trip.
CFK

Well, you're making a major mistake in taking that kind of routing. Way, way too many stops in there, you'll be flying all day and with that many airports to go through, your chances of having a screw up somewhere increase exponentially.

4 stops (I assume Continental is Seattle-Houston, unless you're going through Guam and Saipan, which you may be) is never a good idea. Why would you ever book a routing like that? Then you ask about paying for business. Here's a plan - fly Alaskan Airlines (under an AA codeshare) non-stop to Miami, then AA non-stop from Miami to Medellin. Or, Delta non-stop to JFK, then Avianca (under a Delta codeshare) non-stop from JFK to Medellin. Or, Seattle-Houston-Panama City-Medellin on Continental and Copa, with just the 3rd segment on Copa.

Seattle-Houston-Panama City-Medellin via Continental & Copa would definitely be the preferred route IF the connections work and the pricing [or miles] are within a reasonable difference from the earlier routing you listed.

CO does not offer routing thru Guam or Saipan.[That would be going backwards!]

(Message edited by copperfieldkid on November 08, 2010)

Hey, going via Guam and Saipan, with an extra stop at Tinian, is probably faster than bouncing around between Cancun, San Jose and Panama City.

Catocony,

Wow...way to chop a guy at the knees and make em question his whole life....geez...pretty rough bro..(kidding)

So my logic in this is...by choosing this route I would be saving $400+/- just to make two extra stops. Granted, I do open myself for flight delays, missed connections, the stuartist and I not being able to get our clothes back on fast enough..(.Y.)..etc etc

But for me, if Copa offers decent business class and Im snug in a blanket in a cushy seat with unlimited booze...the two extra stops are ok with me. Plus I was thinking any money I can save on the flight could be spent on more important things...like buying Jonesie a decent camera..

Another reason I was asking is because I have made mistakes in the past buy using miles/cash to upgrade on other carriers and have been really dissapointed.

CFK- You seem to have a firm grasp on the equipment, I take it you've flown before ;)
Thanks for the info
The hub will be houston..

Not familiar with your last suggested route Cat...

Cat's route is the "end-of-the-year-need-to-qualify-for-elite-status-next-year-and-desperate-for-miles route." But why not go full-hog and book a round-the-world-fare trip to get from Seattle to ME?

The point is, you're trading $400 for what will be at least an extra six hours - minimum - of travel time, plus throwing in the uncertainties. Not a smart trade-off.

Personally, I would fly Copa via LAX. They have a morning and a red eye flight to PTY (I did not know that they had added a second flight). At least the business seat cost might be more justified on the red eye. Connections will be available for PTY-MDE.

All good points thanks gents!
Ticket Status: Booked!!

J666

I did the PTY to LAX flight a few years ago, it is a LONG haul on a 737. Sometimes they have to put into TIJ because they are running short on fuel. I just wish they did a TIJ/PTY/MDE run.

I would rather fly out of Tijuana any day than to have to deal with LAX.

Were you in Coach RG?

So, you asked for advice, got advice that was mostly the opposite of what you wanted to hear, then you went ahead and booked what you initially planned to book anyways?

Back before Continental left Skyteam, for only 20,000 frequent flyer miles you could fly for free on Aeromexico from Tijuana to Mexico City where you connect to Copa MEX-PTY and then on to anywhere Copa flies in Northern South America. A pretty good deal when a CO Platinum was earning 34,000 miles on a single paid trip to Asia.

Continental being in Star Alliance is great for Asia but sucks for the So Cal to Colombia crowd.

Yes it was a coach seat. International flights on a narrow body aircraft are doable but are not fun or luxurious.

To give you a time figure a flight from Tijuana to Mexico City is about 3.5 hours, now would you want to sit in that 737 coach seat for at least twice that long? The only nice part was that it was a red eye flight, don't expect the sort of attention you get from the cabin crew on an Asian international flight either.

Cat,

So Im going through my 2 posts and I cant find where I asked about what route I should take. I mainly just wanted to know about the quality of Copa bc/fc.
And..
Typically when you have a "deal" its take it or leave it..Thats why I found it funny that everyone was giving me their prefered route as if I could call and say "you know I don't really like this route at this price, lets go ahead and cut out some of the stops ok" ;).. So while I appreciated the advice, it was kind of out of my hands if I wanted to keep the deal..

I also added it up and it would only be an extra 4 hrs, but Im gonna be there for over a month so 4 hrs although, might seem a lot, doesn't really matter to me too much..


J666