| Airline: | Copa Airlines Colombia |
| Iata: | P5 |
| Icao: | RPB |
| Callsign: | AEROREPUBLICA |
| Parent: | Copa Holdings |
| Founded: | |
| Commenced: | |
| Headquarters: | Bogotá, Colombia |
| Key People: | Eduardo Lombana (CEO) |
| Frequent Flyer: | ConnectMiles |
| Alliance: | Star Alliance (affiliate) |
| Destinations: | 6 |
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.
In 1992, during the economic liberalization policy of Colombian President César Gaviria, under the leadership of Alfonso Velandia and Amos Ginor, negotiations began to create AeroRepública, the first private airline to be created in Colombia in years. The airline started operations on 19 June 1993, with Boeing 727-100 aircraft painted with the yellow, blue and red colors of the flag of Colombia, initially flying to Colombian coastal cities, such as Santa Marta, Cartagena, and San Andrés from Bogotá.
In the first months of operations, AeroRepública added new domestic destinations such as Cali, Medellín, Barranquilla, Montería, and Leticia. It also launched international services to Aruba and Cuba. Meanwhile, the three 727-100s were replaced by second-hand McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 purchased from Continental Airlines and Alitalia.
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 Aerocivil for two weeks in May 1997, due to safety reasons. The airline's board of directors reversed the situation by restructuring its business processes, launching a new corporate image, acquiring a fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-80s, eliminating unprofitable routes, and adding the slogan "Live the Change" on advertisements.
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 Embraer 190 took off from Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport, in Medellín, for a demonstration flight, although current regulations do not allow that type of aircraft to operate from/to that airport. In addition, domestic routes were consolidated and international services to Quito, Caracas, Panama City, Mexico, and elsewhere were launched, and service to Miami, São Paulo and other cities was planned.[1] 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 Wingo, a new low-cost airline operating under Copa Airlines Colombia, which will serve domestic and international routes and replace the Copa Airlines Colombia brand, which had been losing money for several years, and had lost $29.7 million in the first half of 2016.[3] The new airline started operations on 1 December 2016, with a fleet of four Boeing 737-700s, each with a 142-seat all-Economy configuration.
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]
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.
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 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]