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COSTA RICA |
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Copa
Ready To Compete With Taca-Avianca Alliance
Copa Airlines, based in Panama, is seeing
the TACA-Avianca alliance as a challenge.
Pedro Heilborn, presidnet of Copa, said the
company is analyzing the the creation of the
holding company between El Salvador's TACA
and Colombia's Avianca with the objective of
making the necessary investment to stay
competitive.
"We are confident that Panama, by wya of the
Tocumen international airport (PTY), will
have all the conditions to remain a leader
in the region, even though these two
airlines (TACA and Avianca (have united",
Heilborn told PA-Digital.
However, Heilborn accepted that this is
going to require effort, investment and
vision for the future on the part of
airline, which according to its president
has a reduction in passengers only during
May and June of this year and that the
airline is showing an increase, although
slower than compared to 2008.
Following the announcement by TACA and
Avianca, Copa sharpened its pencil and cut
its prices on many flights.
Copa and TACA have been in fierce
competition for passengers in Central
America.
Copa and its affiliate Aero República fly a
fleet of 51 airplanes and 54 destinations
throughout the Americas and the Caribbean.
From its base at the Tocumen, Copa operates
one of the most efficient hubs in Latin
America.
Copa Airlines, based in Panama City, is the
national flag carrier airline of Panama,
established as Compañía Panameña de Aviación
(hence the acronym COPA) on June 21, 1944
and started operations on August 15, 1947,
founded by a group of prominent Panamanian
investors with assistance from Pan American,
which took a 32% stake.
In 1998, Continental Airlines acquired 49%
of the airline, increasing its stake to 51%
in 1999. Since then, it has adopted a livery
and a corporate logo which are similar to
those of Continental in order to represent
their alliance, and participates in the
OnePass frequent flyer program. However, in
connection with the initial public offering
in December 2005, Continental reduced its
investment from 49% to approximately 27.3%
and through a follow-on offering in 2006,
Continental further reduced its investment
to approximately 10.0%.
Copa aquired Colombian domestic carrier
AeroRepública, the secodn largest carrier in
Colombia, in 2005.
Continental is Copa's main partner, both
announcing that they are leaving the SkyTeam
program on October 24, 2009
The TACA-Avianca agreement will make it the
largest regional airline with a fleet of 129
airplanes and 100 destinations served by
hubs in El Salvador, Costa Rica and
Colombia.
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