One way flights from Rio?

[vegasdriven]

Looking for a flight from Rio to North America in Business class. There is a great deal to Miami where we would probably overnight if need be to avoid worrying about connections, and purchase a separate flight probably on Alaska to west coast.

The concern, and most likely reason for great deal, is that the Copa flight to Miami is a Boeing max 9.

 

I have been trying to research how things are going with that issue, but not seeing anything less than a month when I google the info.

 

Anyone care to chime in with their thoughts or ideas?

[FlyerTalker]

I would have ZERO qualms flying on a 737MAX.

 

Of far more concern, IMO, is that you know what "business class" on Copa entails.  You would be on 737s with recliner-type seating, NOT lie-flat as you would find on most non-stops to the USA.  You also would have a connection in Panama along the way.

 

Which is why you are finding your "great deal".  Not that it's a MAX.

 

Caveat emptor.

 

 

Edited April 16 by FlyerTalker

[CruiserBruce]

I also have zero issues flying on a MAX.

 

I see a fair number of options to get you to YYZ or SEA. If you are choosing COPA for price concerns, consider another way of looking at what @FlyerTalker is saying is, you get what you pay for.

 

I would be checking what my cruise line offers in this case. One way international airfares are definitely a strong point of those programs.

[vegasdriven]

Flyertalker. Are you sure the seats are not lie flat. It is shown as lie flat on the Max 9, and I have viewed some videos that were lie flat seats, as well. 

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, vegasdriven said:

Flyertalker. Are you sure the seats are not lie flat. It is shown as lie flat on the Max 9, and I have viewed some videos that were lie flat seats, as well. 

 

I have zero personal knowledge, but I did have a look at the best airliner seat maps currently on the web. The Copa page shows two variants of the 737 Max 9:

• Variant 1
• Variant 2

 

Both variants are described as having Collins Aerospace Diamond seats that convert into 84-inch fully flat beds.

 

It would be worth comparing these two variants to the seat maps for the actual flights under consideration to check whether one of these is actually the relevant configuration.

[BOB999]

COPA has installed lie-flat seats on the 737 MAX aircraft.   Keep in mind equipment swaps can happen and if you end up on a non-MAX then you will have the older recliner seats very similar to US Domestic first class.  In fact I think they use the same seats that Continental used.

 

As for the MAX itself, I have no issues.  I've flown it more often lately than anything else.

[vegasdriven]

Thanks all. Very helpful. I am looking for late Jan. 2025. I am going to look again, but none of the other options look much better from what I can tell, except maybe some at 3 or 4 times the price.

[SelectSys]

On 4/16/2024 at 11:28 AM, vegasdriven said:

Anyone care to chime in with their thoughts or ideas?

I would say at least one of the principal reason that COPA is less expensive is that the flights all include a stop in Panama before heading to MIA.  Some of the COPA flights don't have too much of a time penalty as opposed to the AA nonstop, but it is a smaller aircraft and there is always a possibility of issues on any connection.

 

BTW - my only anecdotal information on COPA is from a friend who flies to Ecuador on occasion and doesn't really like the economy passenger experience.  Of course you are looking at business which could be much different. 

 

 

Edited April 18 by SelectSys

[Zach1213]

1 hour ago, SelectSys said:

I would say at least one of the principal reason that COPA is less expensive is that the flights all include a stop in Panama before heading to MIA.  Some of the COPA flights don't have too much of a time penalty as opposed to the AA nonstop, but it is a smaller aircraft and there is always a possibility of issues on any connection.

 

BTW - my only anecdotal information on COPA is from a friend who flies to Ecuador on occasion and doesn't really like the economy passenger experience.  Of course you are looking at business which could be much different. 

 

 

 

I've ended up on Copa twice over the years, both in business class. Service is...fine. It's certainly a fairly basic product. They do have a pretty efficient hub setup at PTY which is nice. It's still a bit of zigging and zagging to go Brazil to Western Canada via both PTY and MIA. 

[FlyerTalker]

My apologies regarding the seats on the Copa MAX.  I've not been paying close attention and it has been a while since I've flown Copa.

 

Turns out that the seats on the MAX version of the 737 for Copa are the Collins "Diamond" seats.  The good news is that they do lie flat.  The bad news is that they are in a 2-2 configuration, so there is no direct aisle access for the window passenger.