The Panamanian provider Copa Airlines expects to enlarge its Boeing 737 MAX fleet from six it had when it resumed operations with the kind to 20 by way of the give up of 2022. The layout is already in action for the reason that the airline has already acquired 4 new Boeing 737 MAX 9 in the remaining few weeks.
Well earlier than the pandemic, Copa Airlines signed a deal with Boeing to collect up to sixty-one Boeing 737 MAX airplanes. The Panamanian carrier’s format used to be to gauge and change older planes, like the Embraer E190 and Boeing 737-700 fleets.
At the time, Pedro Heilbron, Copa’s CEO, said,
“The Next-Generation 737 is the backbone for our fleet today, and our order for the 737 MAX shows our continued commitment for the future to bring people together across all of the Americas using the most modern and efficient airplanes in the sky.”
Nevertheless, the grounding of the 737 MAX put a preserve on Copa’s plans. Then, the COVID-19 disaster accelerated the retirement of the older fleets. In the closing few months, Copa bought its 14 Embraer one hundred ninety planes and saved the ultimate 12 Boeing 737-700 it had.
On December 30, 2020, Copa Airlines quietly resumed its 737 MAX flights. It operated a flight between Panama City and San José, Costa Rica. Unlike different carriers like WestJet and American Airlines, Copa introduced returned the MAX fleet except for too an awful lot of noise. Fortunately for the airline, it appears like its traveling public is no longer very involved about being internal a MAX. Pedro Heilbron said,
“There have been no negative comments. No passengers are refusing to fly the airplane. It’s been just like any other aircraft in our fleet, with no issues. It is no different than an average flight with a regular 737-800 NG, which is, of course, good news.”
Since the Boeing 737 MAX ungrounding in the US, Copa has obtained 4 new Boeing 737 MAX 9, stated the carrier. One arrived in December, and the different three have come between January and February 2021.
Furthermore, the airline expects to add three extra MAX 9 to its fleet throughout 2021’s first quarter. Copa Airlines defined the layout to add a complete of eight planes in 2021 and 5 extra in 2022. Therefore, with the aid of the cease of 2022, Copa would have a fleet of 20 737 MAX 9.
In December, the Export-Import Bank of the United States approved a closing dedication for an assured mortgage of up to US$327.9 million, associated with seven 737 MAX 9 planes to be delivered to Copa Airlines in the course of 2020 and 2021.
Copa’s MAX planes have an ability for 166 passengers and consist of sixteen lie-flat seats. The airline would love to use the 737 MAX on business-oriented routes, the usage of these lie-flat seats to appeal to company travel. In the meantime,
“The aircraft will be deployed in our longer market, and that’s already happening, and as we get more, we’ll do more of that. They’re going to be mostly serving those markets,” said Pedro Heilbron.
In 2020, Copa Airlines mentioned a working loss of US$598.6 million due to the COVID-19 crisis. The persevered outcomes of the pandemic pressure Copa to operate, on average, at about 27% of the capability it had previously.
Moreover, between April and September, Copa Airlines remained grounded due to tour restrictions in Panama and Latin America. In October, it resumed operations, flying at 15% of its preceding capacity; by way of November, it extended to 28%, 39% in December, and 45% in January.
Copa Airlines ended 2020 with US$1.3 billion of reachable liquidity. Of this amount, about US$1.0 billion used to be in cash, momentary and long-term investments, and US$305 million in dedicated and undrawn deposit facilities.
The airline didn’t supply monetary instruction for 2021 due to the modern-day uncertainty in the aviation market. Nevertheless, Copa expects a reduction in demand for the first quarter of 2021. Pedro Heilbron said,
“Despite the encouraging results in the fourth quarter, increasing COVID-19 cases and new international travel requirements and restrictions have stalled demand starting in the second half of December.”
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