Copa joins joint venture talks with Avianca and United

Copa Airlines has been added to talks for a potential joint business involving Avianca and United Airlines, strengthening a possible partnership that would be better positioned to compete with similar tie-ups emerging in Latin America. Avianca says in a stock exchange filing that it has been in discussions with United and Copa on the "possibility of establishing a 3-way joint business agreement" which would include their combined networks between the USA and Latin America. "At this point we can provide no assurances as to whether or when the parties will finalise the agreement," says Avianca. Copa and United have been long-time partners, going back to the days when Continental Airlines held a share in the Panamanian airline. In 2016, Copa and United renewed their alliance for at least 5 years. <br/>