Copa Airlines takes delivery of its first Boeing 737 Max 8

Panama City-based Copa Airlines has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737 Max 8. The aircraft will join the fleet after it receives post-delivery modifications “for the next several weeks”, the company said on 4 July. It has the registration HP-9801CMP and flew to Panama City on 3 July. It is the company’s 100th aircraft, and is the first of seven total examples on order with Boeing. Copa also has 15 of the larger as-yet uncertificated Max 10 version on order. In addition to the new Max 8, the airline’s in-service fleet comprises 67 older-variant 737 models and 32 Max 9s, according to Cirium fleets data. Last month Copa introduced a new route to the USA, from Panama City to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. With this new destination, Copa’s network in the USA expands to 16 cities. All told, the carrier flies to 31 countries across the Americas, using Panama City’s Tocumen International airport as its hub. In Q1 2023, the company posted a profit of $176m, up almost 45% from the same period a year ago. It is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings in early August. <br/>