The first international flight of Copa Airlines Manta is already 80% sold

At 15:09 on June 27, the Boeing 737-700 is scheduled to depart from Tocumen International Airport in Panama and land at 17:27 at Eloy Alfaro International Airport in Manta, Ecuador. With this flight, Copa Airlines will open the Panama – Manta – Panama route, and this city of Manabí will become the third in the country to have international flights, along with Quito and Guayaquil.

For this first flight between the two cities, the airline already has a higher occupancy rate of more than 80%. “Since January 26, when ticket sales for the Manta-Panama route and connections began, there is a satisfactory sales projection,” says Copa Airlines’ Ecuador sales manager, Marisol Ruíz.

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The route will be operated by a Boeing 737 with a capacity for 12 passengers in business class and 112 passengers in the main cabin. “Copa Airlines will connect Manta internationally with more than 78 destinations in North, Central, South America and the Caribbean, through the Hub of the Americas® in Panama, with three weekly flights to and from Panama, on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays ”, Explain.

Copa Airlines’ business model is operated through the Americas hub in Panama, which means that passengers always connect at a hub, so all routes to and from Manta must pass through the hub.

The schedule of the three frequencies per week will be the same as the first, while the return flight from Manta to Panama will be on the same days (Tuesday, Friday and Sunday) at 18:18 and should arrive in Panama at 20:30.

For the first year of operations, the airline expects to carry around 12,000 passengers and, in turn, strengthen this province in the country as a tourist hub, opening doors for new business in and out of the city and province.

“With the opening of this new route, Copa Airlines opens the opportunity to efficiently connect passengers from the rest of the region, since within a reasonable distance those living in Montecristi, Portoviejo, Rocafuerte, Jipijapa and other provinces near Manabí will be able to travel abroad from Manta without having to change in other cities like Quito or Guayaquil,” says Ruíz.

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It also indicates that passengers will save time on arrival at their destination with connections through the hub, an average of 50 minutes, as checked baggage will go directly to their final destination without going through customs or immigration during the scale.

Ruíz also points out that “passengers traveling from Manta can count on punctual and safe flights, as Copa Airlines is recognized for its good management and performance and is currently considered the most punctual airline in Latin America by OAG, the leading global travel data platform industry.

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According to the manager, with the addition of Manta and its three weekly frequencies, Copa Airlines operates in three destinations within the territory of Ecuador, with 28 weekly frequencies to Quito and 35 weekly frequencies to Guayaquil, which qualifies as a consolidation of “better connectivity for the primary and secondary regions of the country” .

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Cover of destiny from Armenia

With the connections that Manta will have via Panama, it will also join the Colombian city of Armenia, from El Edén International Airport.

In the last two years, the airline has launched six new routes: Armenia, Cúcuta and Santa Marta in Colombia; Barcelona, ​​​​Venezuela; Atlanta, United States; Felipe Angeles Airport in Mexico City.

This year 2023, in addition to the inauguration of the Manta – Panama route with three weekly frequencies, Panama will also open Baltimore in the United States, with four weekly frequencies, and in July in Austin, United States with four frequencies.