Copa Airways is planning to launch a few new routes to North America within the coming months: one to a fast-growing East Coast airport within the U.S. and one other that is quickly to be a serious airport for leisure vacationers in Mexico.

The Panama flag provider on Monday introduced new service to Raleigh-Durham Worldwide Airport (RDU) from its residence base Tocumen Worldwide Airport (PTY) in Panama.

Its sixteenth U.S. vacation spot, Copa will function the route 4 occasions weekly with its Boeing 737-800 plane beginning in late June.

Need extra airline-specific information? Join TPG’s free biweekly Aviation e-newsletter.

Additionally introduced Monday, the Panama Metropolis-based provider mentioned it could add two further cities past RDU. It is going to be part of the rising checklist of airways planning service to the brand-new Felipe Carrillo Puerto Airport (TQO) in Tulum, Mexico. The airport is ready to welcome worldwide airways for the primary time subsequent month, and within the course of, it would give vacationers a a lot simpler hyperlink to the favored Mexico seashore vacation spot. In South America, Copa will add service to the Brazilian vacation spot of Florianopolis.

Within the U.S., nevertheless, Copa’s new flights to RDU are the show-stopper.

Copa’s service to Raleigh-Durham

Copa’s nonstop service between Raleigh-Durham and Panama Metropolis, Panama, launches June 21.

From the outset, Copa will function 4 weekly spherical journeys, with flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

This is what the schedule seems to be like:

Every day Publication

Reward your inbox with the TPG Every day e-newsletter

Be part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists

• RDU-PTY: Departs 4:20 p.m. and arrives 7:46 p.m.
• PTY-RDU: Departs 8:56 a.m. and arrives 2:28 p.m.

The 737-800 Copa will fly for the route has 16 business-class seats, 24 premium (or additional legroom) seats, and 120 seats in the primary cabin.

Easy methods to get in: Greatest bank cards for airport lounge entry

Copa’s rising US route map

Copa executives available for the route announcement Monday mentioned including an RDU pin to its U.S. route map is a part of its bigger aim to develop capability 10% to 12% over every of the following a number of years in step with its development final 12 months, chief industrial officer Dennis Cary mentioned.

“A part of our development technique is each including extra service in locations we already fly, but in addition including new routes,” Cary mentioned in an interview with TPG.

This is what Copa’s summer time 2024 route map to the U.S. seemed like previous to the RDU service announcement, per aviation analytics firm Cirium.

The airline added nonstop flights to Austin Bergstrom Worldwide Airport (AUS) and Baltimore/Washington Worldwide Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) final 12 months.

In keeping with Cary, a part of Copa’s development is fueled by demand from vacationers nicely outdoors Panama who should not solely thinking about flying the provider to a last vacation spot in Panama Metropolis but in addition thinking about utilizing the airline to hook up with one in all its dozens of locations in South America, Central America and the Caribbean. That is one thing that is much more prevalent at this time than, say, 5 years in the past, he mentioned.

“The event of the U.S. traveler, and notably the U.S. leisure traveler, into components of our community is unquestionably expanded versus what it could have been in 2019,” Cary mentioned. “That is a part of what makes these new routes thrilling: We’re not solely reliant on our core buyer base in Latin America, however actually growing a following right here within the U.S.”

Journey higher: Greatest frequent flyer packages for US vacationers

RDU gaining worldwide footing

In the meantime, Copa’s arrival at RDU is simply the newest bit of fine information the airport has gotten of late.

Simply final month, it was one of many U.S. airports that benefitted essentially the most from a main route shakeup at Frontier, which launched round a half-dozen new routes to RDU.

It is also now a crew base for current startup low-cost provider Avelo, and it has gained various routes by way of one other startup airline, Breeze.

However RDU is not simply getting new routes aboard domestic-centric, ultra-low-cost carriers.

Aeromexico, as an example, will launch nonstop service from there to Mexico Metropolis Worldwide Airport (MEX) this summer time. Lufthansa can even start serving RDU with nonstops to Frankfurt Airport (FRA). That is on high of Air France’s nonstop to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), which launched final fall (changing a previous Delta Air Strains route).

The airport has current transatlantic service to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) aboard American Airways. Air Canada flies to each Toronto and Montreal from RDU.

Even earlier than unveiling the Copa route, RDU was set to see seats to worldwide locations enhance by 75% this summer time, in comparison with 5 years in the past, in accordance with Cirium knowledge.

“We’re including new airways and new locations at a document tempo,” airport authority board chair Ellis Hankins mentioned at Monday’s occasion, noting main growth plans on the airport for the approaching years to accommodate the expansion.

“Gate administration challenges are a fantastic drawback to have,” Hankins mentioned.

The airport noticed a document 14.5 million passengers in 2023, narrowly surpassing the mark set in 2019. After including service to 25 nonstop markets final 12 months, it is already gained 5 new locations within the first few weeks of 2024.

Associated studying: