If you think cost cutting masquerading as “health and safety” is limited to the United States, think again. A pair of flights on Copa Airlines and transit in Panama City was a reminder that absurd cost-cutting in the catering department is alive and well in Latin America.
Deplorable Lack Of Meal Service On Copa Airlines
Prior to the pandemic, Copa provided meals in business class on all but the very shortest flights. But these days, there is no meal service on flights under three hours, even on international bread and butter flights like Fort Lauderdale to Panama City.
After takeoff, the flight attendant asked me what I wanted to drink. Coffee please.
She re-appeared with a coffee and water along with a bag of pretzels and cookies.
I figured she would ask me what I wanted for breakfast or perhaps just offer a tray if there wasn’t a choice, but she returned to the galley.
About five minutes later she returned and asked if I wanted a refill on coffee. I said yes and asked if there would be breakfast.
Her smile turned to a frown and she became deeply apologetic:
“I’m so sorry, we don’t serve meals on this flight anymore. Please write Copa and complain.”
The flight was 1,170 miles and just under three hours. Maybe that is why I had the business class cabin all to myself from FLL-PTY. Then again, isn’t that the chicken and egg problem? I felt like a dupe for wasting miles to fly business class.
By the time I reached Panama City I was hungry and had a short layover. I darted to the Copa Club, hoping for at least a sandwich. Nope. Just packaged snacks:
I then had to board my connection to San Salvador, a 722-mile flight. Again, no service onboard beyond a beverage and small packaged snack.
Obviously, I did not starve. But that’s not really the consideration when reviewing business class, is it? The problem was not so much the lack of food on one flight or in the lounge, but the fact that I had nothing but packaged junk food for a total journey of over six hours.
CONCLUSION
We call this “hygiene theatre” on Live and Let’s Fly. What an insult that I was not offered any food on what turned out to be over six hours of travel on Copa.
For future reference, note that Copa is still not serving meals in business class on flights under three hours. I was served a meal on my 7-hour flight from PTY-LAX.
At least glasses and ceramic cups were deemed “safe” unlike on many of Copa’s North American counterparts….
Was COPA forthcoming in the flight details at booking in terms of what catering would be provided on each flight?
Meal service was not specified in flight booking details. But I’m not accusing CM of bait and switch, just of being cheap.
the Priority Pass lounges not open?
Wasn’t aware there was one. Would not have had time anyway.
Why didn’t you check for any Priority Pass lounge ahead of time? A ROOKIE mistake!
Because I had a short connection and wanted to review the Copa lounge, which will be useful to more travelers.
Until the new terminal in PTY is completed, the only lounge in Panama *is* the Copa lounge.
The boarding agent should have said that there’s no food served on board and advised passengers to buy food before boarding.
Anyhow I’ve learned to just bring my own food onboard because you just never know what’s going to happen in air travel.
Copa says only refreshments under meal service for each flight.
I’m not accusing CM of bait and switch, but I do think the current meal service cutoff is ridiculous.
security kabooki by the TSA
health kabooki by the airlines.
If it all truly made us safer, fine, but much of it is kabooki.
Copa Club offerings before the pandemic were a joke, now it’s worse.
I’m avoiding them because they are hygiene theater fundamentalists. And as you say I also felt a bag of pretzels and cookies in business was cheap and insulting.
I asked google no show stories from this website anymore.
CRYBABY
Bye, Felicia!
As a Delta regular who has had to endure continental and Hawaii flights with only water and cheeze-its I feel no sympathy
Greetings from your favorite spot in Mainz.
Anywho, flew Copa Biz end of last year and experienced the same. Was understandable then. Unacceptable now. Thanks for the report.
FYI for you and the other readers- took advantage of the Amex transfer bonus and flew Iberia biz class over the pond a few weeks back. While I did get a meal, thankfully, we were limited to a single glass of wine and they kept the bathroom in the front galley completely closed for the entire flight. For a flight where I assume everyone was vaccinated or certainly at least tested.
But I will say that Spain, France & Germany have all felt pretty normal other than masking on trains. And normal feels rather amazing these days.
Are you at the Hyatt? Enjoy! Walk over to Da Vito – the food and ice cream are superb!
Indeed I am! Thanks for the reco!
Pre-pandemic they gave you a ham sandwich at 8am. It was gross tbh, so I’m kinda glad they got rid of it. You can buy some Nature Valley bars at the grocery store for like $2.
In economy class, but not business class.
Doesn’t hygiene theater imply a health reason (albeit unwarranted) for not offering meals? Did they say specifically that this was due to COVID? They were probably just being cheap.
They blamed COVID-19, hence the “hygiene theatre” tag.
Did it appear to be a full beverage service at least?
Good point. No, beverage choices were limited. No alcohol that I saw.
(though wait till you hear about my Avianca flight…)
@Matthew – any new upon “early November”, that the US will be re-opening tourism from EU/Schengen-area. Traveling down in the carribean on Star Alliance, seems you would try to avoid COPA. Thanks for the review.
08 Nov will be the resumption date.
Have you not seen the studies that show the most dangerous part of travel is when all are eating at the same time. Yes they save money but you should be glad they are not serving. Is not your health more important?
I’ll take the risk.
I mean. I don’t disagree. But they shouldn’t were snacks or drinks either then.
Cheap. That’s what it is.
Even before the pandemic, food offerings at the Copa Club at PTY were meager. If lucky, you were able to find bananas, apples, and bagels. I never found a sandwich in almost 7+ years of transiting through PTY.
Get real, dude.
Travel is no longer the same.
Business class gives you more than just meals to review.
Sheesh.
P/s – stop being such a drama queen.
Not sure that the lack of meal service is Covid related. I’ve flown them in the past and I’ve been served 3 slices of deli meat and 2 slices of cheese as a 10pm meal. Granted 10 pm is not dinner time but if you’ve been working all day and rushed to the airport to barely make it to the plane, a lunchable re-arranged on a plate surely does not fit a $2,400 RT LAX-PTY. I asked the FA if there was anything else to eat, not til breakfast, i inquire if i could have my breakfast then and she politely denied the request. She did however go back to coach to get me two bags of potatoes chips, which took 45 minutes in a 737. I avoid flying them, unless going home for a short trip and want to avoid connecting flights. It’s for convenience, certainly not for inflight experience.
This is deplorable.
I was on a 5 hour flight EWR to Panama City and the situation was no different – choose of Biscotti , pretzels and coffee on a 5 hour flight . Strangely on my return 5 hour flight they had breakfast being served at 11 AM.
Thanks to the pandemic it’s all upside down.
Copa was never known for their “soft” product. We are scheduled for a 28 January MCO-SCL trip with a return on 15 Feb 3Z3-MCO. All flights are over 3 hours and I will be checking for meal service. Even if you have time the options for food at Tocumen are pretty dismal at best. Get with it, get the catering back as if restaurants can do it so can airlines. Maybe we need a total worldwide vaccine mandate.
PTY DOES have a decent Priority Pass lounge (The Lounge Panama). It’s very near the Copa Club and does serve more than just snacks at appropriate times of day. If you had time to go to the Copa Club, you would have time to go to the Priority Pass lounge. I would think that you would have checked for lounges other than the Copa Club ahead of time. Even before the pandemic, The Copa Club only served snacks, so it’s no change of policy on their part.
I flew IAD-PTY Business class this August and it was a full meal service (got pix to prove), even included a macaroon . I also finished their bottle of rioja while flying.
Apparently, flights over three hours receive a meal while flights under three hours do not.
I flew economy basic from YYZ to PTY on September 20. Got a meagre box lunch of turkey?/cheese on a bun. Had the same thing both ways on my return flight in July/August.
For my September flight, I packed a lunch. Will be doing the same for my return. The 7-hour layover at Tocumen from David is a bitch. A friend recently advised that a couple of the airport hotels offer a day pass. I’ll be checking that out in November.
Very bad service ,inaceptable not Food, for a long flight from New York to Colombia, .ag
LOL Poor Matthew! Hope you got extra snacks! That comprises a meal right?