Panamanian carrier Copa Airlines, which entered the T&T market six years ago, has experienced steady growth on the route, the airline's local manager, Camille Hackett said yesterday. She said this is because of the quality product the airline offers."We have demonstrated that we are a reliable airline. We have free onboard meals and an open bar in the economy class. Our baggage allowance is also very good," she told guests at a breakfast meeting hosted by the airline at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain.
Hackett said while the airline started off in T&T serving mainly business travellers, the carrier is now attracting more tourist travellers."It is a mix of people who travel on Copa. When Copa initially started operations in T&T the majority of people were from the corporate world but more and more, the mindset of Trinidadians are expanding and now there are a lot more leisure travel into Latin America. That accounts for the growth of the airline here," she said.
Hackett said she wants Copa to expand even further into the local market."I want there to be more frequencies in the future. Copa's prices vary to different destination. We try to maintain a very competitive price structure with other carriers. I will not say we are the cheapest airline on the market but the quality of the product we offer also accounts for pricing," she said.
She added that T&T is a key market in the region for Copa.
"The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Cuba are the large markets in the region. T&T is in the medium grouping. Other than Aruba, only T&T has two daily flights. The others have less. When we first came into the T&T market we were looked as a Latin American airline and that was a huge challenge and we have done well since then. We have moved beyond the uncertainty period and we have settled in," she said.
Commenting on the carrier's recent achievements, Hackett said: "Our on time performance is over 90 per cent which is similar to the best airlines in the world. Our completion factor is also good so this is major for us."In 2013 we were awarded by Skytrax as best airline in Central America and the Caribbean. We were also awarded as the best cabin crew for Central America and the Caribbean. We are proud of these things."