Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., operating as Copa Airlines, is an airline based in Panama City, and serves as Panama’s flag carrier. Their main base of operations is Tocumen International Airport, The airline operates scheduled flights to destinations in countries in North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Copa is a member of the Star Alliance. The airline is also the main operator and owner of Colombian airline AeroRepublica, currently known as Copa Airlines Colombia.
The airline was established in 1944 and started operations in 1947. They began operations with domestic flights. Copa Airlines then abandoned their domestic flights in favor of international flights. In 1992, Copa signed a strategic alliance with El Salvador-based TACA Airlines, and Copa began flying from Tocumen International Airport, making it the first flight connection center in Latin America. As a consequence, Tocumen airport became the “Hub of the Americas” and the integration of several Latin American airlines to the alliance, such as LACSA of Costa Rica, Aviateca of Guatemala, and NICA of Nicaragua. The alliance ended in 1998 after the six-year agreement expired. In 1998, Copa formed a strategic partnership with Continental Airlines.
Source: Wikipedia