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COPA
AIRLINES AND KLM ESTABLISH BROAD CODE SHARE AGREEMENT
Both
airlines, members of the SkyTeam Alliance, will link their European
and American
hubs through this agreement
PANAMA
CITY, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Copa Airlines and KLM Royal Dutch
Airlines today announced they have signed a broad code share
agreement.
Copa
Airlines and KLM are alliance partners within the SkyTeam global alliance
and
KLM recently announced the start of new flights between Amsterdam and
Panama
City's "Hub of the Americas" as of March 30, 2008.
The
code
share alliance between Copa Airlines and KLM will enable passengers of
both
carriers to travel more easily between Copa's extensive Latin American
network
and Europe via two of the world's most convenient hubs: Panama City's
"Hub of
the Americas" and Amsterdam's Schiphol.
Both
OnePass and Flying Blue frequent flier members will earn valuable miles
of their
choice on all Copa Airlines- and KLM-operated flights system- wide, adding
further value to passengers benefiting from this alliance.
Pedro
Heilbron, CEO of Copa Airlines, commented: "Passengers throughout Latin
America
who are accustomed to the efficiency of Panama City's 'Hub of the Americas,'
now
gain an excellent new option to efficiently connect to Europe and the
rest of
the world, thanks to the Copa - KLM alliance."
Hans
de
Roos, SVP Strategy & Corporate Development for KLM, commented: "We are
pleased to sign a code share agreement with Copa Airlines, our new SkyTeam
partner. This agreement will extend the benefits available to our customers
and
strengthen our presence in the Central and South American region."
KLM's
new
Amsterdam - Panama City flight KL757 will depart from Amsterdam Airport
Schiphol
on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and will be landing in Panama
City
Tocumen Airport at 5:40 p.m. the same day, having full and seamless connectivity
with the Copa network and the "Hub of the Americas." Return flight KL758
will
depart from Panama's "Hub of the Americas" on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
at
7:35 p.m., to arrive at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol at 1:10 p.m. the next
day.
About
Copa Holdings, S.A.
Copa
Holdings, through its Copa Airlines and AeroRepublica operating subsidiaries,
is
a leading Latin American provider of passenger and cargo service. Copa
Airlines
currently offers more than 126 daily scheduled flights to 40 destinations
in 21
countries in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. In addition,
Copa Airlines provides passengers with access to flights to more than
120 other
international destinations through code share agreements with Continental
Airlines and other airlines. Aero Republica, the second-largest carrier
in
Colombia, provides service to 12 cities in Colombia as well as international
connectivity with Copa Airlines' "Hub of the Americas" through flights
from
Bogota, Cali, Cartagena and Medellin in Columbia.
For
more
information, visit http://www.copaair.com.