Copa Airlines (CM, Panamá City Tocumen International) may decide not to convert options for future B737-10s into firm orders, according to chief executive Pedro Heilbron.
“It may well be that we stay with the B737-8 and B737-9 combination; that’s yet to be decided,” he said in an interview with FlightGlobal. The Panamanian carrier holds options for fifteen B737-10s.
ch-aviation data shows Copa’s fleet comprises 107 aircraft - nine B737-700s, eight B737-8s (with 16 more to come), fifty-eight B737-800s, and thirty-two B737-9s. Subsidiaries Copa Airlines Colombia and Wingo (Panama) have nine B737-800s and two B737-800(BCF)s, respectively.
Furthermore, while it has considered ordering the smaller and still-uncertified B737-7, Copa Airlines still has no specific plans to do so. “It is a nice aircraft, but we try hard to limit the number of different configurations we have because it adds complexity,” Heilbron said.
In the medium term, it could consider the B737-7 as a replacement for the B737-700s, “but right now, I don’t think we would add another configuration.”
Copa Airlines was not immediately available for further comment.
