SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
6-K
Report
of Foreign Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Report
on Form 6-K dated for
the month of August,
2008
Copa
Holdings, S.A.
(Translation
of Registrant's Name Into English)
Boulevard
Costa del Este, Avenida Principal y Avenida de la Rotonda
Urbanización
Costa del Este
Parque
Lefevre
Panama
City, Panama
(Address
of principal executive offices)
(Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under
cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)
Form
20-F
x Form
40-F ¨
(Indicate
by check whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in
this
Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant
to
Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.)
Yes
¨ No
x
(If
“Yes”
is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b);82- )
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NEWS
RELEASE
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Contact:
Patricia Roquebert – Panama
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(507) 304-2672
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Carmina Reyes – U.S.
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(210) 222-1933
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COPA
AIRLINES ANNOUNCES EXPANSION PLANS
Airline
adds five new destinations, increases fleet and supports expansion of Tocumen
International Airport
Panama
City, Panama, Aug. 6, 2008 – Copa
Airlines,
subsidiary of Copa Holdings SA (NYSE:CPA), today announced the addition of
five
new destinations on the American continent and the acquisition of aircraft
as
part of its expansion plans for 2008. In addition, the airline emphasized
its
support of increasing the Hub
of
the Americas’
capacity
by adding a new terminal to the Tocumen International Airport.
With
the
addition of non-stop flights from Panama to Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Oranjestad,
Aruba; Valencia, Venezuela; and Santa Cruz, Bolivia, as well as the new service
it began to Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago earlier this year, the
airline will operate flights from Panama to a total of 45 destinations in
its
extensive route network throughout North, Central, and South America and
the
Caribbean by the end of 2008.
“We
continue to grow and strengthen Copa Airlines and Panama as the best connecting
point for travel within Latin America,” said Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa
Airlines. “The new flights will facilitate commercial and business relations
between the countries in our region, increase tourism, and foster economic
development.”
Heilbron
stated that the addition of six new aircraft this year and the airline’s recent
announcement of future orders will strengthen its ability to provide world-class
service, with the goal of continuing to grow Copa’s hub through new destinations
and increased flight frequencies.
“Copa
Airlines will close out the year with a modern and efficient fleet of 43
aircraft consisting of 28 Boeing 737 Next Generation and 15 Embraer jets,
one of
the youngest fleets in the Americas,” said Heilbron.
On
August
21, Copa will begin service to Belo Horizonte, the airline’s fourth destination
in Brazil, providing the city with its first direct connections to a large
number of Latin American destinations. Continuing with its expansion efforts,
Copa will initiate flights to Valencia and Aruba on December 1 and 15,
respectively, serving both tourism and business passenger needs. Also, in
December Copa will begin flights to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, the airline’s fifth new
destination in 2008. From these cities, Copa will offer immediate connections
to
and from the principal cities of the Caribbean, North, Central and South
America.
Because
of the expansion and the modernization of Tocumen International Airport,
headquarters of the Hub of the Americas, Copa Airlines has been able to expand
the number of destinations and frequency of flights it offers. The hub’s future
growth will be facilitated by the recent opening for international bidding
on
construction of the airport’s new terminal and infrastructure, officials
stated.
“The
new
terminal demonstrates the national government’s ability to promote its vision
for domestic and international growth and development,” said Orcila Constable,
General Manager, Tocumen International Airport. “The new terminal is key for
positioning and strengthening Tocumen as a preferred hub world wide, and
as
means to facilitate commercial and tourism activity in the
country.”
About
Copa Holdings, S.A.
Copa
Holdings, through its Copa Airlines and Aero República operating subsidiaries,
is a leading Latin American provider of passenger and cargo service. Copa
Airlines currently offers 126 daily scheduled flights to 42 destinations
in 22
countries in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean through its
Hub
of the Americas based in Panama City, Panama. In addition, Copa Airlines
provides passengers with access to flights to more than 120 other international
destinations through codeshare agreements with Continental Airlines and other
airlines. From the U.S., Copa offers nonstop service to Panama 20 times a
week from Miami; daily from New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.;
and
12 times a week from Orlando. Copa is an associate member of the Global
SkyTeam alliance, giving its passengers access to more than 15,200 daily
flights
to more than 790 cities in 162 countries. 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 daily flights from Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cali and Medellin. For
more information, visit www.copaair.com.
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About
Hub of the Americas
The
Hub
of the Americas offers passengers an average connection of 90 minutes through
coordinated itineraries, reducing total flight time; check-in luggage
transportation to the passenger’s final destination; and a large variety of duty
free stores. Passengers affiliated with or traveling in Business Class are
welcome to use Copa and Continental Airlines’ Presidents Club.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto
duly authorized.
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Copa
Holdings, S.A.
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(Registrant)
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Date:
08/06/2008
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By:
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/s/
Victor Vial
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Name: Victor Vial
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Title: CFO
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