Copa Holdings, the parent of Copa Airlines, Wingo (Panama), and Wingo (Colombia), converted options for six incremental B737-8s during the first quarter of 2025. The holding also plans to part out a B737NG it will be retiring to resell the in-demand parts and engines.
"We have 39 unencumbered aircraft, including the B737-700s, nine of them. We are actually going to part out one in the second half of the year because we have enough B737-8 deliveries, and we actually will make money parting out that aircraft. We don’t need the extra capacity, and the engines and other components are extremely valuable right now. So it can be a good business to part out an aircraft if the capacity is not needed," chief executive Pedro Heilbron said during an earnings call.
The airline's nine B737-700s are 21.6 years of age on average, the ch-aviation Commercial Aviation Aircraft Data module shows. Copa Airlines also operates fifty-eight B737-800s, three B737-8s, and thirty-two B737-9s. Wingo (Panama) operates a single B737-800(BCF), while Wingo (Colombia), legally a brand of Copa Airlines Colombia, has a fleet of nine B737-800s. The holding company plans to move one B737-800 to the Colombian LCC by the end of 2025.
Taking into account the planned B737-8 deliveries (13 more scheduled for 2025), the induction of a second B737-800(BCF), and the retirement of the one B737-700, Copa Holdings aims to finish 2025 with a combined fleet of 125 aircraft across the three AOCs. It expects six B737-8 deliveries in 2026, with no scheduled retirements, which will increase its total fleet to 131 aircraft.
The Panamanian holding said in its quarterly financial report that deliveries of the newly firmed B737-8s were expected in 2028. Including those options, Copa Holdings has a firm order for fifty-seven B737 MAX, although Boeing only shows 19 as ordered directly from the manufacturer.
