Copa Airlines expects profits to remain strong this year on double-digit capacity growth after turning in another bright financial performance in 2025.
The Panamanian carrier posted an operating profit of $210 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, helping it increase full-year earnings 9% to $819 million.
That marks an operating margin of 22.6% for 2025. Copa is guiding an operating margin range of 22-24% in its initial guidance for the year ahead.
The profit was achieved on full-year passenger traffic growth of 8.6%. That more than matched the additional 7.8% of capacity Copa added last year, leading to an increase in passenger load factor from 86.3% to 87%.
Copa plans faster capacity growth for the year. It is guiding it will increase capacity, as measured in available seat miles (ASM), by between 11-13%. Around half of that growth will come from the full-year impact of capacity added in 2025, while most of the rest will be from additional frequencies in existing markets.
The airline took delivery of four more Boeing 737 Max 8s in the fourth quarter and expects to take another eight of the type during 2026 to increase its fleet to 133.
“We continue to see a strong demand environment across our network as we enter 2026,” said Copa chief executive Pedro Heilbron, speaking during a full-year earnings calls on 12 February.
“Booking trends remain solid, supported by healthy travel activity throughout our region. The current demand environment gives us confidence in our growth plan and reinforces the foundation for another year of strong margins in 2026.”
