Filed pursuant to Rule 424(B)(1)
Registration No. 333-135031

 

PROSPECTUS     

 

6,562,500 Shares

 

 

Copa Holdings, S.A.

 

CLASS A COMMON STOCK

 

 

The selling shareholder identified in this prospectus is offering 6,562,500 shares of Class A common stock to be sold in this offering.

 

 

 

The Class A shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, under the symbol “CPA.” On June 28, 2006, the reported last sale price of the Class A shares was $22.03 per share on the NYSE.

 

 

 

Investing in the company’s Class A shares involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 13.

 

 

Copa Holdings, S.A. will not receive any proceeds from the sale by the selling shareholder of Class A common stock in this offering.

 

The selling shareholder has granted the underwriters the right to purchase up to an additional 984,375 shares of Class A common stock to cover any over-allotments.

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

The underwriters expect to deliver the shares of Class A common stock to purchasers on July 5, 2006.

 

 

 

 

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

June 28, 2006

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. Neither we nor the selling shareholder have, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. Neither we nor the selling shareholder are, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. This document may only be used where it is legal to sell these securities. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus, regardless of when this prospectus is delivered or when any sale of the Class A shares occurs. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.

 

 

 

 

In this prospectus, we use the term “Copa Holdings” to refer to Copa Holdings, S.A., “Copa” or “Copa Airlines” to refer to Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., a subsidiary of Copa Holdings, S.A., and “AeroRepública” to refer to AeroRepública, S.A., a subsidiary of Copa Holdings, S.A. The terms “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Copa Holdings, S.A. together with its subsidiaries, except where the context requires otherwise. References to “Class A shares” refer to Class A shares of Copa Holdings, S.A.

 

This prospectus contains terms relating to operating performance that are commonly used within the airline industry and are defined as follows:

 

 

 

This prospectus contains certain statistical data regarding our airline routes and our competitive position and market share in, and the market size of, the Latin American airline industry. This information has been derived from a variety of sources, including the International Air Transport Association, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the International Monetary Fund and other third-party sources, governmental agencies or industry or general publications. Information for which no source is cited has been prepared by us on the basis of our knowledge of Latin American airline markets and other information available to us. The methodology and terminology used by different sources are not always consistent, and data from different sources are not readily comparable. In addition, sources other than us use methodologies that are not identical to ours and may produce results that differ from our own estimates. Although we have not independently verified the information concerning our competitive position, market share, market size, market growth or other similar data provided by third-party sources or by industry or general publications, we believe these sources and publications are generally accurate and reliable.

 

Included elsewhere in this prospectus are our audited consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2004 and 2005 and the audited consolidated statements of income, changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Also included herein are our unaudited consolidated interim financial statements as of and for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2005 and 2006. The consolidated financial information as of December 31, 2003 and for the year ended December 31, 2002 has been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements that were prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or U.S. GAAP and which have not been included in this prospectus. The consolidated financial information as of December 31, 2001 and 2002 and for the year ended December 31, 2001 has been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements that were prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards and adjusted to be presented on a basis consistent with U.S. GAAP and which have not been included in this prospectus.

 

Our audited and unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and are stated in U.S. dollars. We began consolidating the results of our AeroRepública operating subsidiary as of its acquisition date on April 22, 2005. Unless otherwise indicated, all references in the prospectus to “$” or “dollars” refer to U.S. dollars, and all references to “Pesos” or “Ps.” refer to Colombian pesos, the local currency of Colombia.

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all information contained in this prospectus assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase up to 984,375 additional shares of Class A common stock to cover over-allotments.

 

Certain figures included in this prospectus have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, figures shown as totals in certain tables may not be an arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede them.

 

Copa Holdings is a corporation (sociedad anónima) organized under the laws of the Republic of Panama. Most of our directors and officers and certain of the experts named in this prospectus reside outside of the United States, and all or a substantial portion of the assets of such persons and ours are located outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon such persons, including with respect to matters arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or to effect the due process necessary to enforce judgments of courts of the United States against us or any of our directors and officers. We have been advised by our Panamanian legal counsel, Galindo, Arias & Lopez, that there is doubt as to the enforceability, in original actions in Panamanian courts, of liabilities predicated solely on the United States federal securities laws. Any judgment rendered by a U.S. court may be enforced in Panama through a suit on the judgment (exequatur), would be recognized and accepted by the courts of Panama and would be enforceable by the courts of Panama without a new trial or examination of the merits of the original action, provided due process had been granted to all parties and that the obligation the judgment is seeking to enforce is not illegal or against public policy in Panama.

 

This prospectus includes forward-looking statements, principally under the captions “Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” “The Industry” and “Business.” We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current beliefs, expectations and projections about future events and financial trends affecting our business. Many important factors, in addition to those discussed elsewhere in this prospectus, could cause our actual results to differ substantially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements, including, among other things:

 

 

The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “aim,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect” and similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities, the effects of future regulation and the effects of competition. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements after we distribute this prospectus because of new information, future events or other factors. In light of the risks and uncertainties described above, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this prospectus might not occur and are not guarantees of future performance. Considering these limitations, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus.

 

SUMMARY

	•	Our “Hub of the Americas” airport is strategically located.  We believe that Copa’s base of operations at the geographically central location of Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, Panama provides convenient connections to our principal markets in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, enabling us to consolidate traffic to serve several destinations that do not generate enough demand to justify point-to-point service. Flights from Panama operate with few service disruptions due to weather, contributing to high completion factors and on-time performance. Tocumen International Airport’s sea-level altitude allows our aircraft to operate without performance restrictions that they would be subject to at higher-altitude airports. We believe that Copa’s hub in Panama allows us to benefit from Panama City’s status as a center for financial services, shipping and commerce and from Panama’s stable, dollar-based economy, free-trade zone and growing tourism industry.
	•	We focus on keeping our operating costs low.  In recent years, our low operating costs and efficiency have contributed significantly to our profitability. Our operating cost per available seat mile was 8.72 cents in 2004 and 9.30 cents in 2005. Our operating cost per available seat mile excluding costs for fuel and fleet impairment charges was 7.50 cents in 2001, 7.59 cents in 2002, 7.17 cents in 2003, 7.01 cents in 2004, 6.52 cents in 2005 and 6.37 cents for the three months ended March 31, 2006. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Results of Operations” for a reconciliation of our operating cost per available seat mile when excluding costs for fuel and fleet impairment charges to our operating cost per available seat mile. We believe that our cost per available seat mile reflects our modern fleet, efficient operations and the competitive cost of labor in Panama.
	•	Copa operates a modern fleet.  Copa completed the replacement of all of its Boeing 737-200 aircraft in the first quarter of 2005 with Boeing 737-Next Generation aircraft equipped with winglets and other modern cost-saving and safety features. Copa also recently accepted delivery of its first two Embraer 190 aircraft. Over the next four years, Copa intends to enhance its modern fleet through the addition of at least eight additional Boeing 737-Next Generation aircraft and 13 new Embraer 190s. We believe that Copa’s modern fleet contributes to its on-time performance and high completion factor (percentage of scheduled flights not cancelled). We expect our Boeing 737-700s and 737-800s and our new Embraer 190s to offer substantial operational cost savings over the replaced aircraft in terms of fuel efficiency and maintenance costs. AeroRepública is currently implementing a fleet modernization and expansion plan with firm commitments on five new Embraer 190s and options for an additional 20 Embraer 190 aircraft.
	•	We believe Copa has a strong brand and a reputation for quality service.  We believe that the Copa brand is associated with value to passengers, providing world-class service and competitive pricing. For the three months ended March 31, 2006, Copa Airline’s statistic for on-time performance was 92.3%, completion factor was 99.7% and baggage handling was 1.2 mishandled bags per 1000 passengers. Our goal is to apply our expertise in these areas to improve AeroRepública’s service statistics to comparable levels. Our focus on customer service has helped to build passenger loyalty. We believe that our brand has also been enhanced through our relationship with Continental, including our joint marketing of the OnePass loyalty program in Latin America, the similarity of our aircraft livery and aircraft interiors and our participation in Continental’s President’s Club lounge program.
	•	Our management fosters a culture of teamwork and continuous improvement.  Our management team has been successful at creating a culture based on teamwork and focused on continuous improvement. Each of our employees at Copa has individual objectives based on corporate goals that serve as a basis for measuring performance. When corporate operational and financial targets are met, employees at Copa are eligible to receive bonuses according to our profit sharing program. See “Business—Employees.” We also recognize outstanding performance of individual employees through company-wide recognition, one-time awards, special events and, in the case of our senior management, grants of restricted stock and stock options. Copa’s goal-oriented culture and incentive programs have contributed to a motivated work force that is focused on satisfying customers, achieving efficiencies and growing profitability. We seek to create a similar culture at AeroRepública.

	•	Expand our network by increasing frequencies and adding new destinations.  We believe that demand for air travel in Latin America is likely to expand in the next decade, and we intend to use our increasing fleet capacity to meet this growing demand. We intend to focus on expanding our operations by increasing flight frequencies on our most profitable routes and initiating service to new destinations. Copa’s Panama City hub allows us to consolidate traffic and provide service to certain underserved markets, particularly in Central America and the Caribbean, and we intend to focus on providing new service to regional destinations that we believe best enhance the overall connectivity and profitability of our network. With the addition of Embraer 190 aircraft and growth in overall capacity, we expect to have more flexibility in scheduling our flights for our customers’ convenience.
	•	Continue to focus on keeping our costs low.  We seek to reduce our cost per available seat mile without sacrificing services valued by our customers as we execute our growth plans. Our goal is to maintain a modern fleet and to make effective use of our resources through efficient aircraft utilization and employee productivity. We intend to reduce our distribution costs by increasing direct sales, including internet and call center sales, as well as improving efficiency through technology and automated processes.
	•	Introduce service with new Embraer 190 aircraft.  We believe that the addition of the Embraer 190 aircraft allows us to provide efficient service to new destinations in underserved markets. In addition, we believe that the Embraer 190s enhance our ability to efficiently match our capacity to demand, allowing us to improve service frequencies to currently served markets and to redeploy our higher capacity aircraft to serve routes with greater demand.
	•	Emphasize superior service and value to our customers.  We intend to continue to focus on satisfying our customers and earning their loyalty by providing a combination of superior service and competitive fares. We believe that continuing our operational success in keeping flights on time, reducing mishandled luggage and offering convenient schedules to attractive destinations will be essential to achieving this goal. We intend to continue to incentivize our employees to improve or maintain operating and service metrics relating to our customers’ satisfaction by continuing our profit sharing plan and employee recognition programs and to reward customer loyalty with the popular OnePass frequent flyer program, upgrades and access to President’s Club lounges.
	•	Capitalize on opportunities at AeroRepública.  We are seeking to enhance AeroRepública’s market share and profitability through a variety of initiatives, including modernizing its fleet, integrating its route network with Copa’s and improving overall efficiency. We also seek to increase customer loyalty by making further operational improvements at AeroRepública, such as on-time performance which improved from 70.4% during the six months ended December 31, 2005 to 81.9% during the three months ended March 31, 2006, and in March 2006, we implemented the OnePass frequent flyer program at AeroRepública.

*		Includes ownership by us held through wholly-owned holding companies organized in the British Virgin Islands.

Issuer		Copa Holdings, S.A.
Selling shareholder		Continental Airlines, Inc.
Shares offered		6,562,500 Class A shares, without par value.
Over-allotment option		The selling shareholder has granted the underwriters the right for a period of 30 days to purchase up to an additional 984,375 Class A shares solely to cover over-allotments, if any.
Offering price		$21.75 per Class A share.
Shares outstanding after the offering		Immediately following the offering (assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised), the number of shares of our capital stock will be as shown below:

Voting rights		The holders of the Class A shares have no voting rights except with respect to certain corporate transformations, mergers, consolidations or spin-offs, changes of our corporate purpose, voluntary delistings of the Class A shares from the NYSE, approval of nominations of the independent directors or amendments to the foregoing provisions that adversely affect the rights and privileges of any Class A shares. Under certain circumstances which we believe are not likely in the foreseeable future, each Class A share will entitle its record holder to one vote on all matters on which our shareholders are entitled to vote.
		Each Class B share is entitled to one vote on all matters for which shareholders are entitled to vote.
		See “Description of Capital Stock.”
Controlling shareholder		Following this offering, CIASA will continue to beneficially own 100% of our Class B shares which will represent all of the voting power of our capital stock. CIASA will therefore be entitled to elect a majority of our directors and to determine the outcome of the voting on substantially all actions that require shareholder approval.
Ownership restrictions		Our independent directors have the power under certain circumstances to control or restrict the level of non-Panamanian ownership of our Class B shares and the exercise of voting rights attaching to Class A shares held by non-Panamanian nationals in order to allow us to comply with Panamanian airline ownership and control requirements. See “Description of Capital Stock.”
Tag-along rights		Our board of directors may refuse to register any transfer of shares in which CIASA proposes to sell Class B shares at a price per share that is greater than the average public trading price per share of the Class A shares for the preceding 30 days to an unrelated third party that would,

		after giving effect to such sale, have the right to elect a majority of the board of directors and direct our management and policies, unless the proposed purchaser agrees to make, as promptly as possible, a public offer for the purchase of all outstanding Class A shares and Class B shares at a price per share equal to the price per share paid for the CIASA shares being sold. However, a proposed purchaser could acquire control of Copa Holdings in a transaction that would not give holders of Class A shares the right to participate, including a sale by a party that had previously acquired control from CIASA, the sale of interests by another party in conjunction with a sale by CIASA, the sale by CIASA of control to more than one party, or the sale of controlling interests in CIASA itself. See “Description of Capital Stock—Tag-Along Rights.”
Use of proceeds		We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of our Class A shares by the selling shareholder.
Dividends		Holders of the Class A and Class B shares will be entitled to receive dividends to the extent they are declared by our board of directors in its absolute discretion. Our Articles of Incorporation provide that all dividends declared by our board of directors will be paid equally with respect to all of the Class A and Class B shares. Our board of directors has adopted a dividend policy that contemplates the annual payment of equal dividends to our Class A and Class B shareholders in an aggregate amount approximately equal to 10% of our consolidated net income for each year. This dividend policy can be amended or discontinued by our board of directors at any time for any reason. See “Dividends and Dividend Policy” and “Description of Capital Stock.”
Lock-up agreements		The selling shareholder has agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to issue or transfer without the consent of the underwriters, until after the first anniversary (or 90 days solely in the case of the over-allotment shares to the extent such option is not exercised in full or at all) of the date of this prospectus, any shares of our capital stock, any options or warrants to purchase shares of our capital stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our capital stock. The selling shareholder has also agreed, subject to the same exceptions, not to issue or transfer without the consent of CIASA, until after the second anniversary of the date of this prospectus, any shares of our capital stock, any options or warrants to purchase shares of our capital stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our capital stock. In addition, we, our directors and executive officers have agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to issue or transfer without the consent of the underwriters, until 90 days after the date of this prospectus, any shares of our capital stock, any options or warrants to purchase shares of our capital stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our capital stock. CIASA has agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to issue or transfer without the consent of the underwriters, until 180 days after the date of this prospectus, any shares of our capital stock, any options or warrants to purchase shares of our capital stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our capital stock.
Listing		The Class A shares trade on the NYSE.
NYSE symbol for the Class A shares		CPA.

Risk factors		See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 13 and the other information included in this prospectus for a discussion of certain important risks you should carefully consider before deciding to invest in the Class A shares.

Expected offering timetable:
Commencement of marketing of the offering			June 22, 2006
Announcement of offer price and allocation of Class A shares			June 28, 2006
Settlement and delivery of Class A shares			July  5, 2006

		Year Ended December 31,																				Three Months Ended March 31,
		2001				2002				2003				2004				2005(20)				2005				2006
		(in thousands of dollars, except share and per share data and operating data)
INCOME STATEMENT DATA
Operating revenue:
Passenger revenue		$	257,918			$	269,629			$	311,683			$	364,611			$	565,131			$	105,141			$	180,358
Cargo, mail and other			32,454				31,008				30,106				35,226				43,443				8,467				11,368
Total operating revenues			290,372				300,637				341,789				399,837				608,574				113,608				191,726
Operating expenses:
Aircraft fuel			46,514				40,024				48,512				62,549				149,303				21,336				47,110
Salaries and benefits			38,709				39,264				45,254				51,701				69,730				13,385				19,446
Passenger servicing			32,834				33,892				36,879				39,222				50,622				10,431				14,634
Commissions			31,652				28,720				27,681				29,073				45,087				7,481				13,101
Reservations and sales			18,629				16,707				18,011				22,118				29,213				5,725				8,265
Maintenance, materials and repairs			25,369				20,733				20,354				19,742				32,505				4,714				10,287
Depreciation			13,325				13,377				14,040				19,279				19,857				4,739				5,417
Flight operations			13,887				14,567				15,976				17,904				24,943				4,972				7,713
Aircraft rentals			20,106				21,182				16,686				14,445				27,631				4,678				8,861
Landing fees and other rentals			8,451				8,495				10,551				12,155				17,909				3,343				5,555
Other			15,892				19,166				25,977				29,306				32,622				6,827				9,574
Fleet impairment charge(1)			—				13,669				3,572				—				—				—				—
Total operating expenses			265,368				269,796				283,493				317,494				499,422				87,631				149,963
Operating income			25,004				30,841				58,296				82,343				109,152				25,977				41,763

		Year Ended December 31,																				Three Months Ended March 31,
		2001				2002				2003				2004				2005(20)				2005				2006
		(in thousands of dollars, except share and per share data and operating data)
Non-operating income (expense):
Interest expense			(10,988	)			(7,629	)			(11,613	)			(16,488	)			(21,629	)			(4,557	)			(6,278	)
Interest capitalized			1,592				1,114				2,009				963				1,089				143				508
Interest income			701				831				887				1,423				3,584				687				1,262
Other, net(2)			331				(1,490	)			2,554				6,063				395				2,196				(909	)
Total non-operating expenses, net			(8,364	)			(7,174	)			(6,163	)			(8,039	)			(16,561	)			(1,531	)			(5,417	)
Income (loss) before income taxes			16,640				23,667				52,133				74,304				92,591				24,446				36,346
Provision for income taxes			(1,822	)			(2,999	)			(3,644	)			(5,732	)			(9,592	)			(1,886	)			(4,066	)
Net income (loss)			14,818				20,668				48,489				68,572				82,999				22,560				32,280
BALANCE SHEET DATA
Total cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments		$	28,385			$	34,476			$	61,432			$	110,943			$	114,490			$	111,143			$	114,819
Accounts receivable, net			30,210				24,006				31,019				27,706				49,492				32,372				58,096
Total current assets			69,040				68,940				103,523				152,087				184,793				158,876				198,919
Purchase deposits for flight equipment			46,540				55,867				45,869				7,190				52,753				23,163				59,673
Total property and equipment			227,717				345,411				480,488				541,211				637,543				553,117				643,308
Total assets			300,121				421,935				591,915				702,050				916,912				721,862				936,429
Long-term debt			111,125				211,698				311,991				380,827				402,954				384,236				393,541
Total shareholders’ equity			46,426				67,094				115,583				174,155				245,867				196,715				278,090
CASH FLOW DATA
Net cash provided by operating activities		$	32,997			$	55,543			$	73,479			$	98,051			$	119,089			$	13,635			$	21,100
Net cash used in investing activities			(39,473	)			(150,203	)			(151,802	)			(85,738	)			(163,570	)			(10,345	)			(10,368	)
Net cash provided by financing activities			14,466				100,400				105,298				29,755				38,921				2,687				(6,640	)
OTHER FINANCIAL DATA
EBITDA(3)			38,660				42,728				74,890				107,685				129,404				32,912				46,271
Aircraft rentals			20,106				21,182				16,686				14,445				27,631				4,678				8,861
Operating margin(4)			8.6	%			10.3	%			17.1	%			20.6	%			17.9	%			22.9	%			21.8	%
Weighted average shares used in computing net income per share(5)			42,812,500				42,812,500				42,812,500				42,812,500				42,812,500				42,812,500				42,812,500
Net income (loss) per share(5)		$	0.35			$	0.48			$	1.13			$	1.60			$	1.94			$	0.53			$	0.75

		Year Ended December 31,																				Three Months Ended March 31,
		2001				2002				2003				2004				2005(20)				2005				2006
		(in thousands of dollars, except share and per share data and operating data)
OPERATING DATA
Revenue passengers carried(6)			1,794				1,819				2,028				2,333				4,361				636	(22)			1,321	(22)
Revenue passenger miles(7)			1,870				1,875				2,193				2,548				3,831				736	(22)			1,155	(22)
Available seat miles(8)			2,920				2,847				3,226				3,639				5,368				1,018				1,615
Load factor(9)			64.0	%			65.9	%			68.0	%			70.0	%			71.4	%			72.3	%(22)			71.5	%(22)
Break-even load factor(10)			58.7	%			54.5	%			52.8	%			52.6	%			57.9	%			52.1	%(22)			55.8	%(22)
Total block hours(11)			59,760				58,112				64,909				70,228				103,628				18,928				31,483
Average daily aircraft utilization(12)			9.1				8.8				9.0				9.3				9.8				9.9				9.7
Average passenger fare			143.8				148.2				153.7				156.3				129.6				165.3(22	)			136.5	(22)
Yield(13)			13.79				14.38				14.22				14.31				14.75				14.28(22	)			15.61	(22)
Passenger revenue per ASM(14)			8.83				9.47				9.66				10.02				10.53				10.33				11.17
Operating revenue per ASM(15)			9.94				10.56				10.60				10.99				11.34				11.16				11.87
Operating expenses per ASM (CASM)(16)			9.09				9.48				8.79				8.72				9.30				8.61				9.29
Departures			23,742				23,361				25,702				27,434				48,934				7,096				15,826
Average daily departures			65.0				64.0				70.4				75.0				156.6				78.8				176.2
Average number of aircraft.			18.0				18.1				19.8				20.6				31.0				21.2				36.1
Airports served at period end			28				27				28				29				43				29				43
SEGMENT FINANCIAL DATA
Copa:
Operating revenue		$	290,372			$	300,637			$	341,789			$	399,837			$	505,655			$	113,608			$	151,602
Operating expenses			265,368				269,796				283,493				317,494				402,684				87,631				110,613
Depreciation			13,325				13,377				14,040				19,279				19,242				4,739				5,227
Aircraft rentals			20,106				21,182				16,686				14,445				22,096				4,678				5,858
Interest expense			10,988				7,629				11,613				16,488				19,424				4,557				5,678
Interest capitalized			1,592				1,114				2,009				963				1,089				143				508
Interest income			701				831				887				1,423				3,376				687				1,148
Net income (loss) before tax			16,640				23,667				52,133				74,304				89,745				24,446				37,032
Total assets			300,121				421,935				591,915				702,050				851,075				721,862				879,215
AeroRepública: (21)
Operating revenue			—				—				—				—			$	102,976				—			$	40,246
Operating expenses			—				—				—				—				96,839				—				39,472
Depreciation			—				—				—				—				615				—				190
Aircraft rentals			—				—				—				—				5,535				—				3,003
Interest expense			—				—				—				—				2,205				—				600
Interest capitalized			—				—				—				—				—				—				—
Interest income			—				—				—				—				208				—				114
Net income (loss) before tax			—				—				—				—				2,846				—				(686	)
Total assets			—				—				—				—				98,091				—				90,740

		Year Ended December 31,																				Three Months Ended March 31,
		2001				2002				2003				2004				2005(20)				2005				2006
		(in thousands of dollars, except share and per share data and operating data)
SEGMENT OPERATING DATA
Copa:
Available seat miles(8)			2,920				2,847				3,226				3,639				4,409				1,018				1,216
Load factor(9)			64.0	%			65.9	%			68.0	%			70.0	%			73.4	%			72.3	%			77.6	%
Break-even load factor			58.7	%			54.5	%			52.8	%			52.6	%			56.8	%			52.1	%			55.3	%
Yield(13)			13.79				14.38				14.22				14.31				14.41				14.28				15.01
Operating revenue per ASM(15)			9.94				10.56				10.60				10.99				11.47				11.16				12.46
CASM(16)			9.09				9.48				8.79				8.72				9.13				8.61				9.09
Average stage length(18)			1,023				1,010				1,028				1,047				1,123				1,115				1,158
On time performance(17)			87.7	%			90.5	%			91.4	%			91.8	%			91.7	%			94.9	%			92.3	%
AeroRepública:(21)
Available seat miles(8)			—				—				—				—				950				—				399
Load factor(9)			—				—				—				—				62.0	%			—				53.1	%
Break even load factor			—				—				—				—				60.8	%			—				54.4	%
Yield(13)			—				—				—				—				16.61(22	)			—				18.32	(22)
Operating revenue per ASM(15)			—				—				—				—				10.74				—				10.10
CASM(16)			—				—				—				—				10.10				—				9.90
Average stage length(18)			—				—				—				—				360				—				357
On time performance(19)			—				—				—				—				70.4	%			—				81.9	%

(1)		Represents impairment losses on our Boeing 737-200 aircraft and related assets. See Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements.
(2)		Consists primarily of changes in the fair value of fuel derivative contracts, foreign exchange gains/losses and gains on sale of Boeing 737-200 aircraft. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the notes to our consolidated financial statements.
(3)		EBITDA represents net income (loss) plus the sum of interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization minus the sum of interest capitalized and interest income. EBITDA is presented as supplemental information because we believe it is a useful indicator of our operating performance and is useful in comparing our operating performance with other companies in the airline industry. However, EBITDA should not be considered in isolation, as a substitute for net income prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP or as a measure of a company’s profitability. In addition, our calculation of EBITDA may not be comparable to other companies’ similarly titled measures. The following table presents a reconciliation of our net income to EBITDA for the specified periods:

		Year Ended December 31,																				Three Months Ended March 31,
		2001				2002				2003				2004				2005				2005				2006
		(in thousands of dollars)
Net income (loss)		$	14,818			$	20,668			$	48,489			$	68,572			$	82,999			$	22,560			$	32,280
Interest expense			10,988				7,629				11,613				16,488				21,629				4,557				6,278
Income taxes			1,822				2,999				3,644				5,732				9,592				1,886				4,066
Depreciation			13,325				13,377				14,040				19,279				19,857				4,739				5,417
Subtotal			40,953				44,673				77,786				110,071				134,077				33,742				48,041
Interest capitalized			(1,592	)			(1,114	)			(2,009	)			(963	)			(1,089	)			(143	)			(508	)
Interest income			(701	)			(831	)			(887	)			(1,423	)			(3,584	)			(687	)			(1,262	)
EBITDA			38,660				42,728				74,890				107,685				129,404				32,912				46,271

(4)		Operating margin represents operating income divided by operating revenues.

(5)		All share and per share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the current capital structure described under “Description of Capital Stock” and in the notes to our consolidated financial statements.
(6)		Total number of paying passengers (including all passengers redeeming OnePass frequent flyer miles and other travel awards) flown on all flight segments, expressed in thousands.
(7)		Number of miles flown by scheduled revenue passengers, expressed in millions.
(8)		Aircraft seating capacity multiplied by the number of miles the seats are flown, expressed in millions.
(9)		Percentage of aircraft seating capacity that is actually utilized. Load factors are calculated by dividing revenue passenger miles by available seat miles.
(10)		Load factor that would have resulted in total revenues being equal to total expenses.
(11)		The number of hours from the time an airplane moves off the departure gate for a revenue flight until it is parked at the gate of the arrival airport.
(12)		Average number of block hours operated per day per aircraft for the total aircraft fleet.
(13)		Average amount (in cents) one passenger pays to fly one mile.
(14)		Passenger revenues (in cents) divided by the number of available seat miles.
(15)		Total operating revenues for passenger aircraft related costs (in cents) divided by the number of available seat miles.
(16)		Total operating expenses for passenger aircraft related costs (in cents) divided by the number of available seat miles.
(17)		Percentage of flights that arrive at the destination gate within fifteen minutes of scheduled arrival.
(18)		The average number of miles flown per flight.
(19)		Percentage of flights that depart within fifteen minutes of the scheduled departure time.
(20)		For AeroRepública operating data, this period covers from April 22, 2005 until December 31, 2005 which corresponds to the period that AeroRepública was consolidated in our financial statements.
(21)		We have not included financial information for the three months ended March 31, 2005 which preceded our acquisition of AeroRepública on April 22, 2005.
(22)		AeroRepública has not historically distinguished between revenue passengers and non-revenue passengers. Although we are implementing systems at AeroRepública to record that information, revenue passenger information and other statistics derived from revenue passenger data for the year ended December 31, 2005 and the three months ended March 31, 2006 has been derived from estimates that we believe to be materially accurate.

 

An investment in our Class A shares involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below before making an investment decision. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected by any of these risks. The trading price of our Class A shares could decline due to any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment. The risks described below are those known to us and that we currently believe may materially affect us.

 

Risks Relating to Our Company

 

Our failure to successfully implement our growth strategy may adversely affect our results of operations and harm the market value of our Class A shares.

 

We have grown rapidly over the past five years. We intend to continue to grow our fleet, expand our service to new markets and increase the frequency of flights to the markets we currently serve. Achieving these goals is essential in order for our business to benefit from cost efficiencies resulting from economies of scale. We expect to have substantial cash needs as we expand, including cash required to fund aircraft purchases or aircraft deposits as we add to our fleet. We cannot assure you that we will have sufficient cash to fund such projects, and if we are unable to successfully expand our route system, our future revenue and earnings growth would be limited.

 

When we commence a new route, our load factors tend to be lower than those on our established routes and our advertising and other promotional costs tend to be higher, which may result in initial losses that could have a negative impact on our results of operations as well as require a substantial amount of cash to fund. We also periodically run special promotional fare campaigns, particularly in connection with the opening of new routes. Promotional fares may have the effect of increasing load factors while reducing our yield on such routes during the period that they are in effect. The number of markets we serve and our flight frequencies depend on our ability to identify the appropriate geographic markets upon which to focus and to gain suitable airport access and route approval in these markets. There can be no assurance that the new markets we enter will provide passenger traffic that is sufficient to make our operations in those new markets profitable. Any condition that would prevent or delay our access to key airports or routes, including limitations on the ability to process more passengers, the imposition of flight capacity restrictions, the inability to secure additional route rights under bilateral agreements or the inability to maintain our existing slots and obtain additional slots, could constrain the expansion of our operations.

 

The expansion of our business will also require additional skilled personnel, equipment and facilities. The inability to hire and retain skilled pilots and other personnel or secure the required equipment and facilities efficiently and cost-effectively may adversely affect our ability to execute our growth strategy. Expansion of our markets and flight frequencies may also strain our existing management resources and operational, financial and management information systems to the point where they may no longer be adequate to support our operations, requiring us to make significant expenditures in these areas. In light of these factors, we cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully establish new markets or expand our existing markets, and our failure to do so could harm our business and results of operations, as well as the value of our Class A shares.

 

If we fail to successfully integrate the new Embraer 190 aircraft we have agreed to purchase into our operations, our business could be harmed.

 

In October 2004, Copa announced an order to purchase ten new Embraer 190 aircraft with options for an additional 20 new aircraft. Since then, Copa accepted delivery of two Embraer aircraft in the fourth quarter of 2005 and increased its firm orders for the Embraer 190 aircraft by exercising two of these options in April 2005 and three of these options in April 2006. In March 2006, AeroRepública announced an order to purchase five new Embraer 190 aircraft with options for an additional 20 new aircraft. Acquisition of an all-new type of aircraft, such as the Embraer 190, involves a variety of risks, including:

 

 

 

The Embraer 190 is a new aircraft and, although to date we have not had any significant problems with this aircraft, certain other airlines have in the past experienced problems generally associated with it, including difficulties with the software that operates the Embraer avionics system. As a result, we may experience similar or other problems with the Embraer 190s that will be delivered to us which could result in increased costs or service interruptions.

 

In addition, we also face risks in integrating a second type of aircraft into our existing infrastructure and operations, including, among other things, the additional costs, resources and time needed to hire and train new pilots, technicians and other skilled support personnel. If we fail to successfully take delivery of, place into service and integrate into our operations the new Embraer 190 aircraft, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed.

 

We are dependent on our alliance with Continental and cannot assure you that it will continue.

 

We maintain a broad commercial and marketing alliance with Continental that has allowed us to enhance our network and, in some cases, offer our customers services that we could not otherwise offer. If Continental were to experience severe financial difficulties or go bankrupt, our alliance and service agreements may be terminated or we may not realize the anticipated benefits from our relationship with Continental. Continental has incurred significant losses since September 11, 2001, primarily as a result of record high fuel prices and decreased yields. Continental reported a net loss of $68 million for 2005 and has indicated that losses of the magnitude incurred since September 11, 2001 are not sustainable if they continue. We cannot assure you that Continental’s results will improve, or that it will avoid bankruptcy, and as a result we may be materially and adversely affected by a continuing deterioration of Continental’s financial condition.

 

Since we began the alliance in 1998, we have benefited from Continental’s support in negotiations for aircraft purchases, insurance and fuel purchases, sharing of “best practices” and engineering support in our maintenance operations, and significant other intangible support. This support has assisted us in our growth strategy, while also improving our operational performance and the quality of our service. Our alliance relationship with Continental is the subject of a grant of antitrust immunity from the U.S. Department of Transportation, or DOT. If our relationship with Continental were to deteriorate, or our alliance relationship were no longer to benefit from a grant of antitrust immunity, or our alliance or services agreements were terminated, our business, financial condition and results of operations would likely be materially and adversely affected. The loss of Copa’s codesharing relationship with Continental would likely result in a significant decrease in our revenues. We also rely on Continental’s OnePass frequent flyer program that we participate in globally and on a co-branded basis in Latin America, and our business may be adversely affected if the OnePass program does not remain a competitive marketing program. In addition, our competitors may benefit from alliances with other airlines that are more extensive than our alliance with Continental. We cannot predict the extent to which we will be disadvantaged by competing alliances. See “Related Party Transactions.”

 

Continental’s economic interest in our continued success can be expected to further decline over time.

 

In connection with our initial public offering in December 2005, Continental reduced its investment in us from 49% to approximately 27.3% of our capital stock. After giving effect to this offering, Continental is expected to further reduce its investment in us to approximately 12.3% of our capital stock (or 10.0% if the over-allotment option is exercised). Continental can be expected to seek to monetize its remaining investment in us. Continental has certain rights pursuant to a shareholders’ agreement among Continental, CIASA and us, including the right to appoint one of our directors so long as our alliance agreement with Continental continues. As a result of Continental’s right, following consummation of this offering, to appoint one member of our board of directors and our dependence on the alliance between the airlines, Continental will continue to have the ability to exercise significant influence over us following the offering. Nevertheless, Continental’s interests will likely diverge from those of our other shareholders as Continental reduces its investment in us over time. Other than certain exclusivity provisions and a termination event for certain competitive activities contained in our alliance agreement, we do not have any non-competition agreement

with Continental, and as Continental continues to reduce its economic stake in us, it may take actions that are adverse to the interests of the majority of our shareholders. See “Related Party Transactions.”

 

We operate using a hub-and-spoke model and are vulnerable to competitors offering direct flights between destinations we serve.

 

The structure of substantially all of our current flight operations (other than those of AeroRepública) generally follows what is known in the airline industry as a “hub-and-spoke” model. This model aggregates passengers by operating flights from a number of “spoke” origins to a central hub through which they are transported to their final destinations. In recent years, many traditional hub-and-spoke operators have faced significant and increasing competitive pressure from low-cost, point-to-point carriers on routes with sufficient demand to sustain point-to-point service. A point-to-point structure enables airlines to focus on the most profitable, high-demand routes and to offer greater convenience and, in many instances, lower fares. With the passage of time, and in particular as demand for air travel in Latin America increases, it is increasingly likely that one or more of our competitors will initiate non-stop service between important destinations that we currently serve through our Panamanian hub. By bypassing our hub in Panama, any non-stop service would be more convenient and possibly less expensive, than our connecting service and could significantly decrease demand for our service to those destinations. We believe that future competition from point-to-point carriers will be directed towards the largest markets that we serve. As a result, the effect of such competition on us could be significant and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

The Panamanian Aviation Act and certain of the bilateral agreements under which we operate contain Panamanian ownership requirements that are not clearly defined, and our failure to comply with these requirements could cause us to lose our authority to operate in Panama or to the international destinations we serve.

 

Under Law No. 21 of January 29, 2003, which regulates the aviation industry in the Republic of Panama and which we refer to as the Aviation Act, “substantial ownership” and “effective control” of our airline must remain in the hands of Panamanian nationals. Under certain of the bilateral agreements between Panama and other countries pursuant to which we have the right to fly to those other countries and over their territory, we must continue to have substantial Panamanian ownership and effective control by Panamanian nationals to retain these rights. Neither “substantial ownership” nor “effective control” are defined in the Aviation Act or in the bilateral agreements, and it is unclear how a Panamanian court or, in the case of the bilateral agreements, foreign regulatory authorities might interpret these requirements. In addition, the manner in which these requirements are interpreted may change over time. We cannot predict whether these requirements would be satisfied through ownership and control by Panamanian record holders, or if these requirements would be satisfied only by direct and indirect ownership and control by Panamanian beneficial owners.

 

At the present time, CIASA, a Panamanian entity, is the record owner of all of our Class B voting shares, representing approximately 29.2% of our total share capital and all of the voting power of our capital stock.

 

On November 25, 2005, the Executive Branch of the Government of Panama promulgated a decree stating that the “substantial ownership” and “effective control” requirements of the Aviation Act are met if a Panamanian citizen or a Panamanian company is the record holder of shares representing 51% or more of the voting power of the company. Although the decree has the force of law for so long as it remains in effect, it does not supersede the Aviation Act, and it can be modified or superseded at any time by a future Executive Branch decree. Additionally, the decree has no binding effect on regulatory authorities of other countries whose bilateral agreements impose Panamanian ownership and control limitations on us. We cannot assure you that the decree will not be challenged, modified or superseded in the future, or that record ownership of a majority of our Class B shares by Panamanian entities will be sufficient to satisfy the “substantial ownership” requirement of the Aviation Act and the decree. If the Panamanian Civil Aviation Authority (the Autoridad de Aeronáutica Civil), which we refer to as the AAC, or a Panamanian court were to determine that “substantial” Panamanian ownership should be determined on the basis of our direct and indirect ownership, we could lose our license to operate our airline in Panama. Likewise, if a foreign regulatory authority were to determine that our direct or indirect Panamanian ownership fails to satisfy the minimum Panamanian ownership requirements for a Panamanian carrier under the applicable bilateral agreement,

we may lose the benefit of that agreement and be prohibited from flying to the relevant country or over its territory. Any such determination would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, as well as on the value of the Class A shares.

 

Our business is subject to extensive regulation which may restrict our growth or our operations or increase our costs.

 

Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected if we or certain aviation authorities in the countries to which we fly fail to maintain the required foreign and domestic governmental authorizations necessary for our operations. In order to maintain the necessary authorizations issued by the AAC and other corresponding foreign authorities, we must continue to comply with applicable statutes, rules and regulations pertaining to the airline industry, including any rules and regulations that may be adopted in the future. We cannot predict or control any actions that the AAC or foreign aviation regulators may take in the future, which could include restricting our operations or imposing new and costly regulations. Also, our fares are technically subject to review by the AAC and the regulators of certain other countries to which we fly, any of which may in the future impose restrictions on our fares.

 

We are also subject to international bilateral air transport agreements that provide for the exchange of air traffic rights between Panama and various other countries, and we must obtain permission from the applicable foreign governments to provide service to foreign destinations. There can be no assurance that existing bilateral agreements between the countries in which our airline operating companies are based and foreign governments will continue, or that we will be able to obtain more route rights under those agreements to accommodate our future expansion plans. A modification, suspension or revocation of one or more bilateral agreements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The suspension of our permits to operate to certain airports or destinations or the imposition of other sanctions could also have a material adverse effect. Due to the nature of bilateral agreements, we can fly to many destinations only from Panama. We cannot assure you that a change in a foreign government’s administration of current laws and regulations or the adoption of new laws and regulations will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We plan to continue to increase the scale of our operations and revenues by expanding our presence on new and existing routes. Our ability to successfully implement this strategy will depend upon many factors, several of which are outside our control or subject to change. These factors include the permanence of a suitable political, economic and regulatory environment in the Latin American countries in which we operate or intend to operate and our ability to identify strategic local partners.

 

The most active government regulator among the countries to which we fly is the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA. The FAA from time to time issues directives and other regulations relating to the maintenance and operation of aircraft that require significant expenditures. FAA requirements cover, among other things, collision avoidance systems, airborne windshear avoidance systems, noise abatement and other environmental issues, and increased inspections and maintenance procedures to be conducted on older aircraft. We expect to continue incurring expenses to comply with the FAA’s regulations, and any increase in the cost of compliance could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Additional new regulations continue to be regularly implemented by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, as well.

 

The growth of our operations to the United States and the benefits of our code-sharing arrangements with Continental are dependent on Panama’s continued favorable safety assessment.

 

The FAA periodically audits the aviation regulatory authorities of other countries. As a result of its investigation, each country is given an International Aviation Safety Assessment, or IASA, rating. In May 2001, Panama’s IASA rating was downgraded from Category 1 to Category 2 due to alleged deficiencies in Panamanian air safety standards and AAC’s capability to provide regulatory oversight. As a result of this downgrade, we were prevented from offering our Copa flights to any new destinations in the United States and from certifying new aircraft for flights to the United States, and Continental was no longer able to codeshare on our flights. In April 2004, after extensive investment by the Panamanian government in the AAC and consultations among Copa, the AAC and U.S. safety officials, Panama’s IASA rating was restored to Category 1. We cannot

assure you that the government of Panama, and the AAC in particular, will continue to meet international safety standards, and we have no direct control over their compliance with IASA guidelines. If Panama’s IASA rating were to be downgraded in the future, it could prohibit us from increasing service to the United States and Continental would have to suspend the placing of its code on our flights, causing us to lose direct revenue from codesharing as well as reducing flight options to our customers.

 

We are highly dependent on our hub at Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport.

 

Our business is heavily dependent on our operations at our hub at Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport. Substantially all of our Copa flights either depart from or arrive at our hub. The hub-and-spoke structure of our operations is particularly dependent on the on-time arrival of tightly coordinated groupings of flights to ensure that passengers can make timely connections to continuing flights. Like other airlines, we are subject to delays caused by factors beyond our control, including air traffic congestion at airports, adverse weather conditions and increased security measures. Delays inconvenience passengers, reduce aircraft utilization and increase costs, all of which in turn negatively affect our profitability. A significant interruption or disruption in service at Tocumen International Airport could have a serious impact on our business, financial condition and operating results. Also, Tocumen International Airport provides international service to the Republic of Panama’s population of approximately 3.0 million, whereas the hub markets of our current competitors tend to be much larger, providing those competitors with a larger base of customers at their hub.

 

Tocumen International Airport is operated by a corporation that is controlled by the government of the Republic of Panama. We depend on our good working relationship with the quasi-governmental corporation that operates the airport to ensure that we have adequate access to aircraft parking positions, landing rights and gate assignments for our aircraft to accommodate our current operations and future plans for expansion. The corporation that operates Tocumen International Airport does not enter into any formal, written leases or other agreements with airlines that govern rights to use the airport’s jetways or aircraft parking spaces. Therefore, in connection with the ongoing or future expansion of the airport, the airport authority could assign new capacity to competing airlines or could reassign resources that are currently used by us to other aircraft operators. Either such event could result in significant new competition for our routes or could otherwise have a material adverse effect on our current operations or ability for future growth.

 

We are exposed to increases in landing charges and other airport access fees and cannot be assured access to adequate facilities and landing rights necessary to achieve our expansion plans.

 

We must pay fees to airport operators for the use of their facilities. Any substantial increase in airport charges could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. Passenger taxes and airport charges have also increased in recent years, sometimes substantially. Certain important airports that we use, such as Bogota’s El Dorado airport, may be privatized in the near future which is likely to result in significant cost increases to the airlines that use these airports. We cannot assure you that the airports used by us will not impose, or further increase, passenger taxes and airport charges in the future, and any such increases could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

Certain airports that we serve (or that we plan to serve in the future) are subject to capacity constraints and impose slot restrictions during certain periods of the day. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain a sufficient number of slots, gates and other facilities at airports to expand our services as we are proposing to do. It is also possible that airports not currently subject to capacity constraints may become so in the future. In addition, an airline must use its slots on a regular and timely basis or risk having those slots re-allocated to others. Where slots or other airport resources are not available or their availability is restricted in some way, we may have to amend our schedules, change routes or reduce aircraft utilization. Any of these alternatives could have an adverse financial impact on us.

 

Some of the airports to which we fly impose various restrictions, including limits on aircraft noise levels, limits on the number of average daily departures and curfews on runway use. In addition, we cannot assure you that airports at which there are no such restrictions may not implement restrictions in the future or that, where such restrictions exist, they may not become more onerous. Such restrictions may limit our ability to continue to provide or to increase services at such airports.

We and our auditors identified a “material weakness” in our internal controls over financial reporting in connection with the preparation of our financial statements under U.S. GAAP, and if we fail to remediate this material weakness and achieve and maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results on a timely basis. As a result, current and potential stockholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our Class A shares.

 

In connection with the preparation of our financial statements under U.S. GAAP as of and for the year ended December 31, 2005, we and our auditors identified a material weakness (as defined under standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) in our internal controls over financial reporting. A material weakness is a significant deficiency, or combination of significant deficiencies, that results in more than a remote likelihood that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected. Specifically, we found that we did not have appropriate expertise in U.S. GAAP accounting and reporting among our financial and accounting staff to prepare our periodic financial statements without needing to make material corrective adjustments and footnote revisions when those statements are audited or reviewed. In light of this material weakness, in preparing the financial statements included in this prospectus, we performed additional analyses and other post-closing procedures in the course of preparing our financial statements and related footnotes in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

 

Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, beginning with our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2006, we will be required to furnish a report by our management on our internal control over financial reporting. This report will contain, among other matters, an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting as of the end of the fiscal year, including a statement as to whether or not our internal controls over financial reporting are effective. We have contracted an additional accounting manager with experience in preparing financial statements under U.S. GAAP, we have engaged an internationally recognized accounting firm to assist us in developing our procedures to comply with the requirements of Section 404 and our management and audit committee are developing other plans to prepare for our compliance with the requirements of Section 404 and to correct the weakness identified above. We will incur incremental costs as a result of these efforts, including increased auditing and legal fees, the magnitude of which we are not able to estimate at this time. We may not be able to effectively and timely implement controls and procedures that adequately respond to Section 404 or other increased regulatory compliance and reporting requirements that will be applicable to us as a public company. We cannot assure you that we will not discover further weaknesses or deficiencies as we continue to develop these procedures. In addition, we cannot assure you that the steps we plan to take or the procedures we plan to implement will be sufficient to ensure that we will be able to prevent or detect any misstatements to our financial statements in the future.

 

Any failure to implement and maintain the improvements in the controls over our financial reporting, or difficulties encountered in the implementation of these improvements in our controls, could result in a material misstatement to the annual or interim financial statements that would not be prevented or detected or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations under applicable securities laws. Any failure to improve our internal controls to address the identified weakness could result in our incurring substantial liability for not having met our legal obligations and could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative impact on the trading price of our Class A shares.

 

We have significant fixed financing costs and expect to incur additional fixed costs as we expand our fleet.

 

The airline business is characterized by high leverage, and accordingly we have a high level of indebtedness. We also have significant expenditures in connection with our operating leases and facility rental costs, and substantially all of our property and equipment is pledged to secure indebtedness. For the year ended December 31, 2005, our interest expense and aircraft and facility rental expense under operating leases aggregated $57.1 million. At March 31, 2006, approximately 62% of our total indebtedness bore interest at fixed rates, and a small portion of our lease obligations was determined with reference to LIBOR. Accordingly, our financing and rent expense will not decrease significantly if market interest rates decline.

 

As of May 31, 2006, we had firm commitments to purchase eight Boeing 737-Next Generation and 18 Embraer 190s, with an aggregate manufacturer’s list price of approximately $1.1 billion. We have arranged for financing for a significant portion of the commitment relating to such aircraft and will require substantial capital from external

sources to meet our remaining financial commitment. The acquisition and financing of these aircraft will likely result in a substantial increase in our leverage and fixed financing costs. A high degree of leverage and fixed payment obligations could:

 

 

Any one of these could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

The cost of refinancing our debt and obtaining additional financing for new aircraft could increase significantly if the Export-Import Bank of the United States does not continue to guarantee our debt.

 

We currently finance our aircraft through bank loans and, to a lesser extent, operating leases and local bond offerings. In the past, we have obtained most of the financing for our Boeing aircraft purchases from commercial financial institutions utilizing guarantees provided by the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The Export-Import Bank provides guarantees to companies that purchase goods from U.S. companies for export, enabling them to obtain financing at substantially lower interest rates as compared to those that they could obtain without a guarantee. The Export-Import Bank will not be able to provide similar guarantees in connection with financing for our aircraft purchases from Embraer since those aircraft are not exports from the United States. At March 31, 2006, we had $329.3 million of outstanding indebtedness that is owed to financial institutions under financing arrangements guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank. We cannot predict whether the Export-Import Bank’s credit support will continue to be available to us to fund future purchases of Boeing aircraft. The Export-Import Bank may in the future limit its exposure to Panama-based companies, to our airline or to airlines generally, or may encourage us to diversify our credit sources by limiting future guarantees. Similarly, we cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to raise financing from past sources, or from other sources, on terms comparable to our existing financing. We may not be able to continue to obtain lease or debt financing on terms attractive to us, or at all, and if we are unable to obtain financing, we may be forced to modify our aircraft acquisition plans or to incur higher than anticipated financing costs which could have an adverse impact on the execution of our growth strategy and business.

 

Our existing debt financing agreements and our aircraft operating leases contain restrictive covenants that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us.

 

Our aircraft financing loans and operating leases and the instruments governing our other indebtedness contain a number of significant covenants and restrictions that limit our ability and our subsidiaries’ ability to:

 

 

In addition, several of our aircraft financing agreements require us to maintain compliance with specified financial ratios and other financial and operating tests. For example, our access to certain borrowings under our aircraft financing arrangements is conditioned upon our maintenance of minimum debt service coverage and capitalization ratios. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation— Liquidity and Capital Resources.” Complying with these covenants may cause us to take actions that make it more difficult to execute successfully our business strategy, and we may face competition from companies not subject to such restrictions. Moreover, our failure to comply with these covenants could result in an event of default or refusal by our creditors to extend certain of our loans.

If we were to determine that our aircraft, rotable parts or inventory were impaired, it would have a significant adverse effect on our operating results.

 

We perform impairment reviews when there are particular risks of impairment or other indicators described in Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets, in order to determine whether we need to reduce the carrying value of our aircraft and related assets with a related charge to our earnings. In addition to the fact that the value of our fleet declines as it ages, the excess capacity that currently exists in the airline industry, airline bankruptcies and other factors beyond our control may further contribute to the decline of the fair market value of our aircraft and related rotable parts and inventory. If such an impairment does occur, we would be required under U.S. GAAP to write down these assets to their estimated fair market value through a charge to earnings. A significant charge to earnings would adversely affect our financial condition and operating results. In addition, the interest rates on and the availability of certain of our aircraft financing loans are tied to the value of the aircraft securing the loans. If those values were to decrease substantially, our interest rates may rise or the lenders under those loans may cease extending credit to us, either of which could have an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

We rely on information technology systems, and we may become more dependent on such systems in the future.

 

We rely upon information technology systems to operate our business and increase our efficiency. We are highly reliant on certain critical systems, such as the Sceptre system for maintenance, the “SHARES” computer reservation and check-in system and our new revenue management system. Other systems are designed to decrease distribution costs through Internet reservations and to maximize cargo distributions. These systems may not deliver their anticipated benefits. Also, in transitioning to new systems we may lose data or experience interruptions in service, which could harm our business.

 

Our quarterly results can fluctuate substantially, and the trading price of our Class A shares may be affected by such variations.

 

The airline industry is by nature cyclical and seasonal, and our operating results may vary from quarter to quarter. We tend to experience the highest levels of traffic and revenue in July and August, with a smaller peak in traffic in December and January. In general, demand for air travel is higher in the third and fourth quarters, particularly in international markets, because of the increase in vacation travel during these periods relative to the remainder of the year. We generally experience our lowest levels of passenger traffic in April and May. Given our high proportion of fixed costs, seasonality can affect our profitability from quarter to quarter. Demand for air travel is also affected by factors such as economic conditions, war or the threat of war, fare levels and weather conditions.

 

Due to the factors described above and others described in this prospectus, quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our operating results may not be good indicators of our future performance. In addition, it is possible that in any quarter our operating results could be below the expectations of investors and any published reports or analyses regarding our company. In that event, the price of our Class A shares could decline, perhaps substantially.

 

Our reputation and financial results could be harmed in the event of an accident or incident involving our aircraft.

 

An accident or incident involving one of our aircraft could involve significant claims by injured passengers and others, as well as significant costs related to the repair or replacement of a damaged aircraft and its temporary or permanent loss from service. A short time prior to our acquisition of AeroRepública, one of its aircraft slid off of a runway in an accident without serious injuries to passengers; however, the aircraft was severely damaged and declared a total loss by its insurers. We are required by our creditors and the lessors of our aircraft under our

operating lease agreements to carry liability insurance, but the amount of such liability insurance coverage may not be adequate and we may be forced to bear substantial losses in the event of any future accident. Our insurance premiums may also increase due to an accident or incident affecting one of our aircraft. Substantial claims resulting from an accident in excess of our related insurance coverage or increased premiums would harm our business and financial results. Moreover, any aircraft accident or incident, even if fully insured, could cause the public to perceive us as less safe or reliable than other airlines which could harm our business and results of operations. Our business would also be significantly harmed if the public avoids flying our aircraft due to an adverse perception of the types of aircraft that we operate arising from safety concerns or other problems, whether real or perceived, or in the event of an accident involving those types of aircraft.

 

Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates could negatively affect our net income.

 

In 2005, approximately 72% of our expenses and 42% of our revenues were denominated in U.S. dollars. The remainder of our expenses and revenues were denominated in the currencies of the various countries to which we fly, with the largest non-dollar amount denominated in Pesos. As a result of the acquisition of AeroRepública in April 2005, we have an increased exposure to the Colombian Peso. If any of these currencies decline in value against the U.S. dollar, our revenues, expressed in U.S. dollars, and our operating margin would be adversely affected. We may not be able to adjust our fares denominated in other currencies to offset any increases in U.S. dollar-denominated expenses, increases in interest expense or exchange losses on fixed obligations or indebtedness denominated in foreign currency. Copa currently does not hedge the risk of fluctuation in foreign exchange rates, and AeroRepública currently has only limited hedging. We are exposed to exchange rate losses and gains due to the fluctuation in the value of local currencies vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar during the period of time (typically between 1 to 2 weeks) between the time we are paid in local currencies and the time we are able to repatriate the revenues in U.S. dollars.

 

Our maintenance costs will increase as Copa’s fleet ages and as we perform maintenance on AeroRepública’s older fleet.

 

Because the average age of Copa’s aircraft was approximately 3.6 years as of May 31, 2006, the fleet requires less maintenance now than it will in the future. We have incurred a low level of maintenance expenses in recent years because most of the parts on Copa’s aircraft were still covered under multi-year warranties. Our maintenance costs will increase significantly, both on an absolute basis and as a percentage of our operating expenses as our fleet ages and these warranties expire.

 

AeroRepública’s fleet is considerably older than Copa’s fleet, having an average age of 20.4 years as of May 31, 2006 (not taking into account our currently retired DC-9 aircraft). The aircraft operated by AeroRepública will likely be less reliable than Copa’s newer aircraft and can be expected to require significantly greater expenditures on maintenance which may lead to an overall increase in our consolidated operating expenses.

 

If we enter into a prolonged dispute with any of our employees, many of whom are represented by unions, or if we are required to increase substantially the salaries or benefits of our employees, it may have an adverse impact on our operations and cash flows.

 

Approximately 61% of our Copa employees belong to a labor union. There are currently five unions covering our Copa employees based in Panama: the pilots’ union; the flight attendants’ union; the mechanics’ union; the traffic attendants’ union; and a generalized union, which represents baggage handlers, aircraft cleaners, counter agents, and other non-executive administrative staff. Copa is scheduled to begin its next negotiations with the pilots’ union in mid-2008. Copa entered into new collective bargaining agreements with its general union and its flight attendants’ union on October 26, 2005 and April 3, 2006, respectively. After extensive negotiations which did not lead to a mutually satisfactory resolution, Copa and the mechanics’ union entered into a government-mandated arbitration, and a collective bargaining agreement was agreed to on March 29, 2006 as a result of such arbitration proceedings. Previously, Copa has not had to resort to arbitration to resolve negotiations with its unions. Collective bargaining agreements in Panama are typically between three and four year terms. We also have union contracts with our Copa employees in Brazil and Mexico. AeroRepública is a party to collective bargaining agreements that cover 95 of AeroRepública’s 109 pilots and co-pilots and all of AeroRepública’s 176 flight attendants. A strike,

work interruption or stoppage or any prolonged dispute with our employees who are represented by any of these unions could have an adverse impact on our operations. These risks are typically exacerbated during periods of renegotiation with the unions. For example, in 2000 we experienced a brief localized pilots’ union work slow-down during contract negotiations that was eventually resolved to our satisfaction. Any renegotiated collective bargaining agreement could feature significant wage increases and a consequent increase in our operating expenses. Employees outside of Panama that are not currently members of unions may also form new unions that may seek further wage increases or benefits.

 

Our business is labor intensive. We expect salaries, wages and benefits to increase on a gross basis, and these costs could increase as a percentage of our overall costs. If we are unable to hire, train and retain qualified pilots and other employees at a reasonable cost, our business could be harmed and we may be unable to complete our expansion plans.

 

Our investment in AeroRepública may not generate the benefits we sought when we purchased the company.

 

In the second quarter of 2005, we purchased AeroRepública, a Colombian airline currently providing point-to-point service among 12 cities in Colombia and to Panama City. AeroRepública’s results of operations are highly sensitive to competitive conditions in the Colombian domestic air travel market. AeroRepública’s rapid growth in recent years came during a period in which the domestic market leader, Aerovías del Continente Americano S.A. (Avianca), experienced severe financial difficulties that resulted in its bankruptcy and the exit from the market of several other competitors. Avianca has emerged from bankruptcy with new management and an improved financial condition. It is therefore likely that AeroRepública will face stronger competition in the future than it has in recent years, and its prior results may not be indicative of its future performance.

 

AeroRepública’s results of operations are significantly less profitable than those of Copa. During the first three months of 2006, AeroRepública had a net loss of approximately $746,000 and may have continuing net losses in future fiscal periods. We may not be able to achieve the cost savings and other improvements we seek at AeroRepública, and our failure to do so would harm our consolidated operating margins and results of operations. Our investment in AeroRepública is subject to many risks and uncertainties that will ultimately determine whether the acquisition will increase or reduce our overall profitability. See “Business—AeroRepública.”

 

The integration of AeroRepública into our business may require a significant amount of our management’s time and distract our management from our core operations.

 

Although we believe that our acquisition of AeroRepública represents an attractive opportunity, substantial resources are needed to implement our plan to improve its profitability. Implementation of our plan is subject to many uncertainties and may eventually require us to dedicate a potentially significant portion of our limited management resources to this effort. Inconsistencies in standards, internal controls, procedures, policies, business cultures and compensation structures between Copa and AeroRepública, and the need to implement, coordinate and harmonize various business-specific operating procedures and systems, as well as the financial, accounting, information and other systems of Copa and AeroRepública, may result in substantial costs and may divert a substantial amount of our management’s resources from our core international operations. Diversion of Copa’s resources could materially and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations.

 

Our revenues depend on our relationship with travel agents and tour operators.

 

In 2005, approximately 58% of our revenues were derived from tickets sold by travel agents or tour operators. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain favorable relationships with these ticket sellers. Our revenues could be adversely impacted if travel agents or tour operators elect to favor other airlines or to disfavor us. Our relationship with travel agents and tour operators may be affected by:

 

 

We rely on third parties to provide our customers and us with facilities and services that are integral to our business.

 

We have entered into agreements with third-party contractors to provide certain facilities and services required for our operations, such as heavy aircraft and engine maintenance; call center services; and catering, ground handling, cargo and baggage handling, or “below the wing” aircraft services. For example, at airports other than Tocumen International Airport, all of the “below the wing” aircraft services for Copa flights are performed by contractors. AeroRepública contracts ground handling equipment in eleven of the thirteen cities it serves and has contracted labor for “below the wing” tasks in eleven of the thirteen cities. Overhaul maintenance and “C-checks” for Copa are handled by contractors in the United States and Costa Rica, and some line maintenance for Copa is handled at certain airports by contract workers rather than our employees. Substantially all of our agreements with third-party contractors are subject to termination on short notice. The loss or expiration of these agreements or our inability to renew these agreements or to negotiate new agreements with other providers at comparable rates could harm our business and results of operations. Further, our reliance on third parties to provide essential services on our behalf gives us less control over the costs, efficiency, timeliness and quality of those services. A contractor’s negligence could compromise our aircraft or endanger passengers and crew. This could also have a material adverse effect on our business. We expect to be dependent on such agreements for the foreseeable future and if we enter any new market, we will need to have similar agreements in place.

 

We depend on a limited number of suppliers for our aircraft and engines.

 

One of the elements of our business strategy is to save costs by operating a simplified aircraft fleet. Copa currently operates the Boeing 737-700/800 Next Generation aircraft powered by CFM 56-7B engines from CFM International and the Embraer 190, powered by General Electric CF 34-10 engines. AeroRepública has firm commitments to accept delivery of five Embraer 190 aircraft with options to purchase an additional 20 Embraer 190 aircraft. We currently intend to continue to rely exclusively on these aircraft for the foreseeable future. If any of Boeing, Embraer, CFM International or GE Engines were unable to perform their contractual obligations, or if we are unable to acquire or lease new aircraft or engines from aircraft or engine manufacturers or lessors on acceptable terms, we would have to find another supplier for a similar type of aircraft or engine.

 

If we have to lease or purchase aircraft from another supplier, we could lose the benefits we derive from our current fleet composition. We cannot assure you that any replacement aircraft would have the same operating advantages as the Boeing 737-700/800 Next Generation or Embraer 190 aircraft that would be replaced or that Copa could lease or purchase engines that would be as reliable and efficient as the CFM 56-7B and GE CF34-10. We may also incur substantial transition costs, including costs associated with retraining our employees, replacing our manuals and adapting our facilities. Our operations could also be harmed by the failure or inability of Boeing, Embraer, CFM International or GE Engines to provide sufficient parts or related support services on a timely basis.

 

Our business would be significantly harmed if a design defect or mechanical problem with any of the types of aircraft that we operate were discovered that would ground any of our aircraft while the defect or problem was corrected, assuming it could be corrected at all. The use of our aircraft could be suspended or restricted by regulatory authorities in the event of any actual or perceived mechanical or design problems. Our business would also be significantly harmed if the public began to avoid flying with us due to an adverse perception of the types of aircraft that we operate stemming from safety concerns or other problems, whether real or perceived, or in the event of an accident involving those types of aircraft. Carriers that operate a more diversified fleet are better positioned than we are to manage such events.

 

We are dependent on key personnel.

 

Our success depends to a significant extent upon the efforts and abilities of our senior management team and key financial, commercial, operating and maintenance personnel. In particular, we depend on the services of our senior management team, including Pedro Heilbron, our Chief Executive Officer, Victor Vial, our Chief Financial Officer, Lawrence Ganse, our Chief Operating Officer, Jorge Isaac García, our Vice-President, Commercial, and Daniel Gunn, our Vice-President, Planning. We have no employment agreements or non-competition agreements in place with members of our senior management team other than Mr. Heilbron, our Chief Executive Officer.

Competition for highly qualified personnel is intense, and the loss of any executive officer, senior manager or other key employee without adequate replacement or the inability to attract new qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect upon our business, operating results and financial condition.

 

Risks Relating to the Airline Industry

 

The airline industry is highly competitive.

 

We face intense competition throughout our route network. Overall airline industry profit margins are low and industry earnings are volatile. Airlines compete in the areas of pricing, scheduling (frequency and flight times), on-time performance, frequent flyer programs and other services. We compete with a number of other airlines that currently serve the routes on which we operate, including Grupo TACA, American Airlines Inc. and Avianca. Some of our competitors, such as American Airlines, have larger customer bases and greater brand recognition in the markets we serve outside Panama, and some of our competitors have significantly greater financial and marketing resources than we have. Airlines based in other countries may also receive subsidies, tax incentives or other state aid from their respective governments, which are not provided by the Panamanian government. The commencement of, or increase in, service on the routes we serve by existing or new carriers could negatively impact our operating results. Likewise, competitors’ service on routes that we are targeting for expansion may make those expansion plans less attractive.

 

We must constantly react to changes in prices and services offered by our competitors to remain competitive. The airline industry is highly susceptible to price discounting, particularly because airlines incur very low marginal costs for providing service to passengers occupying otherwise unsold seats. Carriers use discount fares to stimulate traffic during periods of lower demand to generate cash flow and to increase market share. Any lower fares offered by one airline are often matched by competing airlines, which often results in lower industry yields with little or no increase in traffic levels. Price competition among airlines in the future could lead to lower fares or passenger traffic on some or all of our routes, which could negatively impact our profitability. Grupo TACA lowered many of its fares over a year ago in an effort to generate higher demand, and we were forced to respond by adjusting our fares to remain competitive on the affected routes. We cannot assure you that Grupo TACA or any of our other competitors will not undercut our fares in the future or increase capacity on routes in an effort to increase their respective market shares as they have done in the past. Although we intend to compete vigorously and to assert our rights against any predatory conduct, such activity by other airlines could reduce the level of fares or passenger traffic on our routes to the point where profitable levels of operations could not be maintained. Due to our smaller size and financial resources compared to several of our competitors, we may be less able to withstand aggressive marketing tactics or fare wars engaged in by our competitors should such events occur.

 

We may face increasing competition from low-cost carriers offering discounted fares.

 

Traditional hub-and-spoke carriers in the United States and Europe have in recent years faced substantial and increasing competitive pressure from low-cost carriers offering discounted fares. The low-cost carriers’ operations are typically characterized by point-to-point route networks focusing on the highest demand city pairs, high aircraft utilization, single class service and fewer in-flight amenities. As evidenced by the operations of Gol Intelligent Airlines Inc., or Gol, in Brazil and several new low-cost carriers planning to start service in Mexico, among others, the low-cost carrier business model appears to be gaining acceptance in the Latin American aviation industry. As a result, we may face new and substantial competition from low-cost carriers in the future which could result in significant and lasting downward pressure on the fares we charge for flights on our routes.

 

Significant changes or extended periods of high fuel costs or fuel supply disruptions could materially affect our operating results.

 

Fuel costs constitute a significant portion of our total operating expenses, representing approximately 17.1% of our operating expenses in 2003, 19.7% in 2004, 29.9% in 2005 and 31.4% in the three months ended March 31, 2006. Our fuel prices increased very significantly in 2005 and are likely to increase further, perhaps significantly. As a result, substantial increases in fuel costs may materially and adversely affect our operating results. Jet fuel costs have been subject to wide fluctuations as a result of increases in demand, sudden disruptions in and other concerns

about global supply, as well as market speculation. Both the cost and availability of fuel are subject to many economic, political, weather, environmental and other factors and events occurring throughout the world that we can neither control nor accurately predict, including international political and economic circumstances such as the political instability in major oil-exporting countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Although we have entered into hedging agreements for a portion of Copa’s fuel needs through the first five months of 2007 to hedge against fuel price volatility, these agreements provide only limited protection against future increases in the price of fuel, and we may discontinue such agreements in the future. Our current or future arrangements will not be adequate to protect us from further increases in the price of fuel, and fuel prices are likely to increase above their current levels and may do so in the near future. Indeed, numerous market experts and analysts have predicted that fuel prices can be expected to increase further, perhaps significantly, from their already high levels. If a future fuel supply shortage were to arise as a result of production curtailments by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, a disruption of oil imports, supply disruptions resulting from severe weather or natural disasters, a further delay in the restart of the Gulf Coast refineries as a result of weather disruptions, the continued unrest in Iraq, other conflicts in the Middle East or otherwise, higher fuel prices or further reductions of scheduled airline services could result. Significant increases in fuel costs would materially and negatively affect our operating results. We cannot assure you that we would be able to offset any increases in the price of fuel by increasing our fares.

 

Because the airline industry is characterized by high fixed costs and relatively elastic revenues, airlines cannot quickly reduce their costs to respond to shortfalls in expected revenue.

 

The airline industry is characterized by low gross profit margins, high fixed costs and revenues that generally exhibit substantially greater elasticity than costs. The operating costs of each flight do not vary significantly with the number of passengers flown and, therefore, a relatively small change in the number of passengers, fare pricing or traffic mix could have a significant effect on operating and financial results. These fixed costs cannot be adjusted quickly to respond to changes in revenues and a shortfall from expected revenue levels could have a material adverse effect on our net income.

 

Airline bankruptcies could adversely affect the industry.

 

Since September 11, 2001 several air carriers have sought to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, including some of our competitors such as Avianca and Delta. Successful completion of such reorganizations could present us with competitors with significantly lower operating costs derived from labor, supply and financing contracts renegotiated under the protection of the Bankruptcy Code. For example, Avianca emerged from bankruptcy with a significantly improved financial condition. In addition, air carriers involved in reorganizations have historically undertaken substantial fare discounting in order to maintain cash flows and to enhance continued customer loyalty. Such fare discounting could further lower yields for all carriers, including us. Further, the market value of aircraft would likely be negatively impacted if a number of air carriers seek to reduce capacity by eliminating aircraft from their fleets.

 

The 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States have adversely affected, and any additional terrorist attacks or hostilities would further adversely affect, the airline industry by decreasing demand and increasing costs.

 

The terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001 had a severe adverse impact on the airline industry. Airline traffic in the United States fell dramatically after the attacks and decreased less severely throughout Latin America. Our revenues depend on the number of passengers traveling on our flights. Therefore, any future terrorist attacks or threat of attacks, whether or not involving commercial aircraft, any increase in hostilities relating to reprisals against terrorist organizations or otherwise and any related economic impact could result in decreased passenger traffic and materially and negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

The airline industry experienced increased costs following the 2001 terrorist attacks. Airlines have been required to adopt additional security measures and may be required to comply with more rigorous security guidelines in the future. Premiums for insurance against aircraft damage and liability to third parties increased substantially, and insurers could reduce their coverage or increase their premiums even further in the event of additional terrorist attacks, hijackings, airline crashes or other events adversely affecting the airline industry abroad

or in Latin America. In the future, certain aviation insurance could become unaffordable, unavailable or available only for reduced amounts of coverage that are insufficient to comply with the levels of insurance coverage required by aircraft lenders and lessors or applicable government regulations. While governments in other countries have agreed to indemnify airlines for liabilities that they might incur from terrorist attacks or provide low-cost insurance for terrorism risks, the Panamanian government has not indicated an intention to provide similar benefits to us. Increases in the cost of insurance may result in both higher airline ticket prices and a decreased demand for air travel generally, which could materially and negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

The negative impact on the airline industry of the current global state of affairs, including the aftermath of the Iraq war and the threat of another outbreak of a communicable disease, may continue or possibly worsen.

 

The combination of continued instability in the aftermath of the Iraq war and the public’s concerns about the possibility of an outbreak of a disease that can be spread by fellow commercial air passengers (such as avian flu or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) has continued to have a negative impact on the public’s willingness to travel by air. It is impossible to determine if and when such adverse effects will abate and whether they will further decrease demand for air travel, which could materially and negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Risks Relating to Panama and our Region

 

Our performance is heavily dependent on economic conditions in the countries in which we do business.

 

Passenger demand is heavily cyclical and highly dependent on global and local economic growth, economic expectations and foreign exchange rate variations. In the past, we have been negatively impacted by poor economic performance in certain emerging market countries in which we operate. Any of the following developments in the countries in which we operate could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations:

 

 

Additionally, a significant portion of our revenues is derived from discretionary and leisure travel which are especially sensitive to economic downturns. A worsening of economic conditions could result in a reduction in passenger traffic, and leisure travel in particular, which in turn would materially and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations. Any perceived weakening of economic conditions in this region could likewise negatively affect our ability to obtain financing to meet our future capital needs in international capital markets.

 

We are highly dependent on conditions in Panama.

 

A substantial portion of our assets are located in the Republic of Panama, a significant proportion of our customers are Panamanian, and substantially all of Copa’s flights operate through our hub at Tocumen International Airport. As a result, we depend on economic and political conditions prevailing from time to time in Panama. Panama’s economic conditions in turn highly depend on the continued profitability and economic impact of the Panama Canal. Control of the Panama Canal and many other assets were transferred from the United States to Panama in 1999 after nearly a century of U.S. control. Although the Panamanian government is democratically elected and the Panamanian political climate is currently stable, we cannot assure you that current conditions will continue. If the Panamanian economy experiences a recession or a reduction in its economic growth rate, or if Panama experiences significant political disruptions, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and negatively affected.

 

We have paid low taxes in the past, and any increase in the taxes we or our shareholders pay in Panama or the other countries where we do business would adversely affect the value of our Class A shares.

 

We cannot assure you that we will not be subject to additional taxes in the future or that current taxes will not be increased. Our provision for income taxes was $3.6 million, $5.7 million and $9.6 million in the years ended

December 31, 2003, 2004 and 2005, which represented an effective income tax rate of 7.0%, 7.7% and 10.4% for the respective periods. We are subject to local tax regulations in each of the jurisdictions where we operate, the great majority of which are related to the taxation of income. In six of the countries to which we fly, we do not pay any income taxes, because we do not generate income under the laws of those countries either because they do not have income tax or because of treaties or other arrangements those countries have with Panama. In the remaining countries, we pay income tax at a rate ranging from 25% to 35% of income. Different countries calculate income in different ways, but they are typically derived from sales in the applicable country multiplied by our net margin or by a presumed net margin set by the relevant tax legislation. The determination of our taxable income in several countries is based on a combination of revenues sourced to each particular country and the allocation of expenses of our operations to that particular country. The methodology for multinational transportation company sourcing of revenue and expense is not always specifically prescribed in the relevant tax regulations, and therefore is subject to interpretation by both us and the respective taxing authorities. Additionally, in some countries, the applicability of certain regulations governing non-income taxes and the determination of our filing status are also subject to interpretation. We cannot estimate the amount, if any, of potential tax liabilities that might result if the allocations, interpretations and filing positions used by us in our tax returns were challenged by the taxing authorities of one or more countries. The low rate at which we pay income tax has been critical to our profitability in recent years and if it were to increase, our financial performance and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

 

In the past, our expenses attributable to operations in Panama have consistently exceeded our revenues attributable to operations in Panama. As a result, we have typically experienced losses for Panamanian income tax purposes and were not subject to any income tax obligations. Beginning in 2004, we adopted an alternate method of calculating income tax in Panama. Under this alternative method, allocation of revenues for operations in Panama is based on a general territorial principle, not specifically defined in the tax regulations. If the Panamanian tax authorities do not agree with our methods of allocating revenues, we may be subject to additional tax liability. Airlines in Panama are currently not subject to any taxes relating specifically to the airline industry other than the 4% tax collected from passengers on tickets sold in Panama for the benefit of the Panamanian Tourism Bureau.

 

Panama has historically afforded favorable tax treatment to investors in publicly held companies and has exempted capital gains on the sale of shares registered with the National Securities Commission, or NSC, and sold in an exchange or other organized market. From time to time, however, the Panamanian legislature considers amendments to Panama’s favorable tax regime. For example, a proposed law was recently presented to the Legislative Assembly that would have imposed a tax on the sales of shares on exchanges outside of Panama, including the NYSE. Although this proposal was revised within a week of its initial presentation so as not to apply to the sale of shares registered with the NSC, which includes our shares, we cannot assure you that changes to Panama’s current tax regime will not be implemented in the future. Any future change in the Panamanian tax law increasing the taxes payable by us or by investors in our shares could have a material adverse effect on the demand for, and the market value of, our Class A shares.

 

Political unrest and instability in Colombia may adversely affect our business and the market price of our Class A shares.

 

We completed our acquisition of AeroRepública in the second quarter of 2005. Almost all of AeroRepública’s scheduled operations are conducted within Colombia. As a result, AeroRepública’s results of operations are highly sensitive to macroeconomic and political conditions prevailing in Colombia, which have been highly volatile and unstable and may continue to be so for the foreseeable future. In addition, terrorism and violence have plagued Colombia in the past. Continuing guerrilla activity could cause political unrest and instability in Colombia, which could adversely affect AeroRepública’s financial condition and results of operations. The threat of terrorist attacks could impose additional costs on us, including enhanced security to protect our aircraft, facilities and personnel against possible attacks as well as increased insurance premiums. As a result, we may encounter significant unanticipated problems at AeroRepública which could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Relating to Our Class A Shares

 

The value of our Class A shares may be adversely affected by ownership restrictions on our capital stock and the power of our board of directors to take remedial actions to preserve our operating license and international route rights by requiring sales of certain outstanding shares or issuing new stock.

 

Pursuant to the Panamanian Aviation Act, as amended and interpreted to date, and certain of the bilateral treaties affording us the right to fly to other countries, we are required to be “substantially owned” and “effectively controlled” by Panamanian nationals. Our failure to comply with such requirements could result in the loss of our Panamanian operating license and/or our right to fly to certain important countries. Our Articles of Incorporation (Pacto Social) give special powers to our independent directors to take certain significant actions to attempt to ensure that the amount of shares held in us by non-Panamanian nationals does not reach a level which could jeopardize our compliance with Panamanian and bilateral ownership and control requirements. If our independent directors determine it is reasonably likely that we will be in violation of these ownership and control requirements and our Class B shares represent less than 10% of our total outstanding capital stock (excluding newly issued shares sold with the approval of our independent directors committee), our independent directors will have the power to issue additional Class B shares or Class C shares with special voting rights solely to Panamanian nationals. See “Description of Capital Stock.”

 

If any of these remedial actions are taken, the trading price of the Class A shares may be materially and adversely affected. An issuance of Class C shares could have the effect of discouraging certain changes of control of Copa Holdings or may reduce any voting power that the Class A shares enjoy prior to the Class C share issuance. There can be no assurance that we would be able to complete an issuance of Class B shares to Panamanian nationals. We cannot assure you that restrictions on ownership by non-Panamanian nationals will not impede the development of an active public trading market for the Class A shares, adversely affect the market price of the Class A shares or materially limit our ability to raise capital in markets outside of Panama in the future.

 

Our controlling shareholder has the ability to direct our business and affairs, and its interests could conflict with yours.

 

All of our Class B shares, representing approximately 29.2% of the economic interest in Copa Holdings and all of the voting power of our capital stock, are owned by CIASA. CIASA is in turn controlled by a group of Panamanian investors. In order to comply with the Panamanian Aviation Act, as amended and interpreted to date, we have amended our organizational documents to modify our share capital so that CIASA will continue to exercise voting control of Copa Holdings. CIASA will not be able to transfer its voting control unless control of our company will remain with Panamanian nationals. CIASA will maintain voting control of the company so long as CIASA continues to own a majority of our Class B shares and the Class B shares continue to represent more than 10% of our total share capital (excluding newly issued shares sold with the approval of our independent directors committee). Even after CIASA ceases to own the majority of the voting power of our capital stock, CIASA may continue to control our board of directors indirectly through its control of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. As the controlling shareholder, CIASA may direct us to take actions that could be contrary to your interests and under certain circumstances CIASA will be able to prevent other shareholders, including you, from blocking these actions. Also, CIASA may prevent change of control transactions that might otherwise provide you with an opportunity to dispose of or realize a premium on your investment in our Class A shares.

 

The Class A shares will only be permitted to vote in very limited circumstances and may never have full voting rights.

 

The holders of Class A shares have no right to vote at our shareholders’ meetings except with respect to corporate transformations of Copa Holdings, mergers, consolidations or spin-offs of Copa Holdings, changes of corporate purpose, voluntary delistings of the Class A shares from the NYSE, the approval of nominations of our independent directors and amendments to the foregoing provisions that adversely affect the rights and privileges of any Class A shares. The holders of Class B shares have the power, subject to our shareholders’ agreement with Continental, to elect the board of directors and to determine the outcome of all other matters to be decided by a vote of shareholders. Class A shares will not have full voting rights unless the Class B shares represent less than 10% of

our total capital stock (excluding newly issued shares sold with the approval of our independent directors committee). See “Description of Capital Stock.” We cannot assure you that the Class A shares will ever carry full voting rights.

 

Substantial future sales of our Class A shares by Continental or CIASA after this offering could cause the price of the Class A shares to decrease.

 

CIASA owns all of our Class B shares, and those Class B shares will be converted into Class A shares if they are sold to non-Panamanian investors. In connection with our initial public offering in December 2005, Continental and CIASA reduced their ownership of our total capital stock from 49% to approximately 27.3% and from 51% to approximately 29.2%, respectively. CIASA holds registration rights with respect to a significant portion of its shares pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into in connection with our initial public offering. The market price of our Class A shares could drop significantly if Continental or CIASA further reduces its investment in us, other significant holders of our shares sell a significant number of shares or if the market perceives that Continental, CIASA or other significant holders intend to sell them. In connection with this offering, Continental has agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to issue or transfer without the consent of the underwriters, until the first anniversary of the date of this prospectus, any shares of our capital stock, any options or warrants to purchase shares of our capital stock, or any securities convertible into, or exchangeable for, shares of our capital stock. Continental has also agreed not to make any demand for, or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any Class A shares or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Class A shares until one year after the date of this prospectus. In addition, Continental has agreed, subject to the same exceptions, not to issue or transfer without the consent of CIASA, until the second anniversary of the date of this prospectus, any shares of our capital stock, any options or warrants to purchase shares of our capital stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our capital stock. Nevertheless, these lock-up agreements can be waived at any time and, in any event, after these lock-up agreements expire, Continental will not be restricted from selling its shares in the public market.

 

Holders of our common stock are not entitled to preemptive rights, and as a result you may experience substantial dilution upon future issuances of stock by us.

 

Under Panamanian law and our organizational documents, holders of our Class A shares are not entitled to any preemptive rights with respect to future issuances of capital stock by us. Therefore, unlike companies organized under the laws of many other Latin American jurisdictions, we will be free to issue new shares of stock to other parties without first offering them to our existing shareholders. In the future we may sell Class A or other shares to persons other than our existing shareholders at a lower price than the shares being sold in this offering, and as a result you may experience substantial dilution of your interest in us.

 

You may not be able to sell our Class A shares at the price or at the time you desire because an active or liquid market for the Class A shares may not develop.

 

Our Class A shares are listed on the NYSE. During the three months ended March 31, 2006, the average daily trading volume for our Class A shares as reported by the NYSE was approximately 212,477 shares. We cannot predict whether an active liquid public trading market for our Class A shares will be sustained. Active, liquid trading markets generally result in lower price volatility and more efficient execution of buy and sell orders for our investors. The liquidity of a securities market is often affected by the volume of shares publicly held by unrelated parties.

 

Our board of directors may, in its discretion, amend or repeal our dividend policy. You may not receive the level of dividends provided for in the dividend policy or any dividends at all.

 

Our board of directors has adopted a dividend policy that provides for the payment of dividends to shareholders equal to approximately 10% of our annual consolidated net income. Our board of directors may, in its sole discretion and for any reason, amend or repeal this dividend policy. Our board of directors may decrease the level of dividends provided for in this dividend policy or entirely discontinue the payment of dividends. Future dividends with respect to shares of our common stock, if any, will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, cash

requirements, financial condition, contractual restrictions, business opportunities, provisions of applicable law and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. See “Dividend Policy.”

 

To the extent we pay dividends to our shareholders, we will have less capital available to meet our future liquidity needs.

 

Our board of directors has adopted a dividend policy that provides for the payment of dividends to shareholders equal to approximately 10% of our annual consolidated net income. The aviation industry has cyclical characteristics, and many international airlines are currently experiencing difficulties meeting their liquidity needs. Also, our business strategy contemplates substantial growth over the next several years, and we expect such growth will require a great deal of liquidity. To the extent that we pay dividends in accordance with our dividend policy, the money that we distribute to shareholders will not be available to us to fund future growth and meet our other liquidity needs.

 

Our Articles of Incorporation impose ownership and control restrictions on our company which ensure that Panamanian nationals will continue to control us and that these restrictions operate to prevent any change of control or some transfers of ownership in order to comply with the Aviation Act and other bilateral restrictions.

 

Under the Panamanian Aviation Act, as amended and interpreted to date, Panamanian nationals must exercise “effective control” over the operations of the airline and must maintain “substantial ownership.” These phrases are not defined in the Aviation Act itself and it is unclear how a Panamanian court would interpret them. The share ownership requirements and transfer restrictions contained in our Articles of Incorporation, as well as the dual-class structure of our voting capital stock are designed to ensure compliance with these ownership and control restrictions. See “Description of Capital Stock.” These provisions of our Articles of Incorporation may prevent change of control transactions that might otherwise provide you with an opportunity to realize a premium on your investment in our Class A shares. They also ensure that Panamanians will continue to control all the decisions of our company for the foreseeable future.

 

The protections afforded to minority shareholders in Panama are different from and more limited than those in the United States and may be more difficult to enforce.

 

Under Panamanian law, the protections afforded to minority shareholders are different from, and much more limited than, those in the United States and some other Latin American countries. For example, the legal framework with respect to shareholder disputes is less developed under Panamanian law than under U.S. law and there are different procedural requirements for bringing shareholder lawsuits, including shareholder derivative suits. As a result, it may be more difficult for our minority shareholders to enforce their rights against us or our directors or controlling shareholder than it would be for shareholders of a U.S. company. In addition, Panamanian law does not afford minority shareholders as many protections for investors through corporate governance mechanisms as in the United States and provides no mandatory tender offer or similar protective mechanisms for minority shareholders in the event of a change in control. While our Articles of Incorporation provide limited rights to holders of our Class A shares to sell their shares at the same price as CIASA in the event that a sale of Class B shares by CIASA results in the purchaser having the right to elect a majority of our board, there are other change of control transactions in which holders of our Class A shares would not have the right to participate, including the sale of interests by a party that had previously acquired Class B shares from CIASA, the sale of interests by another party in conjunction with a sale by CIASA, the sale by CIASA of control to more than one party, or the sale of controlling interests in CIASA itself.

 

Developments in Latin American countries and other emerging market countries may cause the market price of our Class A shares to decrease.

 

The market value of securities issued by Panamanian companies may be affected to varying degrees by economic and market conditions in other countries, including other Latin American and emerging market countries. Although economic conditions in emerging market countries outside Latin America may differ significantly from economic conditions in Panama and Colombia or elsewhere in Latin America, investors’ reactions to developments

in these other countries may have an adverse effect on the market value of securities of Panamanian issuers or issuers with significant operations in Latin America. As a result of economic problems in various emerging market countries in recent years (such as the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the Russian financial crisis of 1998 and the Argentine financial crisis in 2001), investors have viewed investments in emerging markets with heightened caution. Crises in other emerging market countries may hamper investor enthusiasm for securities of Panamanian issuers, including our shares, which could adversely affect the market price of our Class A shares.

 

 

We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of our Class A shares by the selling shareholder.

 

 

The payment of dividends on our shares is subject to the discretion of our board of directors. Under Panamanian law, we may pay dividends only out of retained earnings and capital surplus. So long as we do not default in our payments under our loan agreements, there are no covenants or other restrictions on our ability to declare and pay dividends. Our Articles of Incorporation provide that all dividends declared by our board of directors will be paid equally with respect to all of the Class A and Class B shares. See “Description of Capital Stock—Dividends.”

 

Our board of directors has adopted a dividend policy that provides for the payment of approximately 10% of our annual consolidated net income to shareholders as a dividend to be declared at our annual shareholders’ meeting and paid shortly thereafter. Our board of directors may, in its sole discretion and for any reason, amend or discontinue the dividend policy. Our board of directors may change the level of dividends provided for in this dividend policy or entirely discontinue the payment of dividends. Future dividends with respect to shares of our common stock, if any, will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, cash requirements, financial condition, contractual restrictions, business opportunities, provisions of applicable law and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

 

On May 11, 2006, our board of directors declared an annual dividend of $0.19 per share payable June 15, 2006 to shareholders of record as of May 31, 2006 which will represent in an aggregate dividend payment of $8.3 million. In addition, we paid an extraordinary dividend of $10 million to our shareholders in December 2004 and another extraordinary dividend of $10 million in June 2005. Prior to the December 2004 dividend payment, we had not paid a dividend since the formation of Copa Holdings in 1998.

 

MARKET INFORMATION

 

Our Class A shares have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, under the symbol “CPA” since December 14, 2005. The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low closing sale prices for the Class A shares on the NYSE for the periods indicated.

 

 

 

Source: FactSet Research Systems

 

 

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents, short-term debt, long-term debt and total capitalization at April 30, 2006 on an actual basis. As we will receive no proceeds from the sale of the Class A shares by the selling shareholder, there will be no change in our overall capitalization as a result of this offering. You should read this table in conjunction with “Selected Financial and Operating Data,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. None of our indebtedness is guaranteed by a third party.

 

 

The following table presents summary consolidated financial and operating data as of the dates and for the periods indicated. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and are stated in U.S. dollars. You should read this information in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements included in this prospectus and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition” appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

The summary consolidated financial information as of December 31, 2004 and 2005 and for the years ended December 31, 2003, 2004 and 2005 has been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The consolidated financial information as of December 31, 2003 and for the year ended December 31, 2002 has been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements that were prepared under U.S. GAAP and which have not been included in this prospectus. The consolidated financial information as of December 31, 2001 and 2002 and for the year ended December 31, 2001 has been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements that were prepared under International Accounting Standards and adjusted to be presented on a basis consistent with U.S. GAAP and which have not been included in this prospectus.

 

The summary consolidated financial data as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2005 and 2006 has been derived from our unaudited interim consolidated financial statements for these periods appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2006 are not necessarily indicative of the operating results to be expected for the entire year ending December 31, 2006 or for any other period.

 

We acquired 99.8% of the stock of AeroRepública, a Colombian air carrier, and began consolidating its results on April 22, 2005. As a result of this acquisition, our financial information at and for the year ended December 31, 2005 and for the three months ended March 31, 2006 is not comparable to the information at and for the year ended December 31, 2004 and for the three months ended March 31, 2005, respectively.