PANAMAN FLAG carrier Copa Airlines is accelerating retirement of its Embraer E190s in a bid to become an all-Boeing 737 operator. In its third quarter investor earnings call, airline executives said they expect to replace it with the 737 MAX once it re-enters service. Jose Montero, Copa Airlines' chief financial officer, said: "We expect to receive a significant number of MAX aircraft next year and are planning to sell our remaining 14 Embraer aircraft in the next 18 months." Montero said the fleet transition will put some "short-term pressure on our utilisation and maintenance expenses" but, in the medium term would benefit the business.
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