Copa Airlines will install innovative "Split Scimitar" Winglets

Panama City – As part of its 2014 Strategic Plan, Copa Airlines (a subsidiary of Copa Holdings, S.A) will install the innovative “Split Scimitar” Winglets, beginning in April. These winglets reduce aerodynamic drag, allowing greater fuel efficiency during flight. As a result, they will help Copa Airlines reduce its carbon footprint.

With this investment, Copa Airlines is reaffirming its commitment to equip its aircraft with state-of-the-art technology that will enable it to lessen the impact of aerodynamic drag, optimizing and increasing the efficiency of its flights.

Ahmad Zamany, Vice President of Technical Operations, said, “We are very proud to have this new technology at Copa Airlines, because we believe in innovation, and in using state-of-the-art technology on our airplanes.” Zamany also noted that “the ‘Split Scimitar’ Winglets, in particular, will strengthen our world-class service, keeping it in line with the latest advances in aviation around the world.”

The new “Split Scimitar” winglets, as their name suggests, have the same shape as the ancient sabre known as a “scimitar.” This modern “curved fin” shape is different than the shape of the winglets currently on all of Copa’s aircraft, and it has aerodynamic surfaces that are situated on the end of the airplane’s wings.

Copa Airlines expects that this optimization of its aircraft will result in an additional 1.70% reduction in fuel use, thus helping reduce its carbon footprint.

The Airline’s Vice President of Technical Operations also indicated that in 2014, the “Split Scimitar” winglets will be installed on 18 Boeing 737-800 Next-Generation airplanes, and by 2018, it is estimated that approximately 55 aircraft will be equipped with this new technology.