Accounting for Aircraft Leases: Copa Airlines vs.
Delta Airlines
By: Megan St. Clair
megan.stclair@eagles.usm.edu
ABSTRACT
Panama is considered to have one of the best business climates in Latin America. This is due to
the fact that Panama leads the region in terms of international banking, logistics and trade, and
economic growth. As the economy within Panama has expanded the past few years, so has the
airline industry within Panama. The airline industry is a capital-intensive service industry that
requires large sums of money to operate effectively. As airlines scramble to cut costs, boost
efficiency and lure customers, a popular trend in aircraft acquisition is leasing versus ownership.
Leasing can be a less expensive way to acquire aircrafts requiring less capital outlay than
purchasing an aircraft outright. The proper accounting for leases is a reflection of the accounting
principles adopted by the country. In 2009, Panama converted to using International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) utilizing accounting principles that complied with the International
Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). Currently, the United States requires companies to
meet the accounting principle requirements for leases under Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles (GAAP). Information and data was gathered to gain a better understanding of the
accounting differences utilizing the internet and interviewing a representative from the airlines in
Panama. This research report contrasted the differences in accounting for leases under GAAP
and IFRS. Further, it compared the impacts of these accounting differences by evaluating the
leases of airplanes in a United States airline, and contrasting it with a Panama airline. In
comparing the two companies, both airlines maintained leases on a percentage of their airplanes.
The major difference is whether they capitalized the leases or reported them as operating leases.
The United States Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is planning the US transition
to IFRS, or what is currently referred to as IGAAP. The results of this comparison will benefit
the accounting industry in the United States by allowing them to compare the obstacles Panama
had in recent years when transitioning to IFRS. Further, the results identified the main
differences in the accounting and reporting differences between GAAP and the IFRS. Delta
Airlines will need to understand these differences so that the company can determine if capital
leasing will still be beneficial in the long term if IFRS is mandated in the upcoming years.
INTRODUCTION
A lease is a contractual agreement between a lessor and a lessee that gives the lessee the right to use
specific property, owned by the lessor, for a specified period of time. In return for the use of the
property, the lessee makes rental payments to the lessor over the lease term. (Kieso, Weygand, and
Warfield 1116). When a company leases an asset, the accounting treatment of the expense
depends upon whether it is reported as an operating lease or a capital lease. Current accounting
standards require that if certain criteria are met that the lease must be reported as a capital lease.
Leases classified as capital leases are treated similar to the purchase of an asset. The lessee
records an asset and a liability on their balance sheet. If capitalization criteria are not met, than the
lease is accounted for as an operating lease. Under an operating lease, the lessee records rental
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expense and no entries are made on the balance sheet under the “off-balance-sheet” accounting
treatment.
United States
The United States has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a
per capita GDP of $48,100 (World Fact Book). However, since 2008 the US economy has been
struggling since it was pushed into a deep recession. The United States is still operating at a deficit
with a budget that consists of $2.263 trillion in revenues and $3.604 trillion in expenditures. The
workforce in 2011 consisted of 153.5 million people and the unemployment rate was still high at
9.1%. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, “durable-goods manufacturing, professional,
scientific, and technical services, and information services were the leading contributors to U.S.
economic growth in 2011.” However, by the end of 2011 GDP real growth rate was only 1.5% with
the inflation rate at 3% (CIA World Factbook).
Figure 1: U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Graph
Figure 1. US Gross Domestic Product Graph. Adapted from “U.S. Economy at a Glance: Perspective from
the BEA Accounts,” 2011. Copyright 2011 by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved from:
http://www.bea.gov/newrelease/glance.htm.
The economic downturn in 2008 also hit the airline industry pretty hard in the United States.
Now, with the economy picking up some, demand for passenger travel is improving. “Revenues
and profits of U.S. Carriers are increasing with a surge in ticket demand, higher fares and extra
fees on such items as baggage, reservation change, pet travel, and food and beverage. Further,
airlines are benefiting from consolidations, such as Delta Airlines acquiring Northwest Airlines,
United Airlines merging with Continental Airlines. Additionally, a merger between Southwest
Airlines and AirTran Holdings is underway” (Zack’s Equity Research). According to the U.S.
Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation statistics, “the U.S. scheduled
passenger airlines employed 2.7 percent more workers in December 2011 than in December
2010” for a total of 389,728 employed. As of 2008, there were 14,951 airports of which 5,194
are paved in the fifty U.S. States (CIA World Factbook). With the rising fuel cost, a lot of
airlines in the US are upgrading their aircraft to more fuel efficient airplanes with lower
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maintenance costs. Buying new planes requires large amounts of money; therefore, a lot of the
airlines have arranged lease agreement in order to upgrade their fleet.
Panama
Panama’s economy is really growing, especially with the expansion of the Panama Canal which
is scheduled to be completed in 2014. This expansion will allow more users, such as the United
States and China, and larger ships to pass through the canal. Additionally, Panama is planning to
construct a metro system in Panama City, valued at $1.2 billion and scheduled to be completed
by 2014. Panama's booming transportation and logistics services sectors, along with aggressive
infrastructure development projects, have lead the economy to continued growth in 2011 with
GDP real growth of 10.5%. As outlined in the chart below by ECLAC/CEPAL, Panama
experienced the highest GDP growth in 2011.
Figure 2: GDP Growth in Panama – 2011
Figure 2. Figure 2: GDP Growth in Panama – 2011. Copyright by ECLAC/CEPAL. Retrieved from:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AWHb3OX6tOc/TvpvP2ecfYI/AAAAAAAAOo0/zj7rQwCkhE/s1600/latam_GDP_2011.gif
However, strong economic performance has not translated into broadly shared prosperity, as
Panama has the second worst income distribution in Latin America with GDP per capita of
$13,600. About 30% of the population lives in poverty; however, from 2006 to 2010 poverty was
reduced by 10 percentage points, while unemployment dropped from 12% to less than 3% of the
labor force in 2011 (CIA World Factbook). The currently labor force is 1.57 million. Like the
United States, Panama is operating at a deficit with budget of $7.7 billion in revenues and $8.46
billion in expenditures. The inflation rate is currently 5.9% and the official currency is the
balboas (PAB) per US dollars. However, the US dollar is widely used throughout the country.
The official language in Panama is Spanish. However, English is a recognized business
language within the country and the English is taught within the school. This is very important
since Panama does a lot of business with the United States.
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Unlike the US where there are many airlines, Panama has only two airlines, Copa Airlines and
Air Panama. There are only 32 airports throughout Panama and approximately 8,000 people are
employed in the airline industry. However, Copa Airlines expects to generate more than 626
new positions and have more than 7,900 employees by the end of the year. With the expansion
and growth in Panama, the airlines have seen a 20% increase in passenger air travel. Airlines
such as Copa Airlines are expanding their routes and upgrading and expanding their fleet to
include new aircraft with new cutting-edge technology. Like the airlines in the US, they are
working out lease arrangements to acquire some of the new airplanes, since it requires a lot of
capital to buy airplanes.
The focus of this report was accounting for aircraft leases in the airline industry. More
specifically, this report compared how the difference in accounting standards, in the US and
Panama, affect how leases are reported on financial statements and any affects thereof.
INFORMATION/DATA COLLECTION APPROACH
In order to gather the information and data needed to complete this research paper on accounting
for aircraft leases, for both Copa Airlines and Delta Airlines, the data collection was a two- step
process. The first step in the information/data collection process was the extensive internet
searches. The two internet browsers that were mainly used for the internet searches were Google
and Bing. The internet searches were used to gather information on the business environment,
airline industry, and specific airlines both the United States and Panama. The databases used are
shown in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Databases used in Internet Search
Additionally, using keywords such as “Panama Economy 2011” and “United States Economy
2011” were used to gather specific information about the business environments in both
countries. Furthermore, keywords such as “Copa Airlines 2011 Financial Statements” and
“Delta Airlines 2011 Financial Statements” were used to obtain specific financial and leasing
information for each airline. The keywords used in this project are presented in Table 2. These
keywords were used in both Google and Bing. Based on the results produced from these
searches, websites were identified to gather the information needed.
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Table 2: Keywords/Phrases Used for the Search
The second step in the data collection process was the personal interview with the representative
of Copa Airlines. The purpose of this interview was to obtain information about how Copa
Airlines accounts for the leases of their aircraft and the factors that influence whether Copa
Airlines purchases versus leases its aircraft. Additional information obtained was the percentage
of operating leases versus financing leases, whether Copa’s current leases have term options, and
how their leases affect their financial statements. Listed below is a snapshot of the interview
instrument used during the interview with the Copa representative.
Figure 3: Interview Questionnaire
The representative interviewed on behalf of Copa Airlines was Mr. Joseph Mohan, Commercial
& Planning Vice President. Mr. Joseph Mohan’s contact information at Copa Airlines is
telephone number (507) 304-2522, fax number (507) 304-2629, and email
jmohan@copaair.com. Mr. Mohan is an American citizen and has worked in the airline industry
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for the past 20 years. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from University of Florida. He then
proceeded to go to graduate school in Washington D.C. In 2000, he had the opportunity to move
to Panama when Continental bought half of Copa Airlines. Mr. Mohan worked for Copa
Airlines in Panama for a few years than he went back to New York City for a few years. Then
four years ago, he had the opportunity to go back to Panama. Mr. Mohan stated that “since Copa
Airlines was his favorite professional experience and the economy in Panama was doing very
well, he took the opportunity to move back to Panama.”
Figure 3: Mr. Mohan at Copa Presentation
Figure 4: Mr. Joseph Mohan during Interview
CASE STUDY
Panama
Copa Airlines headquarters is located at Boulevard Costa del Este, Avenida Principal y Avenida
de la Rotonda, Urbanización Costa del Este, Complejo Business Park, Torre Norte, Parque
Lefevre, Panama City, Panama and the telephone number is +507 304-2677. The website of
Copa Airlines is www.copaair.com. The agent for service in the United States is Puglisi &
Associates, 850 Library Avenue, Suite 204, Newark, Delaware 19715, and its telephone number
is (302) 738-6680.
Figures 5 & 6: Copa Airlines Headquarters in Panama City, Panama
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Copa’s headquarters are located in Costa del Este, which is a newer area of Panama, located just
east of the center of Panama City. A lot of multinational companies, such as Proctor & Gamble,
Johnson & Johnson, and Nestle have located to this area. Many years ago, a part use to be the
city garbage dump which was relocated to a hermetically sealed containment unit, beneath Costa
del Este’s Felipe E. Motta Park. This area has been redeveloped into a popular commercial and
residential area.
Figure 7: Map of Panama
Figure 8: Panama City, Panama
Figure 7. Map of Panama City, Panama. Google Maps. Google.
Retrieved from https://maps.google.com/maps?q=panama+City+Panama
&hl=en&ll=8.754795,-79.552002&spn=6.424839,10.964355&sll=37.0625
,-95.677068&sspn=41.089062,87.714844&hnear=Panama&t=m&z=7
Copa Airlines is a public company with its stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
According to Copa 2011 10-K report, “it currently has 7,527 employees consisting of 877 pilots,
1,431 flight attendants, 511 mechanics, 3,023 customer service agents, and 1,685 management
and clerical.” Their scheduled passenger service market consists of leisure and business
travelers. The major concern for leisure travelers is lower airfares. However, their business
travelers are more concerned with flight frequency, on-time performance, and service
enhancements.
Copa Airlines is one of the leading airlines in Latin America and its business is heavily
dependent on its operations at its hub in Panama City. A substantial portion of its assets are
located in the Panama and a large portion of their passengers either originate, change planes or
end their trip in Panama. Substantially all of their flights operate through their hub at Tocumen
International Airport. As a result, they are highly dependent on economic conditions in Panama.
Copa Airlines currently finances their aircraft through bank loans and operating leases. There
current fleet consists of 73 aircraft as outlined in the Table 3 below as shown in their financial
statements.
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Table 3: Copa Airlines Fleet Composition
Table 3. Copa Airlines Fleet Composition. Reprinted from Copa Airlines 2011 Annual Report (Form 20-F). Copa
Airlines. Retrieved from http://investor.shareholder.com/copa/annuals.cfm
According to Mr. Mohan, Copa Airline’s vision is “to be the leading airline in Latin American
aviation and the preferred connection through Panama uniting the principal cities in North,
South, Central America and the Caribbean. In order to accomplish this, Copa needed to upgrade
its fleets allowing them to operate more efficiently. Additionally, they needed to create a hub
which offers six banks of flights and the expansion at Tucumán Airport will add additional gates
for Copa Airlines. Another important factor in being the leading airline in Latin America, has
been Copa’s strategic alliance with Continental Airlines. We are continuing to grow our fleet,
while keeping our fleet young with an average life of 5 years.” The table below shows the
expected size of Copa’s fleet over the next five years.
Table 4: Growth in Copa Airlines Fleet Composition through 2016
Table 4. Growth in Copa Airlines Fleet Composition through 2016. Reprinted from Copa Airlines 2011 Annual
Report (Form 20-F). Copa Airlines. Retrieved from http://investor.shareholder.com/copa/annuals.cfm
According to Copa’s 2011 10-K report, “lease accounting is critical for us because it requires an
extensive analysis of the lease agreements in order to classify and measure the transactions in our
financial statements and significantly impacts our financial position and results of operations.
Changes in the terms of our outstanding lease agreements and the terms of future lease
agreements may impact the accounting for the lease transactions and our future financial position
and results of operations.”
Copa Airline’s lease agreements are either accounted for as an operating lease or financial lease.
According to Copa’s 2011 10-K report, they “classify a lease as a financing lease when the risks
and benefits of the lease are transferred to them. Finance leases are accounted for as an
acquisition with the aircraft being recorded as a fixed asset and a corresponding liability recorded
as a loan. Additionally, financial leases are recorded based on the lesser of the fair value of the
aircraft or the present value of the minimum lease payments, discounted at an implicit interest
rate, when it is clearly identified in the lease agreement, or our incremental borrowing rate. The
aircraft is depreciated through the lesser of its useful life or the lease term. Interest expense is
recognized through the effective interest rate method, based on the implicit interest rate of the
lease. Lease agreements that do not transfer the risks and benefits to us are classified as operating
leases. Operating leases are accounted as a rent, and the minimum lease expense is recognized
through the straight line method.”
Copa’s aircraft rental expense, which is generally fixed by the terms of their operating leases,
amounted to $51.3 million in the 2011 fiscal year, a 10.6% increase from $46.3 million reported
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in the 2010 fiscal year. This increase results from the addition of five leased Boeing 737NG
aircraft in 2011 and the full year effect of 2010, bringing our total operating aircraft leased fleet
to 21 aircraft which is comprised of both Boeing 737NG aircraft and EMB 190 aircraft.
United States
One of Copa Airlines competitors is the U.S. based Delta Airlines. Delta Airlines headquarters
is located at 1030 Delta Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30320-6001. Their phone number is 404-7152600. The website for Delta Airlines is www.delta.com. According to Delta Airlines 10-K
report, its mission/vision statement is "We—Delta's employees, customers, and community
partners together form a force for positive local and global change, dedicated to bettering
standards of living and the environment where we and our customers live and work."
Figure 9: Delta Airlines Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia
Figure 9. Delta Airlines Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Reprinted from Glass Door.
Retrieved from http://www.glassdoor.com/Photos/Delta-Air-Lines-Office-Photos-E197.htm
Figure 10: Delta Airlines in Atlanta, Georgia
Figure 10. Map of Delta Airlines Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Google Maps. Google. Retrieved from
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=panama+City+Panama&hl=en&ll=8.754795,79.552002&spn=6.424839,10.964355&sll=37.0625,95.677068&sspn=41.089062,87.714844&hnear=Panama&t=m&z=7
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Delta Airlines is a public company with its stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
According to Delta’s 2011 10-K report, it currently has “78,400 employees of which there are
10,850 pilots, 340 flight dispatchers, 550 flight attendants, 790 comair pilots, and 280 comair
mechanics. Delta Airlines provides air transportation to passengers and cargo throughout the
United States and around the world. Their business is heavily dependent on their hub system at
airports in Atlanta, Amsterdam, Cincinnati, Detroit, Paris, Memphis, Minneapolis, New York,
and Tokyo.” Delta Airlines is one of the leading airlines in the United States. The results of its
operations and financial position are heavily affected by changes in price and availability of
aircraft fuel. The increase in fuel costs over the past couple years has had a negative effect on
their operations and it has not been able to completely pass that cost on to its passengers due to
the competitive nature of the industry.
According to Delta Airlines’ 2011 10K report, it “owns 574 aircraft, it has 111 capital leases and
90 operating leases. Delta reports amounts due under capital leases as liabilities and operating
leases as rental expense.” Delta fleet consists of 775 aircraft with an average of 15 years
outlined in the table below.
Table 5: Delta Airlines Fleet Composition
Table 5. Delta Airlines Fleet Composition. Reprinted from Delta Airlines 2011 10-K Annual
Report. Delta Airlines. Retrieved from
http://www.delta.com/about_delta/investor_relations/annual_report_proxy_statement/index.jsp
Like Copa Airlines, Delta Airlines is in the process of upgrading their fleet with newer, more
fuel efficient aircraft. According to Delta’s 2011 10-K report, “we entered into an agreement
with The Boeing Company ("Boeing") to purchase 100 B-737-900ER aircraft totaling
approximately $6.8 billion with deliveries beginning in 2013 and continuing through 2018. We
have obtained committed long-term financing for a substantial portion of the purchase price of
these aircraft. The Boeing agreement and our plans to bring into service 30 to 40 previously
owned MD-90 aircraft over the next two to three years will enable us to replace on a capacityneutral basis older, less efficient aircraft scheduled to be retired. The majority of the MD-90
aircraft scheduled to come into service over the next two to three years were purchased or leased
in 2010 and 2011. These B-737-900ER and MD-90 aircraft will have lower unit costs than the
aircraft they are replacing as a result of lower maintenance costs and fuel efficiencies.”
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According to Delta’s 2011 10-K report, their “aircraft rent decreased primarily due to the
restructuring of certain existing leases.” Delta currently leases 26% of its aircraft, of which
approximately 12% are operating leases. Delta records rental expense for operating leases on a
straight-line basis over the life of the lease term. Their capital leases are recorded as liabilities
and the asset is recorded as property and equipment. Amortization of the assets is included in
depreciation and amortization expense.
RESULTS AND RESULTS IMPACT
In this report the specific ways Copa Airlines and Delta Airlines accounted for the aircraft leases
was compared. One of the issues compared was the factors that influenced whether the
companies purchased or leased their aircraft. Another factor that was considered was the criteria
used to determine whether Copa or Delta accounted for their leases as operating leases or
financing/capital leases. Next, what percentage of their current leases where operating leases or
financing leases? The fourth factor considered was the lease terms used by the companies.
Another factor was whether or not the companies entered into leases with term options and the
most common reason for including term options in their lease contracts. Additionally, how the
financial statements for both Copa and Delta were affected by their method of accounting for
aircraft leases. In evaluating the results of the case study, there were similarities and differences
discovered between the airline industry in Panama and the United States.
The similarities between Copa Airlines and Delta Airlines include: both companies being traded
on the NYSE, both airlines owning between 71% - 75% of the aircraft in their fleet, both airlines
upgrading their fleet with new, more efficient aircraft, both airlines leasing approximately 25% 29% of their aircraft, their leases including options to extend or terminate or include service
options, both are members of Skyteam Global Alliance which improves international travel for
passengers, and both airlines experienced a 31% to 32% increase in fuel cost. These similarities
are shown in the table below.
Table 6: Similarities in Panama vs. the United States
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The results of the similarities are important because despite differences in accounting methods
used, a cost effective balance of leasing versus ownership appears to be established in the
industry. This trend indicates that while these companies have different business environments,
that accounting strategies remain effective across the borders.
On the other hand, one of the major differences between Copa Airlines and Delta Airlines was
the accounting standards used and the percentage of leases accounted for as operating leases. All
of Copa Airlines aircraft leases were recorded as operating leases. This is due in part to the fact
that the accounting standards under IFRS are slightly different when requiring capitalization of
leases and offer more flexibility. There is are no “bright-line test”, such as 75% of the useful life
or 90% of the present value of the minimum lease payments, that need to be met, as is the case
under US GAAP. Since Copa Airlines typically leases a plane from 7 to 10 years, it would not
meet the criteria of the lease term covering the majority of the economic life of the planes since
the planes typically have an economic life of 30 to 40 years. Specific differences between Copa
Airlines and Delta Airlines are listed in the table below.
Table 7: Differences in Panama vs. the United States
According to Mr. Mohan of Copa Airlines, “the reason Copa Airlines leases versus buying
aircraft is the flexibility that leasing permits. If Copa cannot fully utilize the tax depreciation
benefits of ownership, they benefit from the tax deductibility of the lease payments as a current
rental expense.” Since their operating leases are not recorded on their balance sheet, Copa’s
financial statements benefit from a higher net income and favorable financial leverage ratios.
Leasing additionally offers significant cash flow benefits versus loans in that Copa does not have
to assume the aircraft’s future value or residual risk, protecting itself from market devaluation
and technological obsolescence.
If Copa Airlines had to capitalize more of its leases, like Delta Airlines, the company would have
an increase in the amount of reported debt, an increase in the amount of total assets, and lower
income reported in the earlier years of the lease because of higher operating expense.
Additionally, this would cause Copa Airlines to report lower profits, a higher debt-to-equity ratio
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and a lower rate of return on total assets. This would negatively impact their financial position,
therefore, making Copa less attractive to analyst and potential investors.
Since Delta Airlines currently capitalizes the majority of its leases due to the requirements of
U.S. GAAP, if GAAP converges with IFRS, more analysis based on judgment will be required.
The results of this research are important because it shows that if IFRS is implemented in the
United States, Delta Airlines would be able report less assets and liabilities on its books.
Additionally, Delta Airlines would report a higher net income, lower debt-to-equity ratio, and a
higher return on total assets. Delta’s interest coverage ratio would also improve because of
lower interest expense, while measures such as earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) or
earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) would also improve when
classifying more leases as operating leases instead of capital leases. This would improve Delta’s
financial position making them more attractive to analysts and potential investors.
SUMMARY
Panama has expanded into one of the top metropolitan cities in Latin America. Panama is
currently the leader in logistics, international banking, and economic growth in the region. The
growing economy is Panama has been a big factor in Copa Airlines becoming the top airlines in
Latin America. In order to obtain the information and data needed to do the research for this
project, two methods of collecting data were used. The first method used was utilizing the
internet in order to get economic information on the United States and Panama and specific
information on Copa Airlines and Delta Airlines. The second method used was a personal
interview with the Vice President of Commercial & Planning of Copa Airlines to gain better
insight into the factors that influenced whether Copa purchased or leased its aircraft.
The differences in the criteria used by IFRS has allowed Copa Airlines to be able to report all of
its leases as operating leases, thereby, allowing Copa to not have to capitalize any of their aircraft
leases. Whereas, Delta Airlines has had to capitalize a larger portion of their aircraft leases due
to the criteria of U.S. GAAP. Based on these differences airlines accounting for aircraft leases as
operating leases, under IRFS, can report a higher net income making them more desirable to
investors.
Since FASB is planning the transition to IFRS by 2014, the results of this comparison will
benefit the accounting industry in the United States. Companies such as Delta Airlines need to
understand the differences so that they can determine whether capital leasing will still be
beneficial once IFRS is implemented in the United States. However, the Financial Accounting
Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Boards (IASB) are
currently working on a new accounting model for accounting for leases. This new model, if
implemented, will require all leases to be capitalized. Therefore, the lessees’ will be required to
report an asset and corresponding liability on their balance sheet for all their leases. A further
extension of this project would be to research how if this new model for leases is implemented it
would impact both the lessees’ and lessors’ financial statements.
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REFERENCES
Kieso, D., Weygandt, J., and Warfield, T. (2010), Intermediate Accounting. 13th ed. Hoboken:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pm.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2053.html
Figure 1. US Gross Domestic Product Graph. Adapted from “U.S. Economy at a Glance:
Perspective from the BEA Accounts,” 2011. Copyright 2011 by the U.S. Bureau of
Economic Analysis. Retrieved from: http://www.bea.gov/newrelease/glance.htm.
Figure 2. Figure 2: GDP Growth in Panama – 2011. Copyright by ECLAC/CEPAL.
Retrieved from: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/AWHb3OX6tOc/TvpvP2ecfYI/AAAAAAAAOo0/zj7rQwCkhE/s1600/latam_GDP_2011.gif
Airline Industry Outlook Jan 2011 (2011, January 21). Zack’s Equity Research.
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http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/46361/airline-industry-outlook-jan-2011
December 2011 Passenger Airline Employment Rose 2.7 Percent from December 2010.
Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA)- U.S. Department of
Transportation. Retrieved from
http://www.bts.gov/press_releases/2012/bts010_12/html/bts010_12.html
U.S. Economy at a Glance: Perspective from the BEA Accounts. Bureau of Economic AnalysisU.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved from:
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/glance.htm
Copa Airlines 2011 Annual Report (Form 20-F). Copa Airlines. Retrieved from
http://investor.shareholder.com/copa/annuals.cfm
Delta Airlines 2011 10-K Annual Report. Delta Airlines. Retrieved from
http://www.delta.com/about_delta/investor_relations/annual_report_proxy_statement/ind
ex.jsp
Mohan, Joseph (2012, May 31). Interview by Megan St. Clair [Personal Interview]. Facts about
Copa Airlines. (Mohan, Joseph, 2012)
Table 3. Copa Airlines Fleet Composition. Reprinted from Copa Airlines 2011 Annual Report
(Form 20-F). Copa Airlines. Retrieved from
http://investor.shareholder.com/copa/annuals.cfm
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Table 4. Growth in Copa Airlines Fleet Composition through 2016. Reprinted from Copa
Airlines 2011 Annual Report (Form 20-F). Copa Airlines. Retrieved from
http://investor.shareholder.com/copa/annuals.cfm
Figure 9. Delta Airlines Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Reprinted from Glass Door.
Retrieved from http://www.glassdoor.com/Photos/Delta-Air-Lines-Office-PhotosE197.htm
Table 5. Delta Airlines Fleet Composition. Reprinted from Delta Airlines 2011 10-K Annual
Report. Delta Airlines. Retrieved from
http://www.delta.com/about_delta/investor_relations/annual_report_proxy_statement/ind
ex.jsp
Figure 7. Map of Panama City, Panama. Google Maps. Google.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Delta+Airlines+Headquarters,+Atlanta,+Ga&hl=en&sll
=37.0625,95.677068&sspn=43.172547,97.119141&hq=Delta+Airlines+Headquarters,&hnear=Atla
nta,+Fulton,+Georgia&t=m&z=11&iwloc=A
Figure 10. Map of Delta Airlines Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Google Maps. Google.
Retrieved from
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=panama+City+Panama&hl=en&ll=8.754795,79.552002&spn=6.424839,10.964355&sll=37.0625,95.677068&sspn=41.089062,87.714844&hnear=Panama&t=m&z=7
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