From NYC to Rio: A Copa Airlines Food Review

I woke up with that familiar travel day feeling of excitement peppered with stress and anxiety. It was time to say “see you eventually!” to New York and hello to the start of a new chapter, which is beginning in Rio.

I had coffee, walked over to Liberty Bagels for one final New York bagel experience before wrapping up my packing. I left my humble Woodside apartment for the last time, and felt surprisingly nonchalant.

Big change has become my normal. Each time a sublet door closes, the scariness of a new beginning gets less severe.

To kick things off, my journey from home to my gate was a breeze.

I hopped on the LIRR from Woodside to Jamaica ($5), then waited 10 minutes for the Airtran (It’s gone up to a whopping $8.25!) to Terminal 4. There were elevators every step of the way, and negotiating my two suitcases and duffle bag was pretty painless.

Tip: If you’re flying into/out of JFK with more than 1 person, an Uber might be worth it. My quote was $60 and it would have only saved me 10 minutes, which is why I didn’t

Checking in to Copa Airlines was also painless. No wait, and they even checked my carry on roller suitcase for free! (I was stressed they wouldn’t allow both my big duffle and suitcase as carry ons…) Security took 15 minutes and my gate was a close walk. I even witnessed a fun sight of 20 or so very elderly Indian people lined up in wheelchairs to get on a flight.

Flight One Copa Airlines Food: JFK to Panama City

I was in a window seat and got the ultimate gift, no one in the middle seat. The food service wheeled down the aisle 90 minutes in.

The options were a pesto pasta with veggies or a rice with meatball dish. I opted for the latter. The rice wasn’t shabby! It had egg, scallions, and some sort of sweet and sour sauce. The meatballs were made of some mystery meat. Fairly bland, yet edible. The highlight was the chocolate cake. It was moist and chocolaty… who doesn’t love that?

Panama City Airport

Usually I never buy overpriced airport food. However, I was feeling quite hungry and handed over a whopping $7.25 for this here yogurt parfait. Grapes in yogurt is an interesting choice. But hey, you try new things every day!

Flight 2 Copa Airlines Food: Panama City to Rio

Flight 2 was an overnight flight. The good news was I had a window seat. The bad news was that it seemed like every child going to Rio was on the same flight. I popped a Tylenol PM and drifted in and out of a light slumber.

Of course I woke up for the food. I got the beef and rice that came with a side of veggies and a sweet cake roll of sorts. The beef was barely edible. Tough, salty, and hardly deserved to be called beef. The rice was, well, rice. The side of veggies was surprisingly good. And the sweet roll cake was divine. It has a nice soft texture, and the swirl tasted like pumpkin!