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how_to:jubilado_airline_discounts [2024/02/15 17:58] – created 169.150.231.197how_to:jubilado_airline_discounts [2025/09/24 15:59] (current) – Update Copa and United tomf
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- The 25% jubilado discount for airlines applies to legal residents of Panama with jubilado status. Remember the discount is based on the basic fare rate; it does not apply to fuel surcharges, taxes, fees, etc.+The 25% jubilado discount for airlines applies to legal residents of Panama with jubilado status. Remember the discount is based on the basic fare rate; it does not apply to fuel surcharges, taxes, fees, etc.
  
 Another point to verify is the Panama departure tax. Currently at $40, but for pensionado it’s $20. When you get your quote or set to purchase the ticket ask for the fare breakdown and check all taxes. The Panama departure tax should be listed as $20.00. If it’s not tell the agent to make the correction. Another point to verify is the Panama departure tax. Currently at $40, but for pensionado it’s $20. When you get your quote or set to purchase the ticket ask for the fare breakdown and check all taxes. The Panama departure tax should be listed as $20.00. If it’s not tell the agent to make the correction.
  
-Airline instructions follow for Copa, United airlines…+Airline instructions follow for American, Copa, Delta, United airlines… 
 + 
 +American Airlines: 
 + 
 +From I Go Panama FB post: 
 +Call AA at +507 269 6022. You can choose option 2 for an English speaking agent.  They will assist you and process the discount and payment. Phone number verified as working 2/16/24, but didn't wait to see how long hold time was. 
 +From other FB post 7/11/24:  Tell the CS Agent to consult "tariff code SRC" (probably if you're using USA Customer Service phone line).
  
 Copa Airlines: Copa Airlines:
  
-First option: Book in person at the airport or at Copa's David office. Second option: Go online and book your ticket and place it on 24 hr. hold. Email a copy of your Cedula or Permanent Resident card to customer service contactcenter@copaair.com They will reply with a registration number. Then call the reservation number for Copa. Chose the option for a booking already made, and when you give them the email registration number, they will confirm your reservation. They may expedite your registration on this call if you haven't already sent in your cedula. If your info is in their system you get the discount and can pay immediately.+As of September 2025, Copa online web and the Copa mobile app show different fares, so check both sources for your preferred fare!   
 + 
 +You have to document your discount each time - Copa is no longer storing jubilado details for future use. September 2025: Copa just approved a post-purchase refund for me (using the process described below) and advised me to retain and re-use my case number for future purchases, asking me to secure the discount in advance of purchase. So it may be that Copa is again storing jubilado data in the form of your first 'case' under the case number. 
 + 
 +First option: Book in person at the airport or at Copa's David office. They only use your jubilado information for the day's purchase, and do not store it for future use. 
 + 
 +Second option: Go online. The mobile app does not let you save the reservation before paying; however, the agent at the David office advised me to pay the full price in the app (because it showed a better fare than she was able to calculate for me), and request a refund through the customer service portal, as per below. But if you can still reserve your ticket before paying at the website, go ahead and confirm your ticket and place it on 24-hour hold without paying. Write down your reservation code. Then, request the discount online (or a refund of the discount if you already paid) with their form, described below. It is unknown (as of September 2025) if the previously mentioned case number will automatically allow you to secure and receive the jubilado discount online without filing the form.  
 + 
 +I found the form online by starting at the home page, click on ‘Customer Service’ link (as at September 2025, slightly down from the top, right hand side), ‘Requests or Claims’ (NOT ‘Ticket Refund Request’), then ‘Request Senior Citizen Discount’ under the ‘Other Requests’ heading, then fill out the form.  Or try this link: https://help.copaair.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?tf_9854964819863=dc.descuento_de_jubilado&ticket_form_id=9855457716503&_gl=1*gp6pej*_gcl_au*NjQ0NTE2MDAwLjE3NTc2MjAzNTE.*_ga*MTQzNDgwMTU1OC4xNzU3NjIwMzUy*_ga_SEJ8DB2YNH*czE3NTc3MDM1NzYkbzIkZzEkdDE3NTc3MDUxNzEkajIwJGwwJGgxMDI1NzU4NjM2 
 + 
 +This link is for Spanish language: https://help.copaair.com/hc/es-419/requests/new?tf_9854964819863=dc.descuento_de_jubilado&ticket_form_id=9855457716503&_gl=1*1kuoo6w*_ga*MjA2OTYyNzQ5Ni4xNjE4OTUxNzYx*_ga_SEJ8DB2YNH*MTcwODcxODQ4Ni4xMC4wLjE3MDg3MTg0ODYuNjAuMC4w. Note that this page is resistant to Google Translate webpage translation! However, on the upper right of the form, in the blue bar, there is a language icon to select either Espanol, English, Francais, or Portugues. Sorry - no Deutch! 
 + 
 +Using the webform, make a simple request for Senior Citizen Discount (discount before or refund after issuance, as the case may be), include your reservation code and ticket number (located near the top of your PDF itinerary / receipt).  
 + 
 +IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT COMPLETING THE FORM:  
 +1-Always check the box asking if this is a ticket booked with miles; it’s a flaw in their form! Even if you are paying dollars for the ticket, CHECK THE BOX. 
 +2-You likely don’t need the + symbol for country code for your phone; however, the customer service agent advised me that sometimes you DO need to include the + symbol. Also, you don’t need a dash between the sets of 4 numbers for a Panama phone. I would expect the same format would apply for other country phone number combinations: don’t use the dash unless the form won’t submit. 
 +3-Always include a brief explanation of why you are requesting the discount. English is fine if you don’t want to use Spanish However, Spanish uses accented characters, and I occasionally encounter problems using those ‘special’ characters in online forms. If your form does not submit, perhaps it choked on your use of special characters (accented letters)?. 
 +4-If you have a prior case number, include it in the explanation. 
 +5-Make sure you put information in all fields marked with a red asterisk ( * ). 
 + 
 +Finally, attach a scan or photo of your cedula (or other entitling documentation) to the form, then submit it. If the form resets, you have done something wrong, so go over your answers again - the form will not highlight errors, it will just refuse to submit. If all else fails, call Customer Service, use the prompts to get to a live person, and the agent can walk you through filling out the form as you do it: +507-217-2672. If you did everything correctly, the form disappears, and you will see a message on the new screen confirming success of your submission. 
 + 
 +You should receive a confirmation email after submitting the form, then: 
 +-If you requested a pre-purchase discount, you should quickly receive a confirmation email advising you to call customer service to finalize your purchase over the phone. This email will include a case number. Call the reservation number for Copa: +507-217-2672. Chose the option for managing a booking already made, and when you give the reservation code (it never asked for the case number given in the email), you will be connected with an agent. The agent will confirm your reservation and the discounted price, and then you can pay immediately. The call took less than 15 minutes, including navigating the phone tree to get to the agent. 
 +-2 If requesting a refund of a discount. September 2025: One week later, I received another email from customer service confirming the refund of the discount.  
 + 
 + 
 +Delta Airlines: 
 + 
 +Starting with I Go Panama FB post (Andrea Konduc, January 21, 2023):   
 +1) As modified by experience 16 February 2024.  
 +- Find your preferred flight details. Delta will not hold a reservation. To be safe, do not purchase your trip yet, just get the details. However, if you're confident you can get all this done within the first 24 hours, within the 24 hour cancellation policy, book the trip with seat selection, and pay full price for it, then get on the phone to Delta Customer Service. 
 +- You can book on the phone through any phone number; main US customer service number is ‭+1 (800) 221-1212‬ (other numbers found online include customer service hotline "+1-𝟖𝟎𝟓-𝟕𝟓𝟏-𝟐𝟕𝟗𝟒 Or +1-𝟖𝟎𝟓-𝟕𝟓𝟏-𝟐𝟕𝟗𝟒 (ᴏᴛᴀ) or 1-805-Delta(REal Persons)", for what they're worth).  
 +- Delta's main policy is "There is no such thing as a discount here so talk to the hand."  Nobody will know what you are talking about at Delta unless you guide them to their internal FAQ; say "Go to your 'Reference Source' and check 'KM' for International Senior Citizen Discount." Inform them they will need to "manually code the fare". If they can't find that FAQ, suggest they look for "International Senior Citizen Discount Fares" and it may be listed under "PA Special Discounts POS Ticketing: Panama." Don't harsh on the CS Agent; they're just following protocol. Just insist that it's the law here, and you understand it's strange, and request escalation to a manager who might have dealt with this before. There IS a FAQ, they just have to find it. 
 +-They asked if I had the government social security card (our cedula) and if I was a citizen.  I didn't want to parse 'resident with jubilado status' vs 'citizen' with them, so I just said 'yes' to both. They did not want a copy of the ID, but mentioned that it may be requested at the airport when checking in. 
 +- Then they should manually book the trip for you, with discount. Gently remind them about the half-priced departure tax (from $40 to $20) as part of the mandated discount. 
 +- Note: I had already booked the trip, with standard 24 hour cancellation policy. Once they found the FAQ and agreed there was a discount, they were able to rebook the trip as discounted, and cancel and refund the old purchased trip. But by doing so, they were able to see exactly what I had booked, including seat numbers. 
 +2) Unknown validity as of 2/17/24: On Delta chat, they can hold your fare and use the discount, but then you physically need to go to the airport to pay for the ticket. In Panama City.  It can be used for leaving Panama only, or round trip from Panana, unlike United which allows travel anywhere from anywhere. 
 +3) You can use a Panama based travel agent and pay the agent's fee but they can only book flights leaving from Panama but not going to Panama, unless it's a round trip flight.
  
 United Airlines: United Airlines:
  
-To receive the 25% Jubilado (senior citizen) Discount at United Airlines, first you must create a file with your name with the Panama Ticket Office. Here's what to do to create your file: Send an email to: panamacto@united.com with the following: - A photo of your Panamanian ID [I used my cedula] - Your address [I used my US address] - Your phone number in Panama [I used my WhatsApp] - Your email address for all references Once the file is created, you will be able to make your plane reservations and apply the discount going forward. Best way: Find the flight and seats you want on United's website and put the flight on hold. DO NOT pay for the ticket there. Contact the Panama ticket office via WhatsApp with your desired flight and seats and they will respond with a quote for the discounted amount. Once you confirm, they will call you to get payment info to book the flight. NOTE: The jubilado discount can only be applied for purchases made through the Panama City Ticket Office.The united.com site does not process jubilado discount. Also, contrary to popular belief, the flight can originate outside of Panama, but again, must be booked through the Panama Ticket Office. General Email: panamacto@united.com Direct Email: david.yanguez@united.com WhatsApp +507 6899-7114 Address: (for in person reservations) Edificio Galerías Balboa, planta baja. Avenida Balboa y Aquilino de la Guardia Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá Phone Number: +507 6899-7114 [better to use WhatsApp] Open only during business hours. 9a-6p M-F. Sat until 1pm. Local time. +To receive the 25% Jubilado (senior citizen) Discount at United Airlines, first you must create a file with your name with the Panama Ticket Office: Send an email to: panamacto@united.com with the following:  
 +- A photo of your Panamanian ID [I used my cedula]  
 +- A copy of your passport 
 +- Your address [I used my US address]  
 +- Your phone number in Panama [I used my WhatsApp]  
 +- Your email address for all references  
 +Once the file is created, you will be able to make your plane reservations and apply the discount going forward.  
 + 
 +Best way: Find the flight and seats you want on United's website and put the flight on hold. DO NOT pay for the ticket there.  
 + 
 +Contact the Panama ticket office via WhatsApp with your desired flight and seats and they will respond with a quote for the discounted amount.  
 +Once you confirm, they will call you to get payment info to book the flight.  
 + 
 +NOTE: The jubilado discount can only be applied for purchases made through the Panama City Ticket Office. The united.com site does not process jubilado discount. Also, contrary to popular belief, the flight can originate outside of Panama, but again, must be booked through the Panama Ticket Office. September 2025: United just announced it is restricting the discount in two ways: 1-The ticket must begin travel in Panama, and 2-The ticket must be entirely and exclusively on United planes. What this means for code-share travel (e.g. Copa from David) is unclear. 
 + 
 +General Email: panamacto@united.com  
 +Direct Email: david.yanguez@united.com  
 +WhatsApp +507 6899-7114  
 +Address: (for in person reservations) Edificio Galerías Balboa, planta baja. Avenida Balboa y Aquilino de la Guardia Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá  
 +Phone Number: +507 6899-7114 [better to use WhatsApp] Open only during business hours. 9a-6p M-F. Sat until 1pm. Local time.