Summary
- SATA Group celebrated its 77th anniversary, with the group now being comprised of SATA Air Açores and Azores Airlines.
- While initially it operated intra-Azores routes only, the group has expanded into transatlantic flights when it opened Azores Airlines in 1990, then it was known as OpenAir.
- The group maintains a dominant position in the islands, having a market share of 89.8%.
On June 15, 2024, SATA Group, comprised of SATA Air Açores and Azores Airlines, celebrated the 77th anniversary of its first flight, which took place on June 15, 1947. The group detailed that it had revived a ritual on its flights, giving out candies to passengers, helping them to relieve ear pressure felt during certain stages of a flight.
“The start of commercial flights by SATA, Sociedade Açoreana de Transportes Aéreos, Lda., took place on June 15, 1947, with the enthusiasm of more than three hundred guests who attended the ceremony held at the Santana’s airfield, the only airport on São Miguel Island.”
SATA detailed that it started air operations to carry passengers, cargo, and mail between the islands of São Miguel, Santa Maria, and Terceira, part of the Azores archipelago, an autonomous region of Portugal.
At the time, apart from the trio of islands, no other Azores islands had airports. However, throughout the years, SATA expanded its operations, and now, it connects all nine islands of the archipelago with air services.
Photo: SATA Group
Now, the airline operates 19,000 flights, carrying over 900,000 passengers per year. Furthermore, it has expanded beyond regional flying when it opened SATA Internacional, now known as Azores Airlines.
The opening of the latter carrier allowed SATA to expand the Azores’ connectivity with domestic and international itineraries. The group noted that Azores Airlines operates over 9,700 flights per year, carrying over 1.4 million passengers annually.
“SATA took around thirty years of air operations to carry the first million passengers. Far from this time, in 2023, SATA Group’s airlines carried around 2 million and four hundred thousand passengers altogether in a single year, passengers coming from several destinations in North America, in the Madeira and Cape Verde Archipelagos, in the Portuguese continent, and the European continent.”
1
All-De Havilland Canada Dash 8 fleet
SATA Air Açores total fleet: eight aircraft
- De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q200: two aircraft
- De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q400: six aircraft
According to ch-aviation data, SATA Air Açores operates a fleet of eight aircraft, comprised of two De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q200 and six Dash 8 Q400 aircraft. The all-turboprop fleet is, on average, 20.6 years old, with the pair of Q200s averaging an age of 27.1 years.
Photo: l.lika | Shutterstock
Nevertheless, throughout the years, SATA Air Açores operated several types, including the British Aerospace ATP (BAe ATP), a BAe ATP freighter, Douglas DC-6, and Dornier 228s. One thing that unites all of these aircraft is that they do not have jet engines, meaning that the regional airline has never operated jet-powered aircraft.
Related
Who Still Flies The Bombardier Q400?
Over 300 examples are still operating around the world since the type’s launch in 2000.
2
Over 500 weekly departures
SATA Air Açores flies from nine airports
- Total weekly departures: 558 flights (June 2024)
Meanwhile, data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that SATA Air Açores operates flights from nine airports within the Archipelago, none of which are longer than 520 kilometers (280.7 nautical miles).
Photo: Great Circle Mapper
Out of the 558 weekly departures, 186 originate out of Ponta Delgada–João Paulo II Airport (PDL), with Aerogare Civil das Lajes (TER) and Horta Airport (HOR) trailing the airport with 124 and 65 departures, respectively. In total, the airline has 37,912 weekly seats, amounting to 7.6 million weekly available seat kilometers (ASK) in June 2024.
Related
Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 Damaged In Hard Portugal Landing
3
All-Airbus Azores Airlines fleet
Azores Airlines total fleet: 12 aircraft
- Airbus A320ceo: three aircraft
- Airbus A320neo: two aircraft
- Airbus A321neo: two aircraft
- Airbus A321LR: three aircraft
- Airbus A330-300: one aircraft (wet leased from Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas)
As mentioned above, Azores Airlines is another airline within the SATA Group, with the group establishing the airline, then known as OceanAir, in 1990. Since then, the carrier has gone through several rebrandings and ended up with its current name in 2015.
Photo: DavidAbadesBarclay | Shutterstock
Since its establishment, the airline has grown to its current fleet of 12 all-Airbus aircraft, which includes three Airbus A320ceo, two A320neo, two A321neo, three A321LR, a derivative of the A321neo, and one A330-300, which has been wet leased from Spain-based Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas.
Ch-aviation data showed that in addition to the dozen aircraft, Azores Airlines is awaiting delivery for one Airbus A321XLR. However, in contrast with its sister airline, SATA Air Açores, Azores Airlines has only operated jet-powered aircraft, which includes the Airbus A310, Boeing 737-300, and 737-400s.
Related
Azores Airlines A321neo Business Class Review – Lisbon to Ponta Delgada, Azores
4
Azores Airlines’ network from the Azores archipelago
Weekly departures from the Azores islands: 142 flights (June 2024)
- United States-bound flights: 21 departures
- Destinations in the US: three airports
Meanwhile, Cirium data showed that in June 2024, Azores Airlines has scheduled 142 weekly departures from the Azores archipelago. The airline operates flights from PDL, TER, HOR, Pico Airport (PIX), and Santa Maria Airport (SMA).
Photo: Great Circle Mapper
Out of the 142 weekly flights, 21 itineraries are scheduled to the United States, namely to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport (OAK). Two other North American destinations include Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ).
Related
Azores Airlines Launches Madeira Island – Boston & Toronto Flights
Cristiano Ronaldo’s hometown gets its third nonstop connection to North America this summer as visitors flock to the Portuguese archipelago.
5
Dominant position in the archipelago
Market share of SATA Air Açores and Azores Airlines weekly departures from the Azores: 89.8%
Other airlines operating from the Azores:
- TAP Air Portugal
- Ryanair
- United Airlines
- Iberia
- Transavia
- Lufthansa
- Smartwings
- British Airways
- Binter Canarias
- TUIfly Netherlands
- TUIfly Belgium
Looking at weekly departure data from all of the Azores archipelago islands, it was clear that the SATA Group has a very dominant position, being responsible for 700 of the 779 (89.8%) weekly departures from the nine airports in the islands in June 2024.
Photo: Skycolors | Shutterstock
When looking at the departures from the main airports within the island, namely PDL, TER, HOR, PIX, and SMA, the group’s market share only drops slightly to 88.83% or 600 out of the 679 weekly departures from the quartet of the airports.
Related
Not Just The Big Hubs: 8 Airlines Weird & Wonderful Transatlantic Routes This Summer
Rzeszów to Newark? Shannon to Chicago? Faroe Islands to New York? Where are your summer travel plans taking you this year?