Anyone have any experience with this airline? We're flying to Europe in May, and saw a really good fair for non-stop business class to Lisbon. Last year we flew TAP business class and had a very good experience, but this year their fare was almost twice as much. Thoughts? Experiences?
Posted by
Paris
6905 posts
No firsthand experience, but they have a reputation of unreliability. A few years ago they were miles behind TAP on confort too (they still flew A310!), but I believe they bought new planes.
Also, if you do not intend to visit the Azores, splitting your trip in the Azores means that you basically won't sleep, since you will have 2x4 hour flights instead of 1 longer leg.
Posted by
Rhode Island, USA
472 posts
Just about everything you need to know about SATA/Azores Airlines is in my freemium Azores guide, in the post at the top of the Portugal Forum “Azores Islands Travel Advice”. I have flown with them countless times.
Almost all their flights have a stopover in the Azores (Terceira or Sao Miguel), so be sure you are looking at a non-stop. The flight you are seeing might be on TAP, as they codeshare, so go for the best price.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Posted by
OP
136 posts
Thanks for your reply. Our plan is to fly into Lisbon (nonstop) and then on to another European destination (Porto, Bilbao, the Dordogne area are possibilities. We've found that flying into Lisbon (or Madrid) and staying for a night or so gives us time to regroup, before flying to another place. In this way, we avoid the stress of connecting flights. We fly business class for the long flight, and then economy on the other, much shorter flights. There's often lots of flights to choose from if we're flying from a European airport.
Posted by
OP
136 posts
Thank you, Carl. I think you're correct. I must have misread the schedule. I don't see any non-stops on Azores Airline from Boston to Lisbon. Another case of too good to be true.
Sorry everyone!
Posted by
Rhode Island, USA
472 posts
Remember, if SATA/Air Azores is showing the much cheaper nonstop price to Lisbon, and the flight is on TAP (codeshare), grab it. I have seen this many times. Why pay more booking with TAP when you are flying on the exact same airplane, only codesharing and booking with SATA/Air Azores?
Read the details and fine print to be 100% sure before booking 😊. Hope you have a great trip!