SATA International

We travelled recently with SATA from Toronto to Sao Miguel during the flooding in Toronto. It was obviously quite a challenge getting to the airport and once we got there the Terminal was in complete Chaos. The SATA staff were wonderful and helped us in getting our friends teenager from a connecting flight in term 1 to term 3 and onto the flight as expediently as possible.

Toronto to Lisbon. Left Toronto on time although aircraft seemed old and run down. Once in the air leg space and distance between seats was unacceptable for an international flight with no air conditioning. Air crew made the flight even more miserable with all of them being miserable. On the return flight everything turned into a nightmare arriving in Lisbon flight had been delayed to 8.00 pm rather than our 1pm departure. Given food vouchers and told we would have a hotel upon arrival in Toronto. Once at the gate our flight changed to 11pm departure then back to 8. Finally departed at 11.30pm from Lisbon. The crew were very nice and helpful during the flight. Our connecting flight carrier Westjet had clearly seen this with SATA in the past of connections not being met because of lateness the Westjet check in staff member in Pearson said it was a common sight. I will refuse to take SATA again.

2 bad experiences. Toronto to Lisbon return in March 2013. Seats extremely close together. No leg room. Seat ahead of me was able to be reclined far back so the rude passenger in front of me had her head in my lap for the entire daytime return trip to Toronto. Flight attendants took the position that if the seat reclined that far she had every right to sit in it that way. Seats were broken down and upholstery very worn out so that the seat was uncomfortable in the extreme and caused back ache. There was a big mix up with my luggage during flight change in Lisbon. They claimed that my luggage was not indicated as being on the plane. I spent the 3 hours in Lisbon airport trying to solve this problem with no solution available. In the end they let me onto the Toronto bound flight and my luggage was there on arrival. Obviously the luggage count was wrong! So much for luggage security.

Terrible Customer Service. Supposed to leave Toronto on 14 June 2013 at 6.40 pm.- instead we left on 15 June at 11.00 am due to a work refusal by the cabin crew. On the return we were supposed to leave Lisbon at 6.40pm on 28 June - but finally left at 11.30 pm. The Duty Free in Toronto was removed 1 hour before they announced that the flight was delayed - and only 1 hour later did they decide to start to prepare for hotels etc. They knew for several hours that we were not going to leave yet no one from SATA was around - just local ground employees. When we arrived in Lisbon there was no one to help us - after midnight. The SATA booth was closed when we arrived.

Worst 2 flights with an overall 26 hour delay. Only informed about the delay (on both flights) at the time of departure. Fully checked in and waiting at the airport for hours before they told us the plane was delayed. On the flight from Amsterdam to Sao Miguel after waiting for 3 hours at the airport we were told at boarding time at the gate that the plane hadn't even left the island yet so that it wasn't coming until the next day. Add to that that the planes were old the seats were uncomfortable the flight attendants hardly spoke English (although they were friendly - albeit not helpful) and the food was terrible. I fly a lot and the SATA flights seemed like a good deal but I'll never fly SATA again.

Worst airline I have flown. Online check-in requires entry of visa information even where a visa is not required. I called to inquire about this and was told to just enter a string of zeros to complete check-in. Plane is tired and very uncomfortable. We ended up caught by SATA's April 23-25 2013 airline strike. The airline confirmed us (I have the printed confirmation sheets) on a new return flight on April 26 and we changed our (separately booked) connecting flights at our cost on the basis of that information. SATA subsequently without any notice changed the return flight to April 27 requiring us to again change our connecting flights at further cost. SATA was entirely unsympathetic. Our return flight which should have been Ponta Delgada direct to Toronto was routed through Boston requiring us to re-check bags go through US customs etc. (and adding 4 hours travel time). In Boston apparently SATA had neglected to inform security of our flight so security initially refused to allow us through with Ponta Delgada-Toronto tickets; this took over half an hour to resolve. When we reboarded the plane it was a mess as no cleaning was done while it was on the ground. Terrible airline.

LIS-PDL: Funny enough we had to claim and re-check our bags in LIS (arriving from MUC with TP) even so the SATA Flight operated on a TP code also. Ground crew very helpful and friendly; A310 aircraft well past its prime with very tired seats but clean. Bar service features nice Azorean beer/wine. Sandwich and ice cream served after take-off. The toasted sandwich was the most disgusting piece of food I have seen in years. In general TAP seems to be the better ride to the Azores.

Munich - Ponta Delgada and return; stop-over in Porto. Both flights departed on time and arrived slightly ahead of schedule. The crews were caring friendly and professional. Basic in-flight entertainment (music film/short videos and information regarding the Azores) which is more than enough for the time one spends on-board. Full meal and drinks service on the Munich - Porto sector snacks and drinks on the Porto - Ponta Delgada sector. A nice and well-presented magazine with useful information for anyone travelling to the Azores. The ground staff in Ponta Delgada was also very professional and helpful (especially concerning inquires on hurricane Nadine and its effect on our flight). Overall great value for money a professional airline offering basic and good service with a flavour of Azorean culture. It has been a very pleasant experience I would definitely fly SATA again.

Our trip from Boston to P.Delgada was ok except for the cramped seating and rude service from flight attendants. On the way back to Boston from P.Delgada was a nightmare for any parent travelling with a 5 yr old boy. They boarded us on time we took our seats and then waited and waited! Finally after an hour and no take off SATA informed us that we were waiting on 30 passengers that were still in Santa Maria. My son had started to become inpatient after about an hour and a half so I asked if we could go back into the airport with my child to stretch a little and the attendant told me no. They didn't even play a movie for us. After about 2 agonizing hours the 30 passengers arrived. Finally after boarding us 2.5 hours early the plane was finally ready to take of. Employees are unprofessional and disorganized.

We flew from Faial to Ponta Delaga for a connecting flight into Boston on 08/18/2012. We arrived in Ponta Delgada at 11.45 am and was to board a plane for Boston at 2 pm. Flight S4221 was delayed out of Lisbon and 12 hours later SATA cancelled the flight. Me my husband and 4 year old daughter helplessly sat at the airport for 12 uneventful and agonizing hours waiting for news! At 12.30 am they finally informed us that the flight was cancelled and they didn't have enough rooms for everyone. SATA staff should have offered vouchers to families with children first similar to how airlines handle boarding. SATA was very little help and we were on our own. The next day other travelers who were lucky enough to get a voucher told us that hotels didn't accept SATA's voucher and that they would have to pay the hotel and the traveller needed to get reimbursed from SATA. At the airport SATA staff gave some of the travellers a difficult time about getting reimbursed. It was complete and utter chaos.