SATA Air Azores

Easily the worst airline I've ever flown. Outgoing flight from Boston was cancelled (which seems to be a recurring theme with SATA) so we lost a whole day of vacation. The plane was very old and so cramped that my knees were touching the seat in front of me - and then that person reclined his seat so that it was about a foot from my face. This might be fine for a 2 hour flight but a flight that is almost 5 hours? It's inhuman. The food was some kind of boiled slop with mystery seafood at the bottom. I've never been picky about airline food but this was disgusting. Most people just ate the roll and left the rest. Lack of personal space made it almost impossible to actually eat. Coming back the plane was delayed an hour it sounded as though all the SATA planes were delayed as well. People at the next gate started clapping in unison to get the staff to let them board the plane. Clearly SATA's fleet of planes is old and broken down and this causes frequent delays. This is no way to run a business.

19 Feb PDL-TER. 19 Feb TER-PIX. 24 Feb PIX-PDL. Very quick response after contact via email. Very friendly and quick responses during the complete procedure. At the airport counters and check-ins we met friendly SATA employees as well. There is only one negative thing to talk about: The food. If I was responsible for the food on the planes - I would change the caterer immediately.

Booked a TAP flight from Lisbon to Terceira that turned out to be code shared and operated by SATA. This is an underestimated airline and I was pleasantly surprised by the comfort of the seating as well as the quality of the service. I will book SATA on my next trip to the Azores.

FNC-LPA. Friendly check in agent at Funchal was absolutely delightful to deal with. Flight about 15 minutes late leaving but arrived on time. Love the Q400 because it is easy on/easy off.

Flew SATA from Boston to Lisbon and then back via the Azores. All flights were on time. Food was very good. Business class is an excellent deal - just a few hundred dollars for a bigger seat w/ foot rest departure lounge nice meal early boarding all the extra touches. Inflight staff were great - on the ground staff very helpful. A great trip.

We flew from Boston to Ponta Delgada in August round-trip. The service was excellent they served hot meals and just before landing the flight attendant passed out warm towelettes.

Toronto to Sao Miguel Aug 28 and return Sept 18. New alliance with West Jet helps immensely with baggage handling from Edmonton. Service by ground and in-flight staff is excellent and fully bilingual. Pleasant hard working and highly professional. Meal okay but beverage service with wines and coffee is excellent. Seats are short for a tall person and seats are closer together compared to West Jet. Cabins clean and no apparent repairs needed. Older cabin features. For the money paid for the round trip flight this was a great value.

Amsterdam to Sao Miguel flight S4 551 May 6. Second from Sao Miguel to Amsterdam on May 13 flight number S4 550. Flew with SATA twice first time we had a delay of 22 hours and the second time we had a delay of almost 4 hours. Never again. The planes are pretty rickety.

Toronto-Lisbon on 6/21. Lisbon-Ponta Delgada on 6/30. Ponta Delgada - Toronto on 7/2. All of the above flights departed timely. The crew were very friendly pleasant and accommodating. In-flight service was excellent including meals and beverage selections. SATA's widebody aircraft are A310's that are a little older and show some signs of age (though I'm sure they are maintained well) but overall seats were comfortable and the aircraft cabin was clean. The in-flight entertainment systems were a little intermittent however with a couple of screens (and several earphone jacks) not functioning properly. Luckily my longest flight with them was only 6 hours in length. I would recommend passengers bring their own books magazines earphones and a smartphone or similar device for entertainment. Overall I believe SATA provided very good service and good value - better than some 4-star airlines I have flown with.

Flew to Sao Miguel from Toronto return on A310. All flights left on time. Flight crew kept passengers informed about progress including southerly route change due to Hurricane Irene. Cabin crew members were friendly helpful and bilingual. Meal and snack on both flights were above average. Beverages included juices coffee tea and good Portuguese wine. On return trip Audio for the movie (pull down screens) did not work for many seats around our section. Stopped in at SATA office in Ponta Delgada to work out a better seat selection. They were helpful and courteous. Service overall has improved over the last couple of years disappointed with technical problems onboard but the staff and service were good.