SATA International

I flew through Lisbon to S. Miguel. The flight from Lisbon was delayed for hours with no reasonable explanation given. However the most disturbing thing was the attitude of the SATA staff in Lisbon - the most unprofessional personnel I've come across. It was like they were doing passengers a favor by answering our questions and doing their jobs. If they dislike customers and customer service so much they should find another job. Wish there was another airline flying to the Azores. SATA is unjustifiably expensive but in order to avoid these guys I'd be willing to pay a little extra.

YYZ-PDL-YYZ on old A310. SATA use KLM Airlines Lounge in YYZ which is a top notch facility. Outbound flight was clean and uneventful. FA staff on executive class was friendly and interactive. Meals good and service excellent. We were the third flight arriving on PDL within minutes of each other two of which from YYZ. PDL is undergoing extensive renovations passengers were bussed to the terminal. The nightmare began when only two custom officials were available to handle three flights whilst the automatic digital passport reader on the express lane was out of order. Custom officials did their best to expedite procedures but SATA ground crew were totally worthless. SATA older A310s are configured to carry 222 passengers with only 18 on executive class. Although one pays CND$200 extra for the privilege of traveling first class there is nothing executive about the more spacious 2-2-2 seating arrangement. Upholstery is old and uncomfortable and the entertainment systems (TV and audio) did not work nor did the inflight map. SATA Executive Lounge in PDL is a little room with few couches with a tiny bar without an attendant and a padlocked refrigerator. I asked one the two attendants at the reception desk if she had cold beer to with she replied yes. And that was that. FA was the same as two weeks earlier.

Poor value for the money paid. Two out of three flights taken on the trip were late. Check-in staff in Lisbon were slow. Inadequate meals for transatlantic flights - one hot meal and a muffin. Staff in Ponta Delgada rude and uninformed. I had a question regarding Tax- free claims and was directed to a counter in the SATA lounge. The girl in the lounge then said this was not the spot to go and had no idea about Tax Free program. In the end the customs agent came in and told her it was her responsibility to call customs to come over and assist in the matter. During the transatlantic flight to Toronto a male flight attendant was trying to pick up one of the passengers for an evening flight. He would stop and talk to these ladies sitting behind me every 10 mins and spent 20mins talking to them while the other attendants worked. During a 7 hr flight they show 1 movie and the remainder of the time self promoting ads run on the ancient overhead TVs. The only bonus was I got to my destination safely.

My flight to Manchester from Ponta Delgada was cancelled at short notice and staff at the airport in Ponta Delgada were rude unhelpful and quite arrogant and literally abandoned the passengers. As others have stated as soon as there is a problem they refuse to help their website is not good. Customer Service call centre promises to call you back within 48 hours? This is the only airline flying in and out of the islands to the UK (TAP codeshare - which is a convenient joke). You feel trapped as there is no sense of justice trying to deal with an airline which has a monopoly. When you do get to speak with a senior member of staff as I did with several other passengers they laugh in your face and are not at all sincere or interested. All in all very disappointing and I am still grounded with no support or help after five days.

I think their service has been getting better. Crew are sympathetic and attentive One thing they could improve is food. The website is very accessible easy to use and you can book your own seat on their planes - although you can't book it in code-share flights with TAP.

I also have complained to SATA with reference to the cancellation at short notice of my flight London / Manchester to Ponta Delgada and they also have failed to reply to me even although i have called them several times. This airline has a Customer Service department which really is not good at dealing with issues which inconvenience passengers. What is most frustrating is that they seem to treat customers with sad contempt in making the matter even worse by not responding to passengers or trying to find alternative routes. They cancel your ticket at short notice - and tough!! You really should take care when planning independent holidays with this company as you could be very much out of pocket. There are really no alternatives unless you use TAP via Lisbon but as the previous complainant pointed out SATA doesn't care as they will fully benefit from your Lisbon to Ponta Delgada leg which they operate with expensive tickets. Free trade and competition is desperately needed on this route.

Yet again SATA has cancelled its London / Manchester to Ponta Delgada flights with little notice and making no effort to assist passengers who have had to either cancel their plans completely or alternatively book expensive last minute flights between London via Lisbon which means they fully benefit from the ticket between Lisbon and Ponta Delgada. I have complained about the situation to Customer Services (they don't know the meaning of the word) and the European Commission as have my friends and no one as usual receives a reply from the airline. Please be aware that this company has a complete monopoly on certain routes in and out of these islands (sometimes with a TAP codeshare) and you are at their mercy. They do not respond to complaints properly (or at all in many cases) particularly if something is serious. Open competition will come to these routes soon and maybe then this airline will have to treat its customers with respect. If you do actually fly with them on a flight you will find service standards to be good.

LGW-PDL-LGW. One flight a week from Gatwick to Ponta Delgada. Very friendly crew on outbound and return meals adequate drinks adequate. Staff in Ponta Delgada very helpful. Good value flights shame that their Euro 50 last minute upgrade didn't apply to London legs. Business was empty both ways.

A310-300 flight from PDL to BOS. The aircraft had to detour to Santa Maria because fuel in PDL was contaminated. The flight to BOS was torture : cabin was very hot and there was no effort to cool it down. There are no individual air blowers for each passenger so things became miserable. Passengers were using magazines to try and cool off and turning the light fixtures thinking that they were air controls. The pitch between seats was very small (I was unable to read a book when the passenger in front pushed back their seat). On a long flight from the Azores to Boston there was one meal and one beverage service in economy. The sound systems for passengers was not working so no one was able to listen to the movie not tune in audio channels. The crew sat in the back and chatted.

Dublin to Faro return on a charter flight with SATA and was impressed. The staff were professional and service very good. Seats were reasonably comfortable and plane was modern. There was even a complimentary food and drink service onboard which was a pleasant surprise.