gailw

Has anyone here used Sata Airlines to go from Boston (or Newark) to Lisbon? They advertised in Boston newspaper and I'm interested in their flights which supposedly have just one short stop in the Azores before continuing on to Lisbon, with a total time of about 6 1/2 hours (and a fare in October of $753 with no extra fee for luggage). However, they have VERY poor reviews for service and on-time performance (I don't care about the food). Would be interested in others' experience.

adrienne

You can get flights from Boston to Lisbon on Continental in October for $705 (connecting in Newark) or non-stop flights from Newark for $645.

I'm not clear on how Sata can fly from Boston or Newark with one stop in 6.5 hours. The Newark to Lisbon non-stop is 7 hours. This is very odd.

If Sata has poor reviews why not fly Continental or other airline for less money.

gailw

I called Sata and the reservations agent is the one who told me 6 1/2 hours. She said there was a 40 minute stop in the Azores and that was all. I was sceptical but I'm just quoting her. I'd like to condense the trip into as short a time as possible. That's why I asked if anyone here had any experience with Sata. Some of the reviews were years old, and I thought perhaps out of date.

I live in NH and can drive to Boston in a couple of hours. Prefer to fly int'l flights out of Boston direct to European destination.

Re Continental/Newark. I had the worst experience I've ever had traveling to Europe flying Continental out of Boston with a stop in Newark. (We got a late morning phone call from Continental the day we were supposed to leave Boston for Madrid at 7 p.m. saying Newark was down to one runway due to high winds. We were told to hightail it down to the Manchester airport to leave early. We did but then spent hours waiting at Manchester for a flight to Newark, were finally put in a taxi and driven to Logan, caught a Continental flight to Newark that arrived in Boston minutes after the flight to Madrid departed without us. More hours. They put us on a flight to Paris. Eventually we ended up in Madrid but our luggage didn't. We waited 3 days for our luggage. I have everafter tried to avoid Newark whenever possible). It was years ago and I was a relatively inexperienced traveler. However, I still prefer to avoid Newark and plane changes, and the Sata flight which appeared to involve no changes and a direct flight from Boston to Lisbon was attractive.

hkto

We flew on SATA from Toronto to Lisbon and back with Azores stopover(they also have non stops to Lisbon and Porto from YYZ). Yes, it takes 6.5 hrs from Boston to Lisbon (with stopover & tail wind) but much longer on the way back. Airline is fine, food is ok, wine and beer is included in fare, generous luggage allowance and crew is quite nice. Both flights were somewhat on time (1 hr late from YYZ but not SATA fault). Stopover in Azores is short (under 1 hr) but passengers must leave the plane. The only drawback is the aircraft (older A310 with uncomfortable seats). It was full on the way in but half empty on return leg from Azores to YYZ. I liked them better than Air Transat.

gailw

hkto -- it was great to see another reply to my question about SATA. It's a little creepy that so few people on the Forum seem to have used them. I know there's no predicting, but glad to see they were somewhat on time. We won't mind being able to (having to) get off the plane in the Azores. It's a chance to stretch our legs after a long flight. What time of year and how long ago did you fly?

hkto

We flew in and returned this July. Bought ticket on their website sata.pt; paid with CC and was emailed e-ticket in a matter of minutes. Keep checking the price as it fluctuates daily (I missed sale on the direct flight and bought the one with Azores stopover which was $100 cheaper). Our flight arrived on T1 in Lisbon but left from T2 (tiny domestic terminal).

hkto

Here is my trip report is anyone is interested http://harryk.hostzi.com/TripReport.html

stylewithnanda

Anyone recently try this airline? Any reviews on it? Thank you

Cowboy1968

You may want to check the Skytrax website for reviews
http://www.airlinequality.com/
You will get there at least a certain quantity of reviews and not just one or two anecdotal experiences.

Sher

I will let you know because I will fly them in August from Boston to Lisbon.

hkto

We flew last year and will go again this year. Pluses are: good schedules (only non stop from Toronto to PDL), competitive price, good service, meal OK, free drinks. All my flights with them were somewhat on time. Minuses: Old plane (A310), outdated & not working entertainment system.

gailw

I'm the original poster.
We took Sata and were satisfied with our experience. We set the bar pretty low, however, in terms of what we expect from airlines. We had seats. They were the seats which we reserved in our seat assignment. I don't recall the food being anything exceptional one way or the other. All the passengers and crew appeared to know each other already; the flight crew had the drinks trolley in the back of the plane for most of the flight and were surrounded by genial passengers who helped themselves to the drinks trolley. We didn't care one way or the other because we don't drink much or at all. No one appeared drunk, but they were having a good time.
We flew nonstop from Boston to the Azores where, as I recall, we landed pretty much on time but then had kind of a long wait for buses to ferry the passengers a couple of hundred yards (max) to the terminal to go through customs. Then we all piled back onto the buses for the hundred yards back to the plane. Landed in Lisbon pretty much on time.
We're not finicky about entertainment provided by airlines -- we bring stuff to read.
The plane seemed fine to me. Don't know if it's old or not. Wouldn't hesitate to use them again. Price was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than any other airlines to Lisbon and the flight time was shorter. I also prefer to get as close as possible to my final destination before having to change planes.

Sher

gailw. Thanks for the information.
We are not that picky either. We don't expect much from coach class.
It would be nice if the entertainment systems work on the way over as I really do not sleep much. On the way back I couldn't care less.
I liked the price for our flights although it was a LOT more than three years ago.

gailw

Sher-
I hope you have an equally good experience with Sata. Fare prices to Europe are horrifying and we just paid approximately twice what I've ever paid for a ticket to go to Italy this fall. Travel is pretty much my only luxury, however, and I'm willing to pay what I have to in order to be able to go places that I'm interested in. I just hope Italy (and Alitalia) are still there when our travel date rolls around. Things are looking pretty grim.
Have a great time in Portugal.
gail

SloJan2

I have flown that route and had no complaints whatsoever.

Sher

SloJan2.
I picked that route because it had great times. My husband hates early flights and although most of us would not think 10:30 from Lisbon is early he is much happier that SATA flies at 2:30. We get home to Pittsburgh later but the flying time is just about the same with an earlier flight. Thanks for the thumbs up.

gailw. I am sure we will be fine. I want to get there safely and return safely. I can eat good food while I am there.

wfg463

We've used SATA on multiple occasions and have always been very satisfied. The big advantage from Toronto is the direct Toronto-Lisbon route. Coach class no worse than Lufthansa, Air Canada or BA and the flight crews are unfailingly helpful and pleasant.

We sometimes upgrade to 'club class' which is pretty good value when compared to mainstream airline offers. All in all very decent airline.

Sher

wfg463. I booked though Orbitz and so "club class" was not offered.
Did you book this class when you booked your ticket or were you able to pay a little more upon arival at the airport?

wfg463

We've booked the club class option through a travel agent in Toronto as well as using the SATA site directly. The cost is the same. If you book through a site like Orbitz you may be able to upgrade through SATA directly. All of the agents speak English and SATA has an office in Toronto. Don't know about the US but they're popular on the US east coast with the Portuguese/American community so it's possible that there's an office.

Having said that you may have got a better deal on Orbitz for economy class fares which could in turn affect the ability to upgrade......if you're on the US east coast there'll likely be travel agents in the Portuguese community that specialize as well.

Sher

wig463. I live in a very small town. We have no travel agents. The closest is AAA and I drove to the nearby town. I had found the SATA fare on Orbitz but prefer to book directly with the airlines or a travel agent.
I couldn't book directly with SATA as I live in Pittsburgh and SATA would not allow me to choose a fare starting in Pittsburgh online. I could have booked PIT-BOS and then BOS-LIS but really would rather have one itinerary booked instead of two separate ones.

The AAA travel agency would not allow me to book either. So I was forced to go to Orbitz. Maybe at the time I could have chosen a higher fare class but did not think of it at the time.

To book seats on SATA I called them and they provided me with an agent with very good English. For some reason Orbitz could not book seats on the SATA portion of the flight and I had some difficulty online.

I believe the price I got on Orbitz was good but cannot know exactly as the SATA site only gave the price from Boston and of course I had to add on for the PIT-BOS segment. But I am happy with the price. I paied $1150 for each ticket PIT-BOS-LIS return/ At the time the flights for just the BOS-LIS return tickets on SATA were about $883 or so. I might have been able to get PIT-BOS a little cheaper but it is worth it even if I paid extra for one itinerary.
I really want to thank you for all of the information.