Although the SATA Group’s accounts for 2023 have not yet been finalized, the company’s CEO, Teresa Gonçalves, reveals that revenues are expected to grow by 30% compared to 2022, exceeding the targets set by Brussels.
In an interview with Jornal de Negócios, the Group’s CEO revealed that the company ended the year with 2.4 million passengers transported on both airlines.
“We grew 25% compared to 2022 and 40% compared to 2019. I think this is very good because 2019 was the big year for aviation and SATA achieved very significant results,” says Teresa Gonçalves.

SATA operated 1,400 more inter-island flights

As for occupancy rates, she reveals that Azores Airlines reached 82.8%, “which is very good”. At the same time, SATA Air Açores, “which has a slightly more constrained operation because it is a public service obligation, also outperformed and once again grew in terms of passengers carried and flights made: there were 1,400 more flights, which is very significant between the 9 islands. Also, in operational terms, our North American routes grew considerably, by around 54% compared to the previous year, which also shows that the work we have been doing with this geography is working.”
Teresa Gonçalves also reveals that SATA Internacional’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) will grow around four times.
“It’s very significant, because it really shows that our operation is on the right track and we’re achieving the goals we set ourselves. And there’s a very important fact here at the moment: SATA is going to publish results that are above the restructuring plan that was submitted to the European Commission. In 2022 we had already achieved the revenues we had set ourselves in 2025 and, in 2023, we also managed to exceed what was defined in the European Commission’s plan. I think this is very good,” says the group’s CEO.

New proposal for privatization?

Asked by Jornal de Negócios about the possibility of a new public tender for the privatization of Azores Airlines, the President of SATA says that she is unaware of any such intention but adds that “we have to think about things at the moment and in the circumstances we are in. Because if a year ago certain things made sense, in a year maybe something will have changed, and we’ll have to look again at all the circumstances and the environment we’re in and how the company has evolved, and think again a little about what makes sense or not in the specifications. Maybe there’s a lot that needs to be adjusted, there’s a lot that needs to be changed. We have to look at the moment the company is in (…) and what has evolved, and then make the necessary adjustments.”

“We need to gain scale.”

After recalling that the European Commission imposed a deadline for closing Azores Airlines’ privatization: 31 December 2025, Teresa Gonçalves says that SATA “clearly needs to grow.”
“We’re already at a stage where we need to grow in order to reduce costs and have more capacity to offer. We need to gain scale, and that scale could possibly come with a private partner. Currently the company has implemented a restructuring plan and is operating normally and we are sustainable,” he concludes in the interview with Jornal de Negócios.

Azores Airlines was the first choice of tourists last year

The SATA Group announced yesterday that Azores Airlines was the first choice of airline for passengers traveling to the archipelago in the 2023 high season.
“Passengers were satisfied with the quality/price of air transportation in the Azores, with 64.57% of the sample expressing great satisfaction with the destination in general, which met their expectations,” adds the company.
These figures were published in the Report on the Satisfaction of Tourists Visiting the Azores in the 2023 High Season, recently published by the Azores Tourism Observatory.
“We are delighted to see Azores Airlines stand out as the most popular airline when planning a trip to the Azores. We are very honored by this distinction, which reflects the hard work and dedication we have been developing to meet the expectations of those who choose to explore our archipelago. The airlines of the SATA Group are the benchmark for travel to the Azores and within the archipelago, and this survey confirms that passengers are satisfied with the service we offer,” acknowledges Teresa Gonçalves, President of the SATA Group.
In 2023, Azores Airlines and SATA Air Açores were responsible for transporting 2.4 million passengers, representing a 25% increase compared to 2022. Azores Airlines, which provides flight connections outside the archipelago, carried 1.4 million passengers, 33% more than in the previous year and 52% more than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
Azores Airlines is the airline that offers the most services to the Azores, connecting the archipelago to North America and mainland Europe, including mainland Portugal, the Madeira archipelago, and the Cape Verde archipelago.
This year, it will add the routes Ponta Delgada/Milan/Ponta Delgada, Ponta Delgada/London/Ponta Delgada, and, on domestic routes, the connection Ponta Delgada/Faro/Ponta Delgada, thus increasing direct flights to the archipelago and the possibilities of connecting Europe and North America.
“SATA Group airlines play a key role in promoting and developing tourism in the Azores, ensuring connectivity to the archipelago, complementing each other in their operations to offer a diversified destination experience that allows you to discover several islands in a short space of time, in an organized and comfortable way,” the company stresses. Year after year, the carriers have matched demand with an increase in the seats offered, resulting in consistent growth in the number of passengers carried, it concludes.

in Diário dos Açores–Osvalso Cabral, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance)  at California State University, Fresno–PBBI thanks the sponsorship of the Luso-American Development Foundation from Lisbon, Portugal (FLAD)