The Ponta Delgada Chamber of Commerce has asked Portugal’s Competition Authority to examine conditions on air routes between the mainland and the Azores, arguing that the departure of Ryanair, reduced competitive pressure and the apparent scarcity of lower fare classes may be contributing to prices that increasingly burden residents, businesses and tourism.
For an island, an airline ticket is never merely an airline ticket. It is a bridge to a university, a medical appointment, a business meeting, a family reunion or a holiday market upon which thousands of jobs depend. That is why the Ponta Delgada Chamber of Commerce and Industry—representing businesses on São Miguel and Santa Maria—has formally asked Portugal’s Competition Authority to examine current competitive conditions on flights between mainland Portugal and the Azores, particularly routes operated by Azores Airlines and TAP.
The Chamber’s concern follows its analysis of recent fare patterns. According to the business association, the least expensive fare classes on both airlines are not regularly available, even when searches are conducted far in advance, leaving travelers with substantially more expensive options. The CCIPD is careful not to allege collusion between TAP and Azores Airlines. Instead, it argues that the structure of the market following Ryanair’s departure, combined with the commercial cooperation between TAP and Azores Airlines through a codeshare agreement and the fares being observed, warrants closer examination by the Competition Authority. The association also points to a May opinion from the Authority that, according to the CCIPD, identified risks that closer ties between the two carriers could weaken competitive pressure and contribute to higher prices.
One comparison has become particularly striking in the Chamber’s argument. It says Azores Airlines has offered a Praia, Cape Verde–Ponta Delgada itinerary of approximately four hours for around €218, while Lisbon–Ponta Delgada round trips, on a flight of roughly two hours, can exceed €500. The CCIPD acknowledges an essential point: airfare is not determined simply by distance or flying time. Demand, capacity, seasonality, operating costs and revenue-management strategies can all influence prices. Nevertheless, the association believes a disparity of that magnitude justifies scrutiny of how capacity is allocated, how lower fare classes are released and how the Azorean routes are commercially managed.
The comparison with Madeira raises another question. According to the CCIPD’s analysis, Lisbon–Ponta Delgada fares during various periods have approached twice the average prices it found between Lisbon and Funchal, a market where greater airline competition exists. The Chamber is particularly troubled that searches made with extraordinary advance notice—including for August 2027—can still produce Lisbon–Ponta Delgada round trips around €500 without the lowest advertised fare categories appearing. In its view, advance purchasing should normally give consumers a meaningful opportunity to obtain more competitive prices.
For the CCIPD, the issue confirms a warning it made when Ryanair withdrew from the market: fewer competitors could mean less downward pressure on fares. The association is therefore calling not only for scrutiny of competition, but also for examination of capacity management and airline revenue-management practices. These questions assume particular significance, it argues, when publicly owned operators are involved and when the routes concerned provide essential accessibility to an island region. At this stage, however, the Chamber’s comparisons and concerns constitute a request for regulatory examination, not a finding by the Competition Authority that either airline has violated competition law.
The consequences, the Chamber argues, extend far beyond Azoreans who need to travel. Accessibility is part of the price of the destination itself. A mainland family considering a holiday in the Azores also calculates the airfare before choosing a hotel, restaurant, whale-watching excursion or rental car. When a two-hour flight exceeds €500, the CCIPD argues, the islands become less competitive precisely when the Portuguese domestic tourism market has been showing weakness. What begins as an airline fare can therefore travel through the entire economy.
The Chamber is consequently calling for the restoration of effective competition on mainland routes, capacity appropriate to the needs of the destination and genuine, regular access to the different fare classes advertised by airlines. Whether its concerns ultimately reveal competition problems is now a matter for the competent authorities to assess.
But behind the technical language of codeshares, capacity and revenue management lies an old Azorean reality. Geography already places an ocean between the islands and the mainland. Air transportation was supposed to make that distance smaller.
When the price of crossing it becomes prohibitive, the Atlantic begins to grow wide again.
Based on a story in Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros-director. The photo os from Azores Airlines.