SATA International
Encyclopedia
SATA International is an airline
based in Ponta Delgada
, in the Azores
, Portugal
. It operates scheduled flights to the Madeira Islands, mainland Portugal
and other destinations in Europe
and North America
, as well as charter flights.
The airline was first established in December 1990 under the name of OceanAir and in 1991 was authorized to operate air transport services as a non-scheduled carrier. SATA Air Açores
became the major shareholder when OceanAir suspended flying in 1994 and later became the sole owner. On 20 February 1998 it was renamed SATA International and started operations on 8 April 1998.
The airline is 100% owned by SATA Air Açores
. Following its bid by public tender, SATA International was awarded scheduled routes from Ponta Delgada to Lisbon
, Madeira Island and Porto
. Today SATA assures a number of North Atlantic connections such as Faro
to Toronto
nonstop.
SATA owns two tour operators in North America: SATA Express in Canada and Azores Express in the United States.
After May 2009 SATA adopted a new image and a new logo which was applied to its first brand new A320-214 registered CS-TKO, named "Diáspora". The symbol, called BIA (for "Blue Islands Açor"), consists of nine geometrical shapes, representing the nine islands of the Azores assembled to form the mythical Açor of Portuguese legend. The "açor" or goshawk
was thought to have been the bird found circling the islands of the Azores when Portuguese sailors first discovered the archipelago. This form is form appears on the main elevator, in addition to a portion located just ahead of the wings on the fuselage. The new scheme was adopted by both SATA International and SATA Air Açores during the fleet upgrades beginning at the end of the 20th century.
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
based in Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro,...
, in the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. It operates scheduled flights to the Madeira Islands, mainland Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and other destinations in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, as well as charter flights.
History
SATA Air Acores
SATA Air Açores is an airline based in Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Portugal. It operates scheduled passenger, cargo and mail services around the Azores. It provides its own maintenance and handling services and manages 4 regional airports...
became the major shareholder when OceanAir suspended flying in 1994 and later became the sole owner. On 20 February 1998 it was renamed SATA International and started operations on 8 April 1998.
The airline is 100% owned by SATA Air Açores
SATA Air Acores
SATA Air Açores is an airline based in Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Portugal. It operates scheduled passenger, cargo and mail services around the Azores. It provides its own maintenance and handling services and manages 4 regional airports...
. Following its bid by public tender, SATA International was awarded scheduled routes from Ponta Delgada to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Madeira Island and Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
. Today SATA assures a number of North Atlantic connections such as Faro
Faro, Portugal
Faro is the southernmost city in Portugal. It is located in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region...
to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
nonstop.
SATA owns two tour operators in North America: SATA Express in Canada and Azores Express in the United States.
Fleet
The SATA International fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of 28 July 2010):| Aircraft | In Fleet | Passengers | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y | Total | ||
| Airbus A310-300 Airbus A310 The Airbus A310 is a medium- to long-range twin-engine widebody jet airliner. Launched in July 1978, it was the second aircraft created by Airbus Industrie,a consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. the consortium of... |
4 | 18 | 204 | 222 |
| Airbus A320-200 Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001... |
4 | 12 | 149 | 161 |
Livery
The airline's original livery consisted of an all white fuselage with the name SATA Internacional in ocean blue over the front windows, and a dark blue tail with the company logo. Before this the livery had an idealized logo featuring the bands of crashing waves, superimposed by a sun-disk, with the calligraphic lettering "Fly Azores" below. This tourist-friendly logo was retired at the end of the 20th century, to be replaced by the more corporate image.After May 2009 SATA adopted a new image and a new logo which was applied to its first brand new A320-214 registered CS-TKO, named "Diáspora". The symbol, called BIA (for "Blue Islands Açor"), consists of nine geometrical shapes, representing the nine islands of the Azores assembled to form the mythical Açor of Portuguese legend. The "açor" or goshawk
Goshawk
The Northern Goshawk , Accipiter gentilis, is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes other diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harriers....
was thought to have been the bird found circling the islands of the Azores when Portuguese sailors first discovered the archipelago. This form is form appears on the main elevator, in addition to a portion located just ahead of the wings on the fuselage. The new scheme was adopted by both SATA International and SATA Air Açores during the fleet upgrades beginning at the end of the 20th century.
Accidents and Incidents
- On 4 August 2009, a SATA Airbus A320-200Airbus A320The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
operating flight S4-129 from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada bounced off the runway then subsequently experienced a severe hard landing of 4.86G, causing damage to the landing gear. Nothing was written in the aircraft's technical maintenance log, both flight crew and maintenance staff were unable to interpret the hard landing report and despite the damage, the aircraft was not removed from service and flew back to Lisbon in customer service as well as flying an additional 6 sectors. SATA said in a statement that the hard landing/load reports are not a mandatory requirement for the aircraft type and drew attention to the amount of time Airbus took to confirm to them the interpretation of the load report. Both landing gear legs subsequently had to be replaced. In their final report the Portuguese accident investigation authority the GPIAA determined that the primary cause of the incident was the ground spoilersSpoiler (aeronautics)In aeronautics, a spoiler is a device intended to reduce lift in an aircraft. Spoilers are plates on the top surface of a wing which can be extended upward into the airflow and spoil it. By doing so, the spoiler creates a carefully controlled stall over the portion of the wing behind it, greatly...
deploying in flight after the aircraft had bounced 12 ft off the runway. Contributing factors were the failure of the pilot to go-around after the bounce, the failure of the pilot to retard the thrust levers before the first touchdown (which inhibited the ground spoilers deploying) and the pilot providing insufficient flare input. Airbus subsequently introduced a new software standard for the A320 in July 2010 to modify the ground spoiler deployment logic.