SATA - The Atlantic and You ™

Announced last November, the interline agreement with WestJet, Canada's second largest airline, went into effect on 19 January, reinforcing SATA’s position in the expat market (“mercado da saudade”).

The launch of this Interline Electronic Ticketing Agreement (IETA) will allow SATA Internacional to issue tickets for WestJet flights and vice‐versa, so that passengers can travel throughout Canada with a single electronic ticket on flights operated by both airlines, at more competitive fares created specially by this partnership.

19 January 2012 marked the beginning of a wide range of new flight options – available through all SATA distribution channels and travel agents – between the Azores and Canada, a country with a large community of Portuguese immigrants, particularly Azoreans, who now have access to more destinations at more competitive fares, all with just one ticket.

This agreement will allow SATA’s customers to continue their trips from SATA’s destinations of Toronto and Montreal to Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Quebec and other Canadian destinations operated by WestJet. Or, they can travel between Toronto and Montreal, or even to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Las Vegas in the United States, or to Bermuda, always at the best possible fares, which are more economical than current fares.

Along these lines, Grupo SATA Chairman António Gomes de Menezes recalls that “the signing of this important agreement is a milestone in promoting the Azores and attracting traffic to the Azores from Canada, along with boosting SATA’s reputation in the international market, through strategic partnerships with key companies from major outbound travel markets, which result in better connectivity and more competitive fares to the Azores destination.”

He goes on to say that “with this new agreement, which creates particularly low fares to every Canadian province, SATA has expanded the range of options so that our expats across North America (the United States and Canada) can visit the Azores, reinforcing the importance of the North American market, which grew 19.5% in the United States and 11.9% in Canada between 2009 and 2010. The new joint fares between SATA and WestJet can translate into savings of several hundred Canadian dollars for a family from Canada wanting to visit the Azores.”

WestJet is now Canada’s second largest airline, operating more than 90 jet aircraft and maintaining high growth rates. WestJet operates in 71 destinations in North America, including 30 cities in Canada and 17 cities in the United States.