“At Azores Airlines, we have an A320 Neo that is in the final phase of certification. In the first quarter, we will obtain another A320 Neo and in 2025, we will gain an A321 XLR. This will be the revised fleet of SATA International”, stated Teresa Gonçalves.

Regarding SATA Air Azores, the company is “currently executing a fleet replacement study, starting with the Q200 Dash planes”, said the person in charge.

The Fórum da Aviação Regional Sustentável 2024, in Ponta Delgada, organised by the Grupo SATA Airlines and the European Regions Airline Association (ERA), brings together around a hundred participants, including industry experts, innovators and enthusiasts of sustainability and aviation, aims to debate the challenges and opportunities for sustainable development of regional aviation, “focusing on even the remotest regions, as well as presenting the best practises and revolutionising the sector”.

In terms of decarbonisation, the SATA group is taking “several measures”, one of which is the renewal of the fleet for a “more efficient one, with greener engines” and the use of sustainable fuel, explained Teresa Gonçalves.

Monserrat Barriga, general director of ERA, acknowledged that SATA is doing a good job in terms of sustainability, as part of the Aliança para a Aviação com Emissões Zero (AZEA), which aims to develop aircrafts powered by hydrogen and electricity.

The president of the Board of Directors of the SATA group stressed “I can assure you that for the necessary investments, in terms of sustainable aircrafts and of all the challenges we have regarding the environment, the five-year contract does not allow for it”, she said.

Teresa Gonçalves considers there is a “very big risk” because at the end of the five years, it is “not guaranteed that the company’s public obligations will continue”.

“Therefore, I think this is a risk which must be studied, in order to be able to make the necessary investments”, she concluded.