Azores Airlines Narrows Its Nine-Month Loss to 22.5 Million Euros After a Summer Quarter That Erased Most of the First Half's Deficit

Azores Airlines, the SATA group's carrier for flights to and from the Azores, lost 22.5 million euros in the first nine months of 2026, about 32 percent less than the 33.3 million it lost in the same period of 2025. The figures come from the group's financial statements to 30 September, reported by the Lusa news agency on Tuesday evening.

The airline lost 37.1 million euros in the first half, as we reported in September. Taking one figure from the other, its July to September quarter made a net profit of roughly 14.6 million euros, close to double the roughly 7.8 million implied for the same quarter of 2025 (a 41.1 million loss in the first half of 2025 against 33.3 million after nine months). Those quarterly figures are our own subtraction; SATA did not publish them.

Fewer flights, more money per passenger

To the end of September, according to the accounts as reported by Lusa:

• Revenue was 264.4 million euros, up 5.7 percent.
• Flights fell 8.2 percent to 8,430, and passengers fell from 1.3 million to 1.2 million.
• Fuel cost 70.2 million euros, 31.7 percent more than a year earlier, and makes up about 30 percent of the airline's costs.
• Staff costs fell by about a million euros to 49.7 million, while outside supplies and services rose by 8 million to 178.1 million.
• EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) improved by 5.3 million to 30.5 million euros. At the half-year it had been negative, at minus 7.6 million.

SATA's chairman, Tiago Santos, said in a press note that the airline "recovered the negative EBITDA presented at the end of the first half". "The rise in fuel prices continued to put very significant pressure on airlines, but the third quarter's performance confirms the effect of the measures adopted," he said.

The inter-island airline and the rest of the group

SATA Air Açores, which flies between the islands, lost 2.82 million euros, against about 3 million a year earlier. Its operating revenue was 97.9 million euros and its EBITDA rose from 6 million to 9.1 million. Its staff costs fell from 47.5 million to 27.7 million and its outside services rose by 10.9 million to 57.5 million; the report does not explain the shift. SATA Handling, which since this year reports as a separate company and is also being sold, lost 740,000 euros. The airport manager, SATA Gestão de Aeródromos, made a profit of 841,600 euros, and the holding company's loss narrowed to 326,500 euros.

Why the numbers matter now

These are the last quarterly figures before the deadline in the sale of Azores Airlines. SATA has invited the five remaining bidders to submit binding offers by 9 December, and has not named them. A summer quarter strong enough to wipe out most of the first-half loss is the airline's best argument to buyers; a fleet flying fewer routes and fewer passengers, with fuel taking almost a third of its costs, is the risk they will price in.

For people in the Azores, the two airlines do different jobs: Azores Airlines flies the routes off the islands, including to the mainland, while SATA Air Açores keeps the nine islands connected. Only Azores Airlines is up for sale.