Ponta Delgada's Chamber of Commerce Asks the Competition Regulator Why Lisbon to the Azores Costs More Than Cabo Verde to the Azores

The chamber of commerce for São Miguel and Santa Maria has asked Portugal's competition regulator to examine how air fares between the mainland and the Azores are being set, after its own monitoring found return trips passing 500 euros in some periods. The Câmara do Comércio e Indústria de Ponta Delgada sent a formal letter to the Autoridade da Concorrência following an analysis it has been running on how those fares have moved.

The chamber's finding is not that fares are high on average. It is that the cheap fare buckets airlines advertise are rarely on sale. According to the CCIPD, on both Azores Airlines and TAP "the lowest fare classes are not regularly available", even when searches are made a long way ahead, and supply is concentrated at significantly higher fare levels.

Two Hours to Ponta Delgada, Four Hours to Praia

The comparison the chamber leads with involves the same carrier flying two different routes. For comparable periods, it says, a trip between Praia in Cabo Verde and Ponta Delgada, a flight of close to four hours, can be found for around 218 euros, while Lisbon to Ponta Delgada, roughly two hours, returns figures above 500 euros for a round trip.

The CCIPD accepts that flight duration is not the only thing that sets a fare, but argues that "differences of this magnitude", charged by the same operator, justify a detailed examination of the Azores routes.

It considers the situation "even more worrying when compared with the Lisbon to Funchal link". Its analysis points to Lisbon to Ponta Delgada prices that in several periods sit close to double the average found for Lisbon to Funchal, a route where more operators compete for the same passengers.

On advance booking, the chamber says searches already run for August 2027 on Lisbon to Ponta Delgada returned round-trip values "in the order of 500 euros". Buying early, it argues, ought to give a consumer access to more competitive fares, "especially when there is still a great deal of time available for planning the air operation".

The Chamber Is Careful Not to Allege Collusion

"The CCIPD does not assert the existence of collusion between the two operators," its statement says. What it argues is that the current structure of the market, after Ryanair's departure, combined with the commercial code-share cooperation between TAP and Azores Airlines and the observed behaviour of fares, "justifies an in-depth analysis by the Competition Authority".

The regulator has already said something close to this itself. In an opinion issued in May 2026, the Autoridade da Concorrência identified "risks that a closer alignment between the two operators could reduce competitive pressure and lead to higher prices". The chamber, led by Gualter Couto, is asking it to move from noting the risk to examining the outcome.

Ryanair's exit remains the hinge of the whole argument. In August, Chega demanded the full ledger of what eleven years of the airline cost the region, and Azores Airlines itself trimmed its half-year loss to 37.1 million euros while fuel prices took back 11.5 million of the improvement.

What This Means for Residents

• If you live in the Azores: The chamber is asking the regulator to look at capacity management as well as pricing, which is the mechanism that determines whether the cheapest advertised class is ever actually loaded into the system for your dates.
• If you are booking a visit: Booking a year ahead is not producing the discount you would expect on Lisbon to Ponta Delgada, on the chamber's own searches. Compare against Funchal to see what a more contested route looks like.
• Public ownership is part of the complaint: Both carriers have public shareholders, and the CCIPD is explicitly pressing for scrutiny "when public-natured operators and routes of structural importance to an island region are involved".
• Beyond travellers: The chamber warns the effects do not fall only on people who need to fly, but on the archipelago's competitiveness as a tourist destination, which reaches local employment.

The Competition Authority is not obliged to open a case because a chamber of commerce asks it to. What the letter does is put on the record, from an organised business body rather than a political party, a set of price comparisons that the regulator's own May opinion had already anticipated in the abstract.