easyJet starts flights to the Azores at the end of March 2015, with four weekly flights between Lisbon and Ponta Delgada, announced the commercial director of the airline in Portugal.
“We finally have all the guarantees we needed to be able to announce the opening of the Lisbon / Ponta Delgada, which will be real fact from the end of March next year “said José Lopes told reporters in Ponta Delgada, after a meeting with the Regional Secretary of Tourism and Transport, Vitor Fraga, who did not speak.
The operation is under the new model of airline connections to the Azores, which will be in place by 2015 and ensuring that residents in the archipelago will pay a maximum of 134 euros for travel to the mainland and, if the airline charge them more than that, will later be reimbursed the difference by central government.
José Lopes said that easyJet will start operation with four weekly flights using an Airbus 320 with a capacity of 180 seats, and referred to the next week the release of ticket prices that the company intends to practice .
“We have a scheduled event for next Tuesday, when our Iberian general manager will be here with the Secretary of State for Transport and President of the Regional Government,” said Jose Lopes, adding at the time that “details will be announced, including the prices that we put on sale.”
After several years of contacts with the National Institute of Civil Aviation and the national and regional governments, the commercial director of EasyJet said the company made a point of being the first to announce it would start flying to the Azores, as being the work in order to meet the objective of having a daily flight to the islands from the 2015 winter.
In addition to EasyJet, Ryanair, Transavia and the Canary Biter expressed intention to fly to the Azores.
On 31 October, the National Institute of Civil Aviation informed all air carriers that the Government intended liberalize, with operational effects IATA summer 2015, air transport between the island of Terceira and the mainland and between Ponta Delgada and the mainland, ie the routes Lisbon / Ponta Delgada / Lisbon, Lisbon / Terceira / Lisbon, Porto / Ponta Delgada / Port and / Third / Harbour.
In the same communication, the regulator said that the Government of the Republic and the Government of the Azores intend to implement a mechanism for social mobility aids, to define in statute, with the aid that can be given to residents of the Azores and students for the benefit of the best interests of island citizens, mechanism based on the principles of social and territorial cohesion.
Joseph Lopes explained to be the result of the Lisbon / Ponta Delgada to dictate the opening or not of new routes easyJet flights to the Azores, but admitted that the airline already is considering opening the route of Porto, Third and European destinations.
Only the connections between the mainland and the islands of São Miguel and Terceira will be liberalized in 2015, under the agreement signed between the Government and the Republic.
The commercial director of easyJet ensured that the air carrier low cost “has no counterpart” to fly to the Azores, claiming that “it is the competition that generates low prices” and that the British company supports open markets.
easyJet is present in Portugal since 1999 and carried four million passengers to and from Portugal this year, which is three more than in 2013.
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