Our flight from Ponta Delgada to Lisbon was departing at 9:45AM, though we got to the airport plenty early, at around 7AM. That’s because we had to get gas, return our rental car, I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to review the airport, etc.
Ponta Delgada Airport is quite small, with just a single terminal.
Ponta Delgada Airport exterior
Once inside the terminal we first went to the rental car counter, and then walked to the far end of the terminal, where check-in was located.
Ponta Delgada Airport terminal
Ponta Delgada Airport check-in counters
There was a business class check-in counter, where there was just one person ahead of us, so we were checked in pretty quickly.
I knew that our flight to Lisbon would be operated by a leased HiFly A340, which features economy, business, and first class seats. They don’t sell first class, so I asked about the possibility of assigning seats in the first class cabin, which they gladly did. Sweet! As it turned out, all but two business class passengers were actually in first class.
Azores Airlines check-in Ponta Delgada Airport
Right next to the check-in desk was security, which was an easy process. We were through in about a minute. The airport’s airside area is pretty small. Gates 1-5 were to the left, gates 6-10 were to the right, and then there were a couple of duty free shops and coffee stands.
Ponta Delgada Airport airside terminal
Ponta Delgada Airport airside terminal
Ponta Delgada Airport duty free shop
Azores Airlines operates a lounge at the airport, which is located past security and to the right. SATA rebranded as Azores Airlines several years ago, but the airline can’t seem to update their branding, as just about everything still says SATA.
Azores Airlines Lounge exterior Ponta Delgada Airport
Inside the lounge was a reception desk, where the agent took forever to get us checked in. It took her a couple of minutes as she wrote down every single detail from our boarding pass onto a sheet of paper. For what it’s worth, the lounge is also a member of Priority Pass, so you can easily gain entry thanks to any number of credit cards with lounge access.
Azores Airlines Lounge reception desk Ponta Delgada Airport
This lounge was plain depressing. While the rest of the airport had lots of natural light and felt fairly modern, the lounge felt like a log cabin, and not in a charming way. The only light came from the frosted glass windows.
The lounge consisted of just one small room, which is fair enough, because Azores Airlines doesn’t seem to have many premium passengers.
Azores Airlines Lounge Ponta Delgada Airport
Azores Airlines Lounge seating Ponta Delgada Airport
On the plus side, I appreciated their use of vertical wood beams to make the lounge feel a bit more private.
Azores Airlines Lounge seating Ponta Delgada Airport
Towards the back of the lounge were the two larger seating areas.
Azores Airlines Lounge seating Ponta Delgada Airport
The area in the back left of the lounge had a TV.
Azores Airlines Lounge seating Ponta Delgada Airport
The food & drink selection was back near the entrance to the lounge, and was pretty bad.
Azores Airlines Lounge food & drinks Ponta Delgada Airport
To drink there was a selection of liquor, soft drinks, and water.
Azores Airlines Lounge liquor selection Ponta Delgada Airport
Azores Airlines Lounge drink selection Ponta Delgada Airport
Then there was also a fridge with drinks.
Azores Airlines Lounge drink selection Ponta Delgada Airport
Then there was a coffee machine and a kettle.
Azores Airlines Lounge coffee machine Ponta Delgada Airport
The food selection was limited to a few types of small packaged snacks (crackers, cookies, and nuts).
Azores Airlines Lounge snack selection Ponta Delgada Airport
Then there was an area with magazines and newspapers.
Azores Airlines Lounge magazines & newspapers Ponta Delgada Airport
While the lounge had a Wi-Fi network, the airport’s Wi-Fi network was stronger. The issue was that the airport’s Wi-Fi didn’t work well in the lounge, so connectivity was better outside the lounge.
The lounge also had no bathroom, so you had to go into the terminal to use the bathroom.
The lounge was so bad that we decided to go to a coffee shop to get a coffee and snack. There were no healthy options, just a selection of carbs.
Food at Ponta Delgada Airport
Then we headed to the gate area, because that was more comfortable than the lounge.
Even though the Azores is part of Portugal, you have to go through passport control when flying from Ponta Delgada to Lisbon. Our flight was departing from gate 3 — passport control let out near gate 1, and then we had to walk past two sets of gates to get to our departure gate.
Azores Airlines departure gate Ponta Delgada Airport
Azores Airlines departures board Ponta Delgada Airport
Boarding was scheduled for 9:05AM, though that didn’t happen. Instead we began boarding the bus to the remote stand at 9:35AM, with no explanation of the delay.
Bus to gate Ponta Delgada Airport
Then at 9:40AM the bus left to the plane.
Ponta Delgada Airport tarmac
Our gorgeously simple HiFly A340 was parked at the far end of the tarmac. When the bus pulled up the cleaners weren’t done yet, so we had to wait another five minutes in the bus before we were allowed to board.
HiFly A340 Ponta Delgada Airport
HiFly A340 Ponta Delgada Airport
Finally at around 9:50AM we were able to board.
Azores Airlines Lounge Ponta Delgada
On the plus side, Ponta Delgada Airport is easy to use, and fairly nice for a small airport. Unfortunately the fact that we had lounge access and decided it was more comfortable to sit in the gate area should tell you everything you need to know about the quality of the lounge.
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