azores airlines keeps changing my flight—what can i do?
We booked our dream trip months ago: flying from JFK to Lisbon with a long, relaxing layover in Ponta Delgada. I was honestly excited about that 26-hour stop—enough time to see the town, eat some local food, and actually enjoy the Azores instead of just sprinting through the airport. We even spent hours researching and finally booked a cute hotel and some tours for that one day.
But now, just four days before we leave, Azores Airlines (SATA) changed our connecting flight again. Suddenly, our 26-hour layover is chopped down to less than two hours. All those plans? Gone. The hotel, the excursions—money down the drain, and we’re back to rushing through the airport like it’s a bad sitcom.
Here’s the kicker: I called SATA and their agent actually found two open seats on the flight we originally wanted. She even put them on hold for us! But because we booked through Hopper, SATA says Hopper has to confirm it. Hopper tries, but SATA’s help desk suddenly claims our new, rushed itinerary is “final”—even though those seats are still there. It’s like a game of hot potato, and we’re the ones getting burned.
We’re stuck in this weird limbo where the airline’s own changes ruined our plans, but they refuse to fix it, even though they easily could. I’ve emailed everyone I can think of—SATA, Hopper, even the Portuguese aviation authority. I’m ready to file complaints with the U.S. DOT if I have to. Has anyone actually gotten SATA to budge in a situation like this? Did you have to go nuclear, or is there some magic phrase I’m missing? I’m honestly at my wit’s end here. If you’ve been through this with Azores Airlines or another airline, how did you finally get them to do the right thing?
#travelproblems #azoresairlines #flightchange #Travel
