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    Home»Non-Rev Traveler»The Azores
    Non-Rev Traveler

    The Azores

    Beautiful Islands In The Mid-Atlantic
    Jonathan KatzBy Jonathan KatzAugust 5, 20198 Comments2 Mins Read
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    Jonathan Katz Azores

    This is my first article with Metropolitan Airport News and reflects my love of adventure and traveling. Working for Delta Airlines has given me the opportunity to do extensive traveling, and I would like to share some of my experiences with you.

    My most recent trip was a visit to a series of volcanic islands in the mid-Atlantic Ocean with the familiar name of the Azores. The Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, is an archipelago of nine islands that are characterized by dramatic landscapes, fishing villages, green pastures, and hedgerows of blue hydrangeas. The main city of the Azores is Ponta Delgada, located on San Miguel, the largest of the islands, and is also the location of Joao Paulo Airport. 

    For Delta, this is the summer season, and the flight was non-stop for the second year on this route. 

    The great news is that San Miguel is a volcanic island with 3 active volcanos and is very similar to the Hawaiian Islands. it is a beautiful island with fantastic views and displays of flowers. You really need to rent a car so that you can drive around and view the entire island. The bad news is that it is just kind of chilly with temps in the high 60’s; however, you are virtually guaranteed clear sunny, and dry weather. (only in summer, winter is usually cloudy and wet)

    The downtown of Ponta Delgada is on the ocean and is very nice and easily walkable. A marina area with restaurants highlights the downtown. 

    Ponta Delgada is not expensive, and hotels and restaurants are very reasonable. We stayed at the Vila Nova Hotel which was a 5 to 10 minute walk from the downtown marina area. This hotel had everything that you want for this stay, a large room, including buffet breakfast, with a balcony, at an approximate cost of $128.00 per night. 

    The air-crew hotel and probably the nicest hotel on the island is the Azor Hotel at a cost of $265.00 per night. The airport is about 3 km, 10 minutes from the downtown area, and taxis are plentiful. The cost is a standard rate of 10 euros each way to the airport.

    Ponta Delgada is a perfect one to two-day trip. The flight time for this trip is similar to going to Los Angeles from New York.

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    Jonathan Katz
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    Jonathan Katz has been working at Delta Airlines for the past 13-years as a Customer Service Agent, checking in passengers in the Sky Priority Division of Delta Airlines at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Terminal Four. He provides services First Class, Business Class, Delta Medallion, and VIP Passengers. Jon and his wife Maureen (retired USAir and Jet Blue Airways) have a combined 50-years experience in the airline industry and know the industry well. Together they travel approximately 40-weeks a year, mostly one day trips both domestically and to Europe, leaving every Tuesday and returning every Thursday. They’ve written travel blogs on most of these trips, sharing them with their email list of Delta and other airline employees.

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    8 Comments

    1. Erica Blair on August 6, 2019 6:10 am

      Any plans for delta to extend the schedule past the summer?

      Reply
      • Jonathan Katz on August 22, 2019 7:53 am

        Delta’s last flight from JFK to PDL is 02Setp19 and last flight out of PDL to JFK is 03Sep19.

        Reply
    2. Rob Faria on August 20, 2019 11:58 pm

      Does delta plan to fly to the other islands Would be nice because sata air is beyond bad

      Reply
      • Jonathan Katz on August 22, 2019 7:53 am

        I am not aware of any changes in plans to the Azores and I am sure that PDL will be the only destination that Delta will continue to fly.

        Reply
    3. Robert Kenneth on October 4, 2019 3:54 pm

      I keep trying to book for summer 2020 from JFK to PDL and the schedule says that seats are not available all summer. Do you know what is happening to this route?

      Reply
      • Jonathan Katz on October 8, 2019 7:39 am

        I have heard rumors that Delta will not fly to the Azores next summer. That could be why you can’t book the flight.

        Reply
        • Robert Kenneth on October 8, 2019 9:45 am

          Just curious, but what does Delta generally do if you have already booked to that destination and they end up no longer flying there? Do they rebook you on another airline? How do they honor the ticket? I have a friend who has already booked a flight from JFK to PDL, and I was trying to join her, but now she is worried that her vacation is going to be cancelled.

          Reply
          • Jonathan Katz on October 9, 2019 1:22 pm

            I cannot speak for Delta but I would suggest that you call Delta at 1-800-221-1212.

            Reply
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