SATA Internacional is an airline operating out of the Azores, and originated from the acquisition of Oceanair by its subsidiary, SATA Air Açores, in 1994. It’s one that I knew little about until a generous reader who does a bit of marketing work for them reached out and offered up their Plus class amenity kit, critiqued below for this installment of Amenity Kit Reviews. For a better description of each category and the 7-point scale for scoring, please review my introductory post.
STAT Plus Class Amenity Kit
SATA operates Airbus A310s and A320s on its long-haul routes, which include Boston and Toronto here in North America. SATA Plus class is a hybrid premium economy product (also known as Executive Class) and has a seating configuration of 2-2-2 on the A310 and 2-3 on the A320. For more information on the airline, click here.
SATA Plus Class Amenity Bag
Bag/Container: The deep navy blue, felt-lined nylon zipper bag sporting the SATA logo on the lower right also contains metallic, off-white vinyl accents along the top and sides. It opens to reveal one main compartment with a “SATA –The Atlantic and You†logo tag on one side, and an elastic-lined pouch on the other side. It’s pretty darn impressive for an airline with limited long-haul routes, and this case could easily compete with many business class offerings. For that reason, I’ve scored it a half-point higher from where I’d rank it if it were a business class kit. Score: 5 out of 7
Interior of SATA's Plus Class Amenity Bag
Skin Care: The brand-less skin care items included in this kit are hand cream, lip balm and facial mist. All are quality items, even if they are generic, and I’m impressed with the fresh smelling facial mist. I couldn’t detect a scent on the slightly greasy hand cream, even though the ingredients list “fragrance(parfum).†And the lip balm is smooth and effective without any fragrance. Score: 5 out of 7
Oral Care: A hard-bristled plastic toothbrush that includes a case doubling as a snap-in handle, along with generic and flavorless toothpaste, are the sole oral care items in the kit. Both are perfectly adequate and get the job done. Score: 4 out of 7
Comfort Items: The same style of single use airline socks as found in many of my reviews are included with this kit. But the one-size-fits-all elastic eyeshades are a slight step up from the norm with a soft cotton inner lining (and a logo tag). Also included are very soft 3M foam earplugs. Nicely done, SATA, for a premium economy kit. Score: 5 out of 7
Intangibles: This amenity kit beats a lot of business class kits that I’ve reviewed, and it’s definitely a unique and elite offering to provide premium economy passengers, particularly for a small airline with limited long-haul flying. Score: 7 out of 7
Total score & comments:
The SATA Plus amenity kit impresses and I was surprised at how substantial it is. Final score: 4.95 out of 7.00.
– Follow Darren Booth on Twitter, @FrequentlyFlyin, for more airline, hotel and travel industry news, reviews and opinions.
Related posts:
SATA actually uses A310s and A320s on their international routes. Way cooler than A319s.
They also fly a seasonal OAK-TER flight which is one of my all-time favorite bizzaro routes
“SATA operates Airbus A319s and A320s”
They don’t operate the A319, they are A310s.
The A320 they do use, but not so much for North America.
@James @Miguel: My error about the A319s, sorry! Thanks and I’ve updated the post.