Local Madeirans welcome Azores Airlines’ decision to offer direct flights from Boston to Funchal
PONTA DELGADA - Azores Airlines is set to launch a non-stop flight between Funchal and Boston next year.
The weekly flights between Logan International Airport and Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport will start in June and run through September.
The airline also announced it will be adding direct service between Funchal and Toronto during that same period.
Teresa Gonçalves, president of the SATA Group, pointed out in a press release that “the reinforcement of the air operation between North America and Madeira follows on from the success of the existing connection to New York,” which has yielded “excellent results.”
Local Madeirans were happy to hear the news as many have been advocating for a direct flight from Boston to Madeira for a long time.
“Direct flights will boost tourism between the two destinations, as they make it easier for people to visit Madeira, and for Madeirans to visit the USA, potentially leading to increased tourism revenue and cultural exchange,” said Steve Duarte, spokesperson for the Clube S.S. Santíssimo Sacramento, sponsor of New Bedford’s Blessed Sacrament Feast also known as the Madeiran Feast.
Helena da Silva Hughes, the president and CEO of the Immigrants’ Assistance Center and a native of Madeira, said the news came as a shock to her, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise as many local Madeirans have been asking for a direct flight to Funchal for quite some time.
“Every time we go to Madeira, we either have to go to Lisbon or the Azores,” she said. “This is great news to a lot of Madeirans, like myself, who love traveling and going to Madeira and always find it such a hassle that we cannot have a direct flight. I actually thought they had forgotten Madeira for a while.”
The New Bedford area is home to a large Madeiran community. The connection between the Portuguese archipelago and the Whaling City started in the 1870s, when Madeirans started immigrating to New Bedford in search of opportunities in new emerging industries.
Hughes said these direct flights will not only be beneficial to local Madeirans but also Madeira.
“Madeira is such a huge tourist attraction,” she said. “This is also good for their economy, and I see this building up. We already have strong relations with Madeira, but I think this will just elevate it to another level.”
According to Azores Airlines, “the flights are already available in the system and tickets can be purchased at the airline’s points of sale (in person or online) and through travel agencies.”
The Boston-Funchal flights will be operated by the airline’s Airbus A321LR, with 16 seats in Business Class and 174 in Economy.
Azores Airlines is also introducing direct flights from Boston to Porto
Azores Airlines recently announced a similar low-frequency operation from Porto to Boston next summer.
Those fights are scheduled to leave Boston on Wednesdays at 11:05 a.m. and arrive in Porto at 11 p.m. The return flight is on Thursdays, leaving Porto at 6:25 a.m. and arriving in Boston at 9:35 a.m.
“The new generation of Airbus A321LR aircraft has enabled Azores to expand its operations with additional point-to-point transatlantic routes, without requiring a widebody aircraft,” noted the airline in a press release.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Azores Airlines to offer direct flights from Boston to Madeira
