Captaincies of the Azores very clear, as it has been both referred to as the "comendador da ilha de Santa Maria e nosso capitão nos Açores" ("Commander of the island of Santa Maria and Our captain of the Azores"), or alternately as the "comendador das ilhas dos Açores" ("Commander of the Azores"). The more probable interpretation of this role, being from the Order of Christ responsible for the administration of the islands, came from the "comenda" regime, referring to a "knighthood" or "commandery", normally associated with the Order in Portugal, but applied to the, then, populous island of Santa Maria in the archipelago. Still,
Aviation in the Azores Air Force. The SATA Group expanded internationally through the acquisition of OceanAir (which had suspended flying in 1994), and on 20 February 1998 renamed it SATA International, re-inaugurating services on 8 April 1998. While SATA Air Açores continued to operate within the archipelago, the new entity provided connections internationally and to the European continent with a fleet of Airbus Industries aircraft (including A310 for long-haul and A320 for domestic/short-haul service). In October 2015, SATA Internacional announced a major rebranding including a name change to "Azores Airlines" and a renewal of the fleet. North Atlantic Tracks Aviation in the Azores Aviation