Aerolineas Argentinas

[Ciaomamma]

Has anyone flown to Buenos Aires from the US on the carrier Aerolineas Argentinas?  If yes, would you please share your experience, positive or negative, and your overall opinion. 
Thanks!

[Michael_A]

I can share some second hand info that did indeed sway my decision to stick with a domestic (U.S.) carrier (even though I don't like the particular U.S. carrier I seem to be traveling on...).

Aerolineas Argentinas has some pretty good fares.

They seem to originate flights out of Miami, and really limited (or maybe code share) flights out of Dallas & Houston. Not sure about other U.S. locations.

Generally speaking... they are not the most punctual or reliable carrier, but maybe in line with other "discount" operators.

They have a good safety record (7/7 on Airlines Ratings) but a below industry 3.5/7 on their products/services on the same site.

Their customer service sucks. Way worse than the U.S. Carriers. Good luck dealing with them if they loose your luggage, get bumped, or the flight is cancelled or rescheduled.

They are currently in a political brinkmanship game with the U.S. DOT which is restricting their operating footprint in the U.S. because Argentina kind of does the same for inbound U.S. carriers, and this contempt seems to show through down to the passenger level.

They are ALWAYS on the verge of going bankrupt.

For a discount t carrier, well you get what you pay for. For some, that may be OK. If I were a college student traveling light on a backpack tour of South America then yeah, they'd probably work. For business, serious travel, avoiding headaches (or at least being able to resolve them easier with a U.S. carrier when I got home) I'd look for alternatives if the budget allowed.

[Michael_A]

Oh... and now they are getting ready to strike:

https://simpleflying.com/argentinian-union-rejects-aerolineas-argentinas-wage-increase/

From that article:

"A short view at Aerolíneas Argentinas...

The Argentinian state carrier is often considered one of the world's least efficient airlines."

[Ciaomamma]

Thanks for the info. 

[PhD-iva]

My husband traveled for business to Argentina. He has horror stories from 25 years ago. Guess things never change…..

PS One story I remember is, not too long after takeoff from EZE, the plane banks sharply, they dump fuel (over the ocean), and the announcer says, “We are returning to EZE for your comfort and safety.”

[txjim09]

Just FYI

"Argentine president-elect reiterates plans to "hand over" Aerolíneas Argentinas to the workers"

 

What can go wrong?

[shuyak]

We flew from BOS via MIA to EZE with American Airline, connected to Aerolineas Airline @ EZE and arrived IGR today. 

 

Booked Aerolineas from USA @ its AR site, paid with mastercard in pesos and got refunds with MET rate.  (Expedia charges $561 for 2, and we paid net $199 for 2).

 

All email communications were similar to any US airlines (other than is in Spanish that we needed to use Google translate).  The check-in agent was curtious and pleasant.  The flight was delayed to board by 25 min due to replacement of parts which we were informed timely.

 

For economy class, this domestic airplane has wider seats and longer leg rooms than AA's international flight airplane!

 

The only note is they will weigh both checked luggage and carry-on luggage.  For domestic flights, limits are 15kg and 8 kg, respectively.  We knew that when made the booking and have planned accordingly without any issue.

 

All in all, this domestic flight provided a positive impression.  Don't know it's quality of international flights though.

 

 

[pjules]

On 12/1/2023 at 8:15 PM, shuyak said:

We flew from BOS via MIA to EZE with American Airline, connected to Aerolineas Airline @ EZE and arrived IGR today. 

 

Booked Aerolineas from USA @ its AR site, paid with mastercard in pesos and got refunds with MET rate.  (Expedia charges $561 for 2, and we paid net $199 for 2).

 

All email communications were similar to any US airlines (other than is in Spanish that we needed to use Google translate).  The check-in agent was curtious and pleasant.  The flight was delayed to board by 25 min due to replacement of parts which we were informed timely.

 

For economy class, this domestic airplane has wider seats and longer leg rooms than AA's international flight airplane!

 

The only note is they will weigh both checked luggage and carry-on luggage.  For domestic flights, limits are 15kg and 8 kg, respectively.  We knew that when made the booking and have planned accordingly without any issue.

 

All in all, this domestic flight provided a positive impression.  Don't know it's quality of international flights though.

 

 

We just flew with them domestically within Argentina and I was happy with their service.  They did not collect bags until two hours prior to departure, and I had to pay overage due to the weight of my bag but it was cheap. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

54 minutes ago, pjules said:

We just flew with them domestically within Argentina and I was happy with their service.  They did not collect bags until two hours prior to departure, and I had to pay overage due to the weight of my bag but it was cheap. 

We escaped the checked bag overage fee because Odysseys-Unlimited paid it for us.  And luckily they did not weigh the carry-ons, because we would have been over on them too...

[Spudd]

I flew from JFK to BA on them and it was fine. However, I didn't book with them - ended up getting switched to them after my original flight was cancelled. But I had no complaints about the flight and it got me there in time.