Aerolineas Argentinas - Yea or nay?

February 2, 2006 3:53 AM

Would it be sensible to fly Aerolineas Argentinas in April, or is strike action still possible?

I need to fly to Mendoza in early April - I've been warned against flying Aerolineas Argentinas, because of all the strike action at the end of last year. However looking around (a) they could be a lot cheaper and (b) it seems like the dispute was settled, so I don't want to rule them out.

posted by Grangousier to Travel & Transportation around Tapachula, Mexico (5 answers total)

Best answer: I had a similar dilemma - flying from Buenos Aires to Mendoza in late March. I read that any possible strike action had been postponed until March (some type of cooling off period) but I have no further details.

I ended up booking with LAN (LAN.com). Fewer flights per day were available but it was actually cheaper then Aerolineas Argentinas - fooled me at first as LAN quoted in Pesos and AA in USD (both use $ as currency symbol) but once converted they were pretty much the same - About $100 USD per person taxes included.

One other thing I found out was that the checked baggage limits are different - AA has a 15kg limit and Lan has a 20kg limit. Not sure if this matters to you or not.
posted by true at 5:35 AM on February 2, 2006

Best answer: The resolution of the latest Aerolíneas strike is basically a short-term measure. The agreement at the beginning of December ended the strike but called for 90 days of further negotiations (explained toward the end of this article [in Spanish]).

Bottom line: In March, there's a good chance of another strike. Would it last until April? Probably not.

But I second the suggestion to take Lan if you can. They had sales from BsAs to Mendoza last time I looked.
posted by veggieboy at 6:32 AM on February 2, 2006

I have flown LAN from Buenos Aires to Iguazu and thought they were great.
posted by drobot at 6:34 AM on February 2, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks for that. I'll look for an alternative.
posted by Grangousier at 9:16 AM on February 2, 2006

Forget the strike, I had the displeasure of three flights with Aerolineas last week, and they will be my last! Old planes (lacking the instruments to land in the pea-soup weather of the last few days, we were informed as we did an emergency un-landing), lots of theft out of checked luggage (common experience of the people we met in Iguazu), and clear disgruntlement of everyone who works for them... Even the Argentines I talked with grumbled about having to fly with Aerolineas.

These flights were Montevideo-Aeroparque/Ezeiza-Iguazu-Aeroparque.

Never used LAN, but if Varig or TAM go to Mendoza, they are both a pleasure to deal with. TAM in particular has new planes, good customer service (meals on 1 hour flights!?), and have overall been wonerful.
posted by whatzit at 6:12 PM on February 12, 2006