After a couple very enjoyable days in Buenos Aires; I was ready to fly to destination I was always intrigued with : Ushuaia and the southern Patagonia. I was really looking forward to visit this part of the world, which also meant that I was getting closer to my luxury cruise ship “repositioning” experience on board the Soleal to Easter Island.

For this second and last domestic flight within Argentina, I opted again for an award ticket on Aerolineas Argentinas booked in economy class using some Flying Blue Miles (17500 miles + 6 Euros) for this one-way direct flight between Buenos Aires Aeroparque to Ushuaia. The only option available with mainline carriers would have been on LATAM Argentina, using BA Avios, but there was no availability on my dates.

AEP airport reminded me to some extent Reagan airport in Washington DC, located almost downtown, and therefore very easily accessible, the terminal is all in length, and quite modern compared to Puerto Iguazu airport visited a couple days before.


AEP domestic airport departures

I went towards the SkyPriority counter of Aerolineas Argentinas to check my bags in and it was the same show as a couple days before in Puerto Iguazu. Despite my Flying Blue ticket showing 2x23 kg, Aerolineas would grant me only 2 x 15kg, skyteam elite plus benefit included. After queuing a good 20 min at the cashier counter, and having paid 650 Pesos, my “heavy” 23kg was accepted. Note that the agent refused to place a priority tag on my bags because I was not in business class. She may need to be reminded about the SkyTeam rules I guess...


Had to check-in my carry-on bag as the main suitcase was exceeding 23kg...


Aerolineas Argentinas register


I was not the only one with the same issue it seems...

I then proceed to the security gates located upstairs, and for whatever reason, there were different security screening lanes depending if you were flying towards to south or the north of the country (this is a domestic only airport btw). Not sure what was the reason, but the fact was that the lane towards to Northern destinations were almost empty while there was quite a long queue for the flights towards the south, like mine, but the lane was moving a good pace and after 10 minutes or so standing, I was cleared to go to the gate. Note that there was no priority lane for status card holders or business class and also that there was no lounge indicated (although I could spot a section of the airport later on which looked like a lounge but could not find the access to it). In the meantime, the gate for my flight to Ushuaia changed from gate 8 to 16.



Security lane at AEP


The terminal was pretty busy, with most of Argentina’s domestic flights departing from one of the 16 gates. I bought a couple snacks at one of the few concession stands (don’t expect to have many shopping possibilities in AEP !) and headed to the end of the terminal where the gate 16 for my flight to Ushuaia was departing from.

On the positive side, the airport offers plenty of outside views for plane spotting. I realized back then that Norvegian had started some operations from Argentina several months ago. The main operator from AEP airport is the country’s national airline Aerolineas Argentinas and it’s regional affiliate Austral. The main competitors are LATAM Argentina, Andes and to a lower extent Norvegian and Avianca Argentina. Looking at the departure board nowadays, only Aerolineas Argentinas, Austral and Norvegian still operate from AEP, since LATAM, Avianca Argentina and Andes seem to have ceased trading. Two new airlines began service recently out of AEP though : The low costs JetSmart Argentina and Flybondi...


Andes MD-88


LATAM Argentina A320 OneWorld livery (Still showing as LAN btw...)


Is that a lounge ? I never got to find the access to it if this was the case !


Departure board. Some airlines don't even exist anymore nowadays !


Aerolineas Argentinas B737-800

Boarding from gate 16 started with SkyPriority boarding 25 minutes before scheduled departure, and passengers seated in the back rows were called in soon after. I noticed that the couple of retired Belgians standing next me were in business class so I let them proceed before me (more on that in 2 posts :-))


Gate 16, flight is going to be almost full...






Aerolineas Argentinas B737-800

Aerolineas Argentinas AR1898 – February 22nd 2019
AEP Buenos Aires Jorge Newberry domestic airport "Aeroparque" – 12:10
USH Ushuaia Malvinas Argentinas airport – 15:45
Boeing 737-800 – LV-FYK – Seat 14F, Economy, window, emergency exit.

On the two first rows of this aircraft was located the business class section in a 2-2 configuration (with proper seats, like most US airlines and unlike most European airlines). Starting Row 3, a more conventional 3-3 configuration was present. I opted for an emergency exit seat on row 14 for this 3 hour flight, and it was free of charge (most likely due to my SkyTeam Elite Plus status).


First row is business class. 2-2 configuration


Economy class


Emergency exit row 14, I was seated at the window seat 14F

As expected from an emergency exit seat, there was plenty of legroom, and I decided to place all my belongings in the overhead bins for takeoff and landing. Looks like this is however not a requirement in Argentina.



We pushed back on time following a manual safety demonstration. I was taking this opportunity to look at the outside views for plane spotting... The flight was about 90% in Economy class.




Pushback from gate 16 in AEP


Looking at your butt MD-88 :-)


The fisherman's house along the river plata

We took off at 12:28 under a rainy Buenos Aires.


Takeoff from AEP




An hour after takeoff, with no onboard service in-sight, I decided to get back my bag in the overhead bin for a couple snacks. Afterall, it was 13:30 so kinda lunch time :-)


Snack time !

Eventually, the crew decided to provide a snack and a drink around 14:00, so an hour and half after take off...


F&B service onboard AR Economy class AEP-USH

The service from the crew was minimal on this 3.5 hour flight. After discussing a couple days later to the Belgian couple in business class, it appears that the crew was chatting in the front galley for the first hour of the flight and only started to provide service in the front cabin one hour after having taken off.

As we were about 30 minutes before landing in Ushuaia, I started to enjoy the outside views, reminding me that I was literally flying to the end of the world !... Another trip on my bucket list would be to spend a few weeks at least in Patagonia and this trip just gave me an appetizer of this region and its landscapes...






















Ushuaia

We approached USH airport from the east and landed about 10 min late, at 15:55.


Landing in USH


Ushuaia airport terminal

We disembarked via jetways and arrived in the luggage claim area where local authorities were surprisingly, given the fact this was a domestic flight, checking at the X-Ray all the hand luggage to prevent us importing pests and seeds into Patagonia. The process was quite smooth though so why not...


Waiting for hand baggage screening




USH luggage claim

Luggage arrived about 25 min after our landing in the crowded claim area and I briefly toured the departures area afterwards before getting a taxi to my hotel.


Departures area Ushuaia airport






Departure board


Arrivals board


USH terminal from outside


The sun started to shine a bit !

I was happy to finally arrive in Ushuaia, and spend the next couple days there before taking my 10-day cruise to easter island. The flight in itself was uneventful, and the service onboard to bare minimum, but we arrived safely to destination and almost ontime. The use of Flying Blue miles was a good deal in my opinion, when comparing the oneway fares at this date, this was equivalent to 1.1 euro cent per mile spent, which is much higher than the estimated value I have for a FB mile (0.5 euro cent per mile).

Next: Visiting Ushuaia and the Tierra del Fuego National Park