Good question and one that I can't answer for sure because not only do I not live in Buenos Aires but I'm a bit long in the tooth for "clubbing".
In my town out in the sticks Mon-Thu are very quiet nights in the cafes and the few discos that we have here are closed for business.....even more so in winter. Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights are when everyone comes out to play.....I expect the capital to be similar.

A schedule change with GOL has resulted in a VERY tight connection.



Old schedule:
QF 8 BNE SYD 0630 0810
QF 27 SYD SCL 0945 0955
LA 445 SCL EZE 1410 1710
G3 7653 EZE GIG 2000 2257
G3 1468 GIG VIX 0724 0823

New schedule:
QF 8 BNE SYD 0630 0810
QF 27 SYD SCL 0945 0955
LA 445 SCL EZE 1410 1710
G3 7653 EZE GIG 1800 2057
G3 1468 GIG VIX 0724 0823

I don't know if QF or LA will give us boarding passes all the way through from Australia to Brazil but we do have a 4 hour layover in SCL and GOL would be represented there.

Can we do this in 50 minutes if we don't check any bags? We can travel light with carry on backpack and Scottevests. Based on this map, both LAN and GOL use terminal A. http://www.aa2000.com.ar/aeropuertos.aspx#2

I stopped working at Aerolineas Argentinas about 1 year ago. Since La Cámpora has taken over the operations, anybody who does not go to their meetings or join their group they try to push us the long term employees out of the company and with intimidation. They stole my purse from my desk, scratch my car in the garage and many threatening phone calls to my house. I contact a lawyer and he told me he was too afraid to get involve, just let them fire me and I collect severance pay. And that is what happened. I also move to another area because after I got fired every day in the morning I would find garbage in the front of my door, even dead birds. So I move about 200 km from Buenos Aires to get away from this gangsters. I am planning to leave Argentina next year, anything this government touch they destroy! I tell you the airplanes are unsafe on Aerolineas, they make false records of maintenance to show the FAA and one day will be a tragedy. I am very sorry to say but be careful of this!

Im sorry to read about your troubles. I would seriously consider contacting one of the high profile journalists that are known to be whistle blowers and have a track record of making things that they can verify public. What you mention about safety records and the potential misinformation to the FAA is very serious. Im no aviation safety specialist, but I think that its cant be that easy to lie to the FAA... my guess is that many (if not all) of the very important safety/service checks of aircraft are done at independent maintenance facilities that keep their own records and possibly have to inform regulators like the FAA and the EU equivalent directly. I cant seem to figure out how Aerolineas could possible get independent maintenance companies to report false information.... perhaps someone can elaborate on this...??

Also, since you appear to be suffering from extorsion, you would make a great story and you need to think that going public with this is probably the best insurance policy that you can get. Jorge Lanata comes to mind, but there are others. La Nacion... or one of the Radio Journalists like Ari Paluch at FM104.3 is another guy that is a straight shooter. Of course, you need to be able to have a credible story and be able to back it up.

To finalize.... I am a known detractor of what Ive always called the K regime, but I also think that its a little tricky to make statements regarding things related to public safety and not be able to back things up. I would not like to be in your shoes and I will give you the benefit of the doubt in your personal situation, I dont doubt you were fired and all that, but the last part of your statements regarding the safety of Aerolineas kind of sound like the words of a disgruntled ex-employee... you probably have good cause to be sour with the current AR leadership - but that on its own does not mean that AR is any more safe or unsafe to fly.

I wish you good luck with your situation and hope you work things out.

I have to kind of agree with that.

Never easy to judge when you only get to hear one side of a story. I seem to recall a similar story to this being posted last year or the year before and no AR aircraft have since fallen out of the sky.

There's no doubt AR have many issues but I'm sure the flight crew wouldn't fly any aircraft if they thought the safety of their passengers and themselves might be in question.

Well, in my view I see if more feasible that flight crew may be held in the dark and lied to, but its the reporting to the FAA that I cant see being anything but the truth as I understand that Aerolineas does not have their own maintenance facilities so I fail to find a way to understand how the false reporting could happen.

Furthermore, the head of the Union that leads the Aeronautical Mechanics is an outspoken critic of La Campora and of the K regime, so that makes it even harder for something fishy to be going on with AR's own mechanics, as they would surely be the first to be screaming bloody murder.

Staying at the Hilton. Last night here. Want to experience a really fine Argentinian steak nearby if possible. Hopefully not overpriced/overrated. Prefer smaller reasonably priced restaurants full of locals:)
La Estancia was recommended. Looks of website appears like tourist trap?
Any quick recommendations?

Yes.... trap indeed. You are in the Puerto Madero area... so not much truly local thats not high-end is going to be super close. Some places for you to consider are....

El Pobre Luis
La Dorita
La Cabrera
Don Julio

Cheers,
Gaucho100K

I remember when you once recommended Cabaña las Lilas several years ago — and it was a great recommendation.

It must have changed for the worse since then, as you now tell people to avoid it.

What a shame...

Dear Gaucho100k:

Went to La Cabrera last night, it was awesome!!

Thank you!

George

Any issue with walking from the train station to the Marriott hotel. It looks like its a short distance across the park. We will have luggage on wheels and this would be around 8-9 in the morning?

Happy to read that you enjoyed it !!! ^

Should be fine - although you will need to carry your luggage up the stairs at station (I assume you mean the Subway station - If you mean the actual Retiro Train Station you won't have to worry about this).

We're coming in via bus, so im assuming we'll already be on ground level.

thanks

The bus station at Retiro? That's actually pretty far, about 6 blocks, more than a quarter of a mile. Much of it is uphill, the sidewalks are in bad shape in many places, the pedestrian and car traffic is very heavy and that is one of the more crime-prone parts of the city. I'd take a taxi. I've walked that area in the past, but never with anything more than a backpack or stroller, and I found it frustrating enough with the stroller.