curlyflyer

I'm Confused.

I also booked one of the $237 rt flights in January. I went through all the appropriate links and menus on the website and confirmed with the agent when I called that I do not live in Argentina.

What's the basis for saying that flex tango fares are resident fares? Is it just because it's cheap?

StevePER

I am of the belief that Flex Tango should be fine for the following reasons:

• I selected Australia as my country of residence on the website.
• To pay I had to go through an agent in Australia.
• I confirmed to the agent that I do not live in Argentina.
• When selecting Argentina as country of residence, a lower fare is available.

I think that's as confident as you can be.

curlyflyer

Does anyone know if there is something in the fare basis code that differentiates between resident and non-resident codes? I'm pretty worried now and don't want to be detained at the airport.

iahphx

I have priced reservations on the Aerolineas system to El Calafate the past several months (as I've waited, in vain, for LAN to release award seats for AA members). I do see some of the "sale" fares mentioned above, when I log in as an American. Gaucho, are you telling us that those sale fares are posted as a mistake, and that Aerolineas may not honor them? That would be the most dreadful customer service imaginable, and couldn't possibly hold up in a credit card dispute. I mean, it's one thing (albeit bad) to price discriminate against foreigners, but it's another to "offer" them the cheap fares and they try to stick them for more money at the airport. How the heck are us gringos supposed to know what fares are are not actually "valid" for our use if they're offered on the American website? It seems ridiculous (and I understand it COULD be ridiculous).

Gaucho100K

Hi Iahphx-- I dont work for Aerolineas so my guess is as good or bad as any other you may get on what exactly is going on. Your position is different from others Ive seen here, since its clear you are not trying to play the system and buy the lowest fare no matter what. As you are using the US website and logging in as a non resident... so what I suggest you do is call AR´s 800 number for your area and ask them to look up your reservation and ask them about eligibility for non-residents.

I do not subscribe to the idea that AR is offering something to later stick people for more money at the airport... that is a conspiracy theory that doesnt hold up. I think its clear that some less expensive fares are available for travel by non-residents, but some heavily discounted offerings are reserved for residents, even though they may be booked and even ticketed in practice by just about anybody.

Sorry I cant be more specific with my assistance.

lili

I don't think Flex Tango is a resident only fare. We flew to Mendoza on a Flex Tango fare, purchased on the website, selecting US as country, confirmed and paid for by phone call to US agent using US credit card. I think $250 RT.

Should you decide to go for a business class fare, be aware that the planes don't always seem to have a business cabin, and when they do you can still wind up in coach, but they will make things right if you speak up.

We preferred our LAN Argentina flight to Puerto Iguazu - they had Havanna cookies in the snack box.

iahphx

Yes, I am simply logging on to Aerolineas' US site. I didn't realize that others were doing anything differently. Obviously, if you're not an Argentine resident and you buy from the Argentine site, you're breaking their rules and taking your chances. And since there's no way to pay on Aerolineas' US site, you're required to talk to an agent to get ticketed. It doesn't seem like there could be any reasonable chance of mistakenly buying the "wrong" ticket under such circumstances.

FWIW, I have found deep discounted fares on both LAN and Aerolineas' US websites. Since you're not required to buy roundtrip tickets to get the discounts, it seems like the best strategy for foreigners is to shop both websites and get the lowest fare you can.

Gaucho100K

Please report back on your experience if you get a chance. Thanks.

iahphx

The weirdest thing about Aerolineas' US website is that, when you see a flight and fare you want and try to book it, about half the time you get an "error" message at the final step of the booking process. The seats then "magically" disappear from inventory . Very frustrating -- it's like they're taunting you.

I guess it's just some IT programming error, and the seats aren't "really" available.

StevePER

I saw the same thing with the Australian site - seats disappearing from the inventory. I was still able to book through the US site though.

Steve

iahphx

There seems to be a serious IT glitch with Aerolineas' overseas websites. As I mentioned before, on several ocassions, I've tried to book fares that are shown to be available on certain flights. Most of the time, as I'm completing my reservation, I get an error message, and the seats mysteriously disappear from inventory if I run the search again!

OK, so I'm a slow learner. But this time, I try some dates and -- voila -- there are seats I'd like to buy. Instead of trying to make the reservation (and have the seats disappear), I call Aerolineas' US number and say, "Hey, I'm on your website right now looking at certain flights that supposedly have seats available for x dollars, what is your computer showing?" On one flight where the website is showing the lowest fare (flex tango) being available, the rez agent's screen is showing the flight sold out in coach! On another flight, where I'm seeing 2 flex tango seats available, she's only showing 1.

Obviously, the website inventory is all screwed up. What I'm now wondering is whether there are OTHER flights that the website shows only higher fares available, but there are actually flex tango seats available.

curlyflyer

Gaucho,
I have to say that I am disappointed with the implication that I tried to "play the system" and therefore my questions did not warrant any further discussion. All I did was try to buy a ticket through what I believed were the proper channels. Then I found information in this thread that the ticket I bought may not be valid due to some sort of bait-and-switch scam, which seems to be a common occurance and does not break any laws. My income is limited and yes, I try to find the best deal but that doesn't mean that I acted with malintent. Actually, I decided to cancel my reservation because I did not want to do business with a company which may intentionally mislead its customers. Once the government can do a better job of regulating ethical business practices, I will consider visiting again.

Gaucho100K

Dear Curlyflyer--

Im afraid you are misunderstanding the entire point of my participation on these resident vs. non-resident fares. Firstly, I dont make any personal implications. However, it would be fair if all of us would act like grown-ups that we are and live up to the fact that we all like to get the best possible deal, and if there is a glitch in the system, the conventional wisdom all over this board is that companies should always honor fares... (and please note that Im not making any distinctions here for American, Chinese, Kuwaiti or Argentine businesses). Therefore, Im sorry but I cannot accept your "dissapointment". This has nothing to do with your limited budget... we all have a limit to our budgets, but Im afraid you are missing the point.

Since you think that I somehow implied that your post(s) did not warrant further discussion... please be so kind as to read this somewhat detailed post, and if you have any further questions or comments, please feel free to email me and I will entretain your questions or concerns via PM or email. I really want you to understand where Im coming from... but for now, please do read on.

Im afraid you are wrong about assuming that Aerolineas is playing a bait & switch game... that is simply nonsense. You have not read the threads properly, please go back and re-read. It was not me but other posters that said there was some sort of scam, and I have refuted this from the first time I read such implications.

If you will read all the threads related to these resident only fares you will see that Ive posted the same thing all over this forum... Aerolineas is NOT trying to scam or bait or extract more $$$ from non-residents, they just have old systems that are not maintained to G7 nation standards and therefore, if you want to book fares that are non-eligible you will be able to do so... you may even get some sort of confirmation (verbal or otherwise).... all I do here is tell folks to understand that if you book a fare for which you are not eligible for, you may (please note bolding) get caught and may have to face inconveniences. Other posters, including expats that live here in Argentina have reported similar experiences... so please, for Heavens sake do not think conspiracy theory on my part, or on ARs part.

AR just has old systems with a very basic website and they do a poor job of communicating what fares are eligible and what fares are not eligible. Their enforcement of these rules is lax, as Ive posted a gazillion times all over the place, so there is a chance that everything will work out, even if you do purchase a non-eligible fare... but I want folks to know what they may be getting into.

Just so you and other skeptics understand... I dont work for AR and I dont even care to defend them. I dont even agree on the dual fare system, because I think it creates the wrong impression of a country that wants to open itself to tourism. I fly LAN as much as I can, although they also have a two-tier fare system that has lower fares for residents. However, this two tiered system has been around for ages, its widely used in many developing nations where the difference between the income levels of locals vs. visitors is substantial... its not a local invention.

My objective with pointing out the potential pitfalls is that I often hear of non-residents that (knowingly or not - that is beside the point) book these fares and when they get caught and have to face the music, they scream bloody murder. The rules that govern these fares are there... I didnt make them, I just want to give folks the heads up.

Please feel free to contact me via PM should you have any additional comments.

Siempre Viajando

A comment on the tiered system: I have run into this practice not only with Aerolineas but also with hotels in Argentina. It's a ridiculous system (note Gaucho, I understand you're not defending it) which IMHO fits well with the Argentine general practice of extracting every peso possible from the foreigner. Argentines have raised this to an art form. It's a shame really, and reflects badly on the country which in spite of terrible corruption at all levels, is a pleasant tourist destination.

The excuse about income levels is just that: an excuse, and a poor one. There are plenty of Argentine residents who are a lot richer than me, and they still fly cheaper only because they happen to live there.

And Gaucho is right: it isn't only Argentina. Look at the hefty hotel taxes levied by so many American municipalities: they're easy to raise because local voters don't pay them. And the last time I was in Amsterdam I bought a train ticket for 15 Euros that I could have bought for 9 Euros had I also purchased a discount card for 65 Euros, which would have been good for a whole year...but of course it's those of us who are not EU residents who don't buy the discount cards and therefore pay full fare. So, other countries may be a little more subtle than Argentina, but it's still SOAK THE TOURIST.

iahphx

Yup, soaking the tourist is a worldwide "scam." It most often is confined to gov't entities. US car rental taxes are obscene on the theory that only out-of-towners pay them. In China, tourist attractions tend to have a different rate for foreigners. A resident of Venice pays about as much for an annual pass on the water buses as a tourist pays for 2 or 3 trips. And, as mentioned above, almost all European cities offer locals train passes at a tiny fraction of what visitors pay on a per trip basis.

What is a little unusual is when private businesses do it. In the United States, the practice seems to be largely confined to Hawaii where, for years, locals have been able to get discounts on hotels and interisland airfare that visitors are prohibited from using. The reason the travel companies do it is price discrimination: they think visitors will pay more. They may be right, but it's probably an inefficient means of price discrimination (ie, there are many visitors would would "trade up" to fancier hotel rooms if they could get the more affordable locals rate).

Not sure the motivation in Argentina. Frankly, I would not have bought a domestic Argentine airline ticket had I not been able to find one at the cheaper "flex tango" rate (as noted above, Aerolineas does offer some tickets to foreigners at deep discounts). Similarly, I'm sure there are several "real" 4-star hotels in BA that I would stay in if I could pay the locals price. The higher prices they are charging foreigners is definitely altering my plans.