Im sad to report that Aerolineas and Austral are currently on Strike, so local news media is reporting that no flights are operating out of AEP (Buenos Aires City Airport).

No news regarding what is going on at EZE for international flights.

Looks like all EZE departures on AR are cancelled too, according to
http://www.aa2000.com.ar/

John

Egad! It looks like I timed my trip just right.

I wonder how all of the people stuck in remote cities such as Ushuaia will fare, especially given that AR is the only ride in/out?

We'd have been bussing it to/from MDZ with KathyWdrf if this had happened a few days earlier.

There's nothing on the Aerolineas/Austral website, or the airport information site. When Googling I find there is a strike every year (except 2007 so far).

If this is happening, is LAN Argentina still flying?

Yes, everyone else is still flying. A couple of years ago some AR employees blocked the autopista to the airport, so that passengers had to schlepp their luggage on foot if they wanted to fly.

John

LAN doesn't go as many places though, particularly in the south. Maybe this is what they need to expand their operations.

This strike is for a 24 hour period... so normal operations should resume tomorrow.... although its clear that things tomorrow will be anything but normal given the number of folks that are hanging around airports and need to be moved. If you are booked for flights tomorrow, I suggest getting to the airport VERY early.

So that's why I can't get through to Aerolineas' US rez agents right now! And, of course, I have a rez on hold that I'm supposed to have ticketed by 5 pm today. Because they aren't a 21st century airline, you can't ticket on line.

I guess my best strategy is to make a new duplicate resevation, which will give me at least another day to ticket.

I love these guys. I wish Lan Argentina had more flights!

The unions have come to an agreement with the companies, and the strike has ended. Operations are back to "normal", although there were a few weather related delays out of AEP today.

As do I and many other travelers... however, dont hold your breath and the its very unlikely this will happen anytime soon.

Fares are heavily regulated here, and LAN cannot charge whatever it sees fit.... hence, until the government agrees to allow domestic fares to freely float, its basically impossible LAN will allocate more aircraft for its Argentine operations.

After being disconnected a few times, I was actually able to reach a US rez agent and pay for my tickets. I hope that was a good result, because I definitely have some hesitations flying Aerolineas. But with my alternative being an overnight bus, I'll take my chances.

BTW, I'm actually ticketed on Austral, which I've never flown before. Any real consumer difference between them and Aerolineas?

In addition to my earlier concerns, the agent today told me they don't send out any confirmation email that I've paid. I just have to "trust them." Hmmm. Is there a way I can confirm that my reservation has actually been ticketed?

Otherwise, I guess I just have to worry about schedule changes, cancellation, or a late flight. Any tricks to monitoring these?

Aerolineas and Austral are basically the same company.....

I hate to say this, but the phrase that comes to mind is, "same s_h_it, different name"...

4 segments on AUSTRAL / 1 on Aerolineas---All of my AUSTRAL flights were on aging MD-83s with no Bus. class. They did serve small meals. My Aerolineas flight was a nice new-ish 737-500 with a Bus. class.

All in all, the Aerolineas segment was nicer.