Gaucho100K

One of the Pilots unions has been grounding two-thirds of all international flights operated by Aerolineas. Today marks the third day of these operational disruptions... so if you have an international leg with AR, call your local customer service number and make sure your flight will be departing as originally scheduled:

Here are some press reports (sorry, only Spanish):

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/EdicionIm...nota_id=987650

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/informaci...nota_id=987520

Gaucho100K

It seems that the stiks has just been resolved.... so with a little luck things should be back to "norma" in 12-24 hours.

keisari

I think Argentinian unions are up there with the French in the amount of strikes and disruptions.
I guess it is a legacy of the Peron era.
In France it is probably a De Gaulle era legacy

Gaucho100K

The unions here are indeed a pain... however, it must be said that Aerolineas is a Spanish owned company, and they havent been doing a stellar job since they bought the airline...

hobarthoney

I have had some fun and games thanks to AR mechanics going on strike. They do enjoy a good strike and a good protest march in Argentina.

Gaucho100K

Im all for fun & games... but the horrible service that AR is offering is not a joke when vacations are ruined, and business travel is disrupted. Argentina is working hard to try to make a name for itself on the international tourist scene, and the lack of a half decent national airline that controls 95% of the domestic departures & arrivals and holds the entire country hostage everytime service is disrupted in something thats very serious.

AR is a horrible airline and I wish I could see some solution in the near future, alas... Im not too optimistic, with the current management and the only feasible alternative being a reversal to State-Owned status (God Forbid)... the outlook is not too good...

Gaucho100K

The Pilots Union that groups all the pilots flying for Austral (the sister company of Aerolineas Argentinas that flies only domestic routes) has announced that they may halt all flight operations as of tomorrow tuesday 2/19 because of a labor dispute with the Union that groups the Aerolineas pilots. There seems to be an internal dispute over the transfer of 8 MD aircraft from Austral to Aerolineas and the possible loss of jobs at Austral, etc.

Austral is a sister company of Aerolineas, but is actually a controlled subsidiary of the Aerolineas Group... but both companies retain some degree of operational independence.

I will report back tomorrow with an update.. please note many domestic flights are sold as AR flights but are operated by Austral.

Stay tuned for more details as they are reported.

DCFlyer0306

Thank you for your updates. We were planning to take a domestic flight out to Mendoza during our upcoming visit, and we are paying close attention to your updates. Any chance that these flights will disrupt service on other airlines like what happened in January?

Gaucho100K

Hard to tell at this point.... when exactly are your dates of travel?

DCFlyer0306

I am flying to Argentina tomorrow, and I will be there for the next two weeks. We were planning to fly to Mendoza and possibly to the Iguazu Falls some time while we are there. I'm returning to America in early March.

Gaucho100K

Seems like we have at least some good news... Austral flights operated normally today.... ^

etch5895

Too bad LAN Argentina doesn't have more of a presence, or they might give AR a good run for their money. I used LAN to fly to Iguazu and found the more modern Airbus a little better than the Austral MD-80s.

Gaucho100K

Im afraid there is bad news again... Austral pilots will walk off the job midnight today, so flight operations will be disrupted for all flights scheduled for Friday 2/22.

Make sure to check with Aerolineas to see what will happen with your flights.

Gaucho100K

Local press is confirming the strike.... it is expected to disrupt the travel plans of up to 12,000 flyers...

SoFlyOn

Labor Ministry has called for mandatory conciliation. So strike appears to be off ... for at least a couple of weeks.

http://www.infobae.com/contenidos/36...3n-obligatoria

John