Delta/Aerolineas Argentinas
 

I have been shopping flights from MIA-EZE, and Delta keeps showing a decent fare, but it's on an Aerolineas Argentinas plane. There isn't much info on here (I did check the other "everyone else" thread) about them, does anyone have an opinion on service and seats?

Thanks for any feedback!

They have a reputation, including among general citizens in Argentina, of very bad customer service, including cancelling lots of (presumably local) flights and making schedule changes.

I flew them once on a domestic flight and it was OK except for bus gates and everyone with even one gray hair deciding that they needed to board early in SkyPriority (and being rather nasty about pushing me aside to do so, despite my boarding pass being the only one that said SkyPriority)......also, no alcohol in domestic FC, IIRC just a packaged sandwich wrapped in plastic on the local equivalent of stale wonderbread.

I flew JFK-EZE a few years ago in J. Good service, flat bed seats. Also flew them locally to AEP--Iguazu and MVD-EZE. Perfectly fine for short flights.

I flew JK-EZE in AR two years ago, it was fine, though I seem to recall a crazy early arrival time (like 4:30 am, I think?). Other than that, it was fine.

Domestic, I flew AEP-BRC, and it was fine also, the AEP-BRC segment as on time, the return was about 30 minutes delayed as I recall, but nothing to really fuss about.

I flew them back in 2012, right after they joined the Delta alliance, on a few domestic flights in Argentina. I remember boarding being something of a mess, but the planes seemed pretty new and no delays or bad experiences that I can remember.

Did a short hop eze - Córdoba and back this year and was perfectly unremarkable

Delays are the big issue with MIA-EZE. Some 40% of flights are delayed, with the average delay being an hour. No biggie if you are not connecting, but something to be aware of. Service is fine, nothing special.
Domestic fights are much worse for delays and cancellations.

Didn't they just have a strike in Argentina?

AR got me where I needed to go and they weren't terribly late. But, the service was just OK. I remember watching the FAs yell at a passenger over an issue and the boarding was a disorganized mess. And there was no consistency on luggage rules despite me being a GM at the time. But, we did get to where we needed to be in a reasonable amount of time.

One more thing I thought of: "BUE" means EZE and AEP, if you will be connecting to a domestic flight, make sure you understand arrival (EZE if you're flying from the USA) and departure for your connection (likely AEP, though there are some domestic flights out of EZE). If you're on an AR ticket, they will arrange the ground transfer, but it'd be a good idea to know what to expect.

Thanks everyone! All the thoughts are much appreciated. Atlanta is my normal base, but Delta has moved well beyond being competitive in pricing. To fly out of MIA, it's over $1000 cheaper than Atlanta. I guess at least I'll still be getting the MQMs on AR.

I wouldn't worry too much about AR. They're known for labor strife (as has been noted above), but your likelihood of being affected is small. I haven't flown them internationally, but I'm told they're tolerable. Domestically they're fine.

Tolerable isn't comparable to DL, especially when you're comparing business class.

OP should be sure to check the airport terminal AR uses if an AR flight is on the itinerary. For example, my guess would be T1 at JFK with the other SkyTeam partners, but I'm not sure.If so, the lounge choices would be AF, KE and AZ. [At EZE, DL uses the big AR lounge.]

Speaking of the AR lounge in EZE, we're flying KL from EZE-SCL in March. Assuming I'd be able to use the club since it's an international Sky Team flight, is it worth popping in for breakfast (0855A flight out of EZE)? Not sure how much time I'll have to grab it in the hotel before heading to the airport, but also unsure if the club is worth making time for.

I've never been there for breakfast, but yes you should be able to use the AR lounge and it should have some food for breakfast, assuming that your flight isn't extremely early. (Check whether KLM will serve breakfast on the flight.) This assumes that you'll be SkyTeam ElitePlus (DL GM and above) when you travel. It's good to bring the physical elite card if possible.

If you have the right color of AmEx card, you can use the (better) Centurion lounge just next to the AR lounge.