Aerolíneas Argentinas AR1300 EZE-JFK Economy (no pics)
Dec 3, 2016, 10:11 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Paris, France
Programs: Flying Blue Gold
Posts: 760
Aerolíneas Argentinas AR1300 EZE-JFK Economy (no pics)
I hadn’t thought on putting a trip report up after this trip, hence the lack of pictures, but after checking FT I found there weren’t many reports of Aerolíneas Argentinas’ long-haul service, so this may be useful for people wondering about it.
Going to New York City this year was not in our plans, especially since both of us travelled a lot during 2016. But one night in September an e-mail from Aerolíneas appeared on both our mailboxes, saying “New York nonstop for 9,500 pesos return. Book before midnight!”. 9,500 Argentine pesos is around 650 USD — a very good price, particularly for a nonstop flight. We thought about it for a few minutes and then said why not, and decided to spend a week in the Big Apple. The tickets were duly bought on Aerolineas’ website, which is pretty consistent. Fare type was “R”, which is discounted Economy, hence only 25% of the Economy Skyteam miles were accrued.
Fast-forward to late November and Madame and I are onboard an Uber car to Ezeiza. We normally don’t use Uber in Buenos Aires but their fare to the airport is 300 pesos (roughly 20 USD), vs. 500 pesos for a regular taxi. The driver came on a Chevrolet Spin (a 7-seater), so lots of space for both of us and for our luggage, although we were carrying just 2 suitcases and 2 carry-ons in total. Traffic on the motorway was quite smooth and we made it to EZE’s Terminal C in less than an hour. We were at the airport at 8pm o’clock, i.e. three-and-a-half hours before departure.
EZE’s Terminal C is only used by Aerolíneas and its Skyteam partners, so it’s pretty convenient as there are not many flights that leave from there. Tonight it was mostly AR’s services to the USA and Europe, and DL’s flight to Atlanta. AR does not allow online check-in for its flights to the United States but you can select seats upon booking. Since we were dropping luggage off anyway, that seemed okay.
It took us 10 minutes to reach the check-in counter, and while queuing a lady approached us and asked to see our passports and our US visa or ESTA, so as to check whether we were actually allowed into the United States. The check-in agent was very nice, and we even joked about my heavy jacket and the weather in New York (it was 28C in Buenos Aires that night). He asked us all the typical questions when travelling to the USA —hotel address, did you actually pack your luggage, etc.— and confirmed our FFPs were already on the system, which was a nice touch since most agents don’t seem to care. He handed us our boarding passes and — surprise! I had been selected for special screening. Madame was actually the one who noticed the “SSSS” on it and said “oh, you got the kiss of death boarding pass!”
We wondered what kind of algorithm works behind the SSSS. I attributed it to the fact that a few days before I had been in Israel for work, but who knows. "So you are going from Tel-Aviv to Brooklyn, the traditional Israeli pilgrimage!" an Israeli friend told me when he heard of my travels.
Security was pretty straightforward (shoes off at EZE since earlier this year) and immigration was also queue-less. The agent checked my passport and was surprised I had entered the country less than 72 hours before.
Since EZE now has no Priority Pass lounge during the evening rush hour (the Star Alliance Lounge is the PP lounge but they don’t let PP customers in between 2pm-11pm — shameful for PP, they should sort that out), we shared a small pizza and then bought some last-minute gifts for friends who live in New York (alfajores). At the duty-free shop a woman started shouting my name and it turns out she was a primary school classmate of mine who was travelling to Miami. In true Argentine fashion, we exchanged phones and promised to have dinner someday, both of us perfectly knowing it will never happen. My dad used to work for German companies here, and always said “the problem with the Germans is that you say ‘we should have dinner someday!’ and the guy actually gets his diary out and tells you ‘ok, let’s do it next Thursday’”. People who have been to Latin America know what I’m talking about.
Boarding was called at 22:20, roughly an hour before departure. Sky Priorities could board at their convenience and us mortals were called by rows, starting from the back of the plane. At the gate there was a small security check, and because of my SSSS boarding pass a security guy in plain clothes approached me, asked me to show him the contents of my bag, remove my shoes and finally he frisked me. I have to say he was extremely polite and the whole thing lasted less than five minutes.
Finally cleared to enter the plane, we walked through the airbridge and once inside the A330-200 we were welcomed by the crew and directed to our seats, 28A and 28B, in the first cabin of the Economy Class. AR uses the 2-4-2 layout in Economy, which I always find most convenient since no matter where you seat, you never have more than one person between you and the aisle. Seat pitch is 31”, tight indeed, but that’s normal nowadays.
Doors were closed at 23:25, our exact ETD, and it was only a short taxi before taking-off. The security demonstration was done through the PTVs. First time I saw the AR video, and without being funny like Air NZ’s, it was okay. The lights of Buenos Aires are always a good reason for taking night flights out of EZE and the clear skies provided for a great show, only reduced by the fact that it was Madame, not me, who took the window seat. Happy wife, happy life.
Each seat is equipped with its own PTV and USB port, which is good. I did not find any 220v plugs near the seat. The entertainment programme is mediocre, which is a shame because the hardware is vey good. There were around ten on demand movies, none of them recent, a few series and documentaries (no Family Guy or Big Bang Theory, which are the two only things I watch on airplanes) and some 15 music channels. I mostly stuck to the airshow, but started watching a documentary on Jorge Luis Borges and it was the most boring thing, and I’m actually a huge Borges fan. Reading material provided were the safety leaflet and the “Alta” in flight magazine, which is mostly adverts.
Once we reached 39,000ft somewhere over Northeastern Argentina (the route tonight would take us over Paraguay, Brazil, Venezuela, the Western Indies and the North Atlantic Ocean, before reaching JFK through the east) dinner was served. It was either pasta or chicken. I chose the latter it was good, some sort of mildly spiced chicken with rice and beans. Madame had the ravioli and said they were also fine. For dessert there was flan, and a small salad, bread, crackers and butter were also provided. We both had red wine and I was pleased to see it was Elementos from Bodegas Esteco. Not the greatest Malbec in the market but very decent, and much better than the crappy wine I was served in Alitalia a few days before (in Alitalia, out of all airlines! With all those great wines they make in Italy!)
During dinner the crew, which was not overtly friendly but indeed polite and effective, came by with a second round of drinks, and while clearing the plates they offered coffee and tea (no spirits, though, and I could have done with some whisky or cognac).
The flight was 90% full in Economy (didn’t check the Club Cóndor Business Class), mostly Argentines although there were quite a few US-Americans and, most surprising to me, many Brazilians. I guess AR must be making some sort of offers in Brazil, because otherwise nobody would fly two or three hours South in order to go North.
The rest of the flight I really cannot tell because I managed to sleep solidly for seven hours or so, only to wake up for breakfast. That’s the good thing of taking off close to midnight — you are so tired you can sleep even on a 31” pitch. Besides, there was no turbulence at all throughout the flight. I can only remember that mood-lighting was used to darken the cabin. I don’t know whether mood-lighting actually works for your body clock, but it is indeed beautiful. I found it good that AR crew knew how to use it — earlier this year in TAM’s A350 they had no clue.
Breakfast was served an hour before landing, or some nine hours after take off. It was the typical Argentine breakfast, i.e. no eggs or sausage but rather a croissant with jam, dulce de leche (nice!) and butter, and a yoghurt. Coffee, tea, water and orange juice were offered.
After breakfast, we started our descent towards JFK. A while later, the captain came on the PA and said “Tripulación de cabina: ¡diez mil pies!” (Cabin crew, 10,000 ft!). The only other airline on which I heard that same announcement was on Air France — “dix mille et descente !” Similarly, after landing, AR flight deck also informs the cabin crew that “this is the last turn” before parking (“Tripulación de cabina: ¡último viraje!”), which is something that I always thought it was unique to AF (“PNC : dernier virage !”). I had never heard those announcements in AR domestic flights. As a plane geek, I like them.
Landing was extremely smooth and we arrived at JFK half-an-hour before schedule. AR uses Terminal 7, which is curious since it’s the only Skyteam member to do so and it’s British Airways’ terminal after all. That said, T7 proved to be good as we were the only flight landing at that hour (a Qatar Airways plane landed a little while after us) and immigration was a very straightforward process. Contrary to what one can expect at JFK, the Border Control machine was very easy to use, and after it spat out the receipt there was no queue for reaching the human who verifies all the data. The human was actually very nice, didn’t ask anything (not even the length of our stay), and after stamping our passports she wished us a Happy Thanksgiving.
Bags were already at the belt when we left immigration and less than 40 minutes after landing we were already on a taxi to our hotel in Manhattan. Since this is FT, I shall add that the hotel was called “The Paul”, on West 29th Street between Broadway and 6th Avenue, and for the price paid it was surprisingly good. We spent 6 nights in NYC and I have to say that, as unplanned as this trip was, we really enjoyed ourselves. The fact that it was not our first time in the city really helped — we did everything at a slower pace and decided to spend less money on sightseeing and more money in restaurants and bars, which proved to be a very wise thing to do.
I am sorry for the lack of pictures, and congratulate those who have made it to the end of this text-only report. It was written thinking on people wondering what AR’s intercontinental service feels like. It was my first intercontinental AR flight in almost 10 years, and I was pleased. The flight was on time, service was correct and while seat pitch is not great, that’s the norm in Economy Class these days. My only critique is the in-flight entertainment, which could and should be improved. I have actually written to AR to inform them about this.
As an Argentine, I’m quite happy that AR is becoming a reliable airline. I like to fly with them — after all it’s Argentine jobs, and their safety record is outstanding. Their main problems were always delays and cancellations, and I find it very positive that the new management is fixing those issues. Would I fly AR again? I always fly them in domestic travel (they go to the most places in the country). I don’t have any international flights left for the remainder of the year, but yeah, provided they offer reasonable prices, I would definitely book a long-haul flight with Aerolíneas again.
Going to New York City this year was not in our plans, especially since both of us travelled a lot during 2016. But one night in September an e-mail from Aerolíneas appeared on both our mailboxes, saying “New York nonstop for 9,500 pesos return. Book before midnight!”. 9,500 Argentine pesos is around 650 USD — a very good price, particularly for a nonstop flight. We thought about it for a few minutes and then said why not, and decided to spend a week in the Big Apple. The tickets were duly bought on Aerolineas’ website, which is pretty consistent. Fare type was “R”, which is discounted Economy, hence only 25% of the Economy Skyteam miles were accrued.
Fast-forward to late November and Madame and I are onboard an Uber car to Ezeiza. We normally don’t use Uber in Buenos Aires but their fare to the airport is 300 pesos (roughly 20 USD), vs. 500 pesos for a regular taxi. The driver came on a Chevrolet Spin (a 7-seater), so lots of space for both of us and for our luggage, although we were carrying just 2 suitcases and 2 carry-ons in total. Traffic on the motorway was quite smooth and we made it to EZE’s Terminal C in less than an hour. We were at the airport at 8pm o’clock, i.e. three-and-a-half hours before departure.
EZE’s Terminal C is only used by Aerolíneas and its Skyteam partners, so it’s pretty convenient as there are not many flights that leave from there. Tonight it was mostly AR’s services to the USA and Europe, and DL’s flight to Atlanta. AR does not allow online check-in for its flights to the United States but you can select seats upon booking. Since we were dropping luggage off anyway, that seemed okay.
It took us 10 minutes to reach the check-in counter, and while queuing a lady approached us and asked to see our passports and our US visa or ESTA, so as to check whether we were actually allowed into the United States. The check-in agent was very nice, and we even joked about my heavy jacket and the weather in New York (it was 28C in Buenos Aires that night). He asked us all the typical questions when travelling to the USA —hotel address, did you actually pack your luggage, etc.— and confirmed our FFPs were already on the system, which was a nice touch since most agents don’t seem to care. He handed us our boarding passes and — surprise! I had been selected for special screening. Madame was actually the one who noticed the “SSSS” on it and said “oh, you got the kiss of death boarding pass!”
We wondered what kind of algorithm works behind the SSSS. I attributed it to the fact that a few days before I had been in Israel for work, but who knows. "So you are going from Tel-Aviv to Brooklyn, the traditional Israeli pilgrimage!" an Israeli friend told me when he heard of my travels.
Security was pretty straightforward (shoes off at EZE since earlier this year) and immigration was also queue-less. The agent checked my passport and was surprised I had entered the country less than 72 hours before.
Since EZE now has no Priority Pass lounge during the evening rush hour (the Star Alliance Lounge is the PP lounge but they don’t let PP customers in between 2pm-11pm — shameful for PP, they should sort that out), we shared a small pizza and then bought some last-minute gifts for friends who live in New York (alfajores). At the duty-free shop a woman started shouting my name and it turns out she was a primary school classmate of mine who was travelling to Miami. In true Argentine fashion, we exchanged phones and promised to have dinner someday, both of us perfectly knowing it will never happen. My dad used to work for German companies here, and always said “the problem with the Germans is that you say ‘we should have dinner someday!’ and the guy actually gets his diary out and tells you ‘ok, let’s do it next Thursday’”. People who have been to Latin America know what I’m talking about.
Boarding was called at 22:20, roughly an hour before departure. Sky Priorities could board at their convenience and us mortals were called by rows, starting from the back of the plane. At the gate there was a small security check, and because of my SSSS boarding pass a security guy in plain clothes approached me, asked me to show him the contents of my bag, remove my shoes and finally he frisked me. I have to say he was extremely polite and the whole thing lasted less than five minutes.
Finally cleared to enter the plane, we walked through the airbridge and once inside the A330-200 we were welcomed by the crew and directed to our seats, 28A and 28B, in the first cabin of the Economy Class. AR uses the 2-4-2 layout in Economy, which I always find most convenient since no matter where you seat, you never have more than one person between you and the aisle. Seat pitch is 31”, tight indeed, but that’s normal nowadays.
Doors were closed at 23:25, our exact ETD, and it was only a short taxi before taking-off. The security demonstration was done through the PTVs. First time I saw the AR video, and without being funny like Air NZ’s, it was okay. The lights of Buenos Aires are always a good reason for taking night flights out of EZE and the clear skies provided for a great show, only reduced by the fact that it was Madame, not me, who took the window seat. Happy wife, happy life.
Each seat is equipped with its own PTV and USB port, which is good. I did not find any 220v plugs near the seat. The entertainment programme is mediocre, which is a shame because the hardware is vey good. There were around ten on demand movies, none of them recent, a few series and documentaries (no Family Guy or Big Bang Theory, which are the two only things I watch on airplanes) and some 15 music channels. I mostly stuck to the airshow, but started watching a documentary on Jorge Luis Borges and it was the most boring thing, and I’m actually a huge Borges fan. Reading material provided were the safety leaflet and the “Alta” in flight magazine, which is mostly adverts.
Once we reached 39,000ft somewhere over Northeastern Argentina (the route tonight would take us over Paraguay, Brazil, Venezuela, the Western Indies and the North Atlantic Ocean, before reaching JFK through the east) dinner was served. It was either pasta or chicken. I chose the latter it was good, some sort of mildly spiced chicken with rice and beans. Madame had the ravioli and said they were also fine. For dessert there was flan, and a small salad, bread, crackers and butter were also provided. We both had red wine and I was pleased to see it was Elementos from Bodegas Esteco. Not the greatest Malbec in the market but very decent, and much better than the crappy wine I was served in Alitalia a few days before (in Alitalia, out of all airlines! With all those great wines they make in Italy!)
During dinner the crew, which was not overtly friendly but indeed polite and effective, came by with a second round of drinks, and while clearing the plates they offered coffee and tea (no spirits, though, and I could have done with some whisky or cognac).
The flight was 90% full in Economy (didn’t check the Club Cóndor Business Class), mostly Argentines although there were quite a few US-Americans and, most surprising to me, many Brazilians. I guess AR must be making some sort of offers in Brazil, because otherwise nobody would fly two or three hours South in order to go North.
The rest of the flight I really cannot tell because I managed to sleep solidly for seven hours or so, only to wake up for breakfast. That’s the good thing of taking off close to midnight — you are so tired you can sleep even on a 31” pitch. Besides, there was no turbulence at all throughout the flight. I can only remember that mood-lighting was used to darken the cabin. I don’t know whether mood-lighting actually works for your body clock, but it is indeed beautiful. I found it good that AR crew knew how to use it — earlier this year in TAM’s A350 they had no clue.
Breakfast was served an hour before landing, or some nine hours after take off. It was the typical Argentine breakfast, i.e. no eggs or sausage but rather a croissant with jam, dulce de leche (nice!) and butter, and a yoghurt. Coffee, tea, water and orange juice were offered.
After breakfast, we started our descent towards JFK. A while later, the captain came on the PA and said “Tripulación de cabina: ¡diez mil pies!” (Cabin crew, 10,000 ft!). The only other airline on which I heard that same announcement was on Air France — “dix mille et descente !” Similarly, after landing, AR flight deck also informs the cabin crew that “this is the last turn” before parking (“Tripulación de cabina: ¡último viraje!”), which is something that I always thought it was unique to AF (“PNC : dernier virage !”). I had never heard those announcements in AR domestic flights. As a plane geek, I like them.
Landing was extremely smooth and we arrived at JFK half-an-hour before schedule. AR uses Terminal 7, which is curious since it’s the only Skyteam member to do so and it’s British Airways’ terminal after all. That said, T7 proved to be good as we were the only flight landing at that hour (a Qatar Airways plane landed a little while after us) and immigration was a very straightforward process. Contrary to what one can expect at JFK, the Border Control machine was very easy to use, and after it spat out the receipt there was no queue for reaching the human who verifies all the data. The human was actually very nice, didn’t ask anything (not even the length of our stay), and after stamping our passports she wished us a Happy Thanksgiving.
Bags were already at the belt when we left immigration and less than 40 minutes after landing we were already on a taxi to our hotel in Manhattan. Since this is FT, I shall add that the hotel was called “The Paul”, on West 29th Street between Broadway and 6th Avenue, and for the price paid it was surprisingly good. We spent 6 nights in NYC and I have to say that, as unplanned as this trip was, we really enjoyed ourselves. The fact that it was not our first time in the city really helped — we did everything at a slower pace and decided to spend less money on sightseeing and more money in restaurants and bars, which proved to be a very wise thing to do.
I am sorry for the lack of pictures, and congratulate those who have made it to the end of this text-only report. It was written thinking on people wondering what AR’s intercontinental service feels like. It was my first intercontinental AR flight in almost 10 years, and I was pleased. The flight was on time, service was correct and while seat pitch is not great, that’s the norm in Economy Class these days. My only critique is the in-flight entertainment, which could and should be improved. I have actually written to AR to inform them about this.
As an Argentine, I’m quite happy that AR is becoming a reliable airline. I like to fly with them — after all it’s Argentine jobs, and their safety record is outstanding. Their main problems were always delays and cancellations, and I find it very positive that the new management is fixing those issues. Would I fly AR again? I always fly them in domestic travel (they go to the most places in the country). I don’t have any international flights left for the remainder of the year, but yeah, provided they offer reasonable prices, I would definitely book a long-haul flight with Aerolíneas again.
Dec 9, 2016, 4:45 am
#3
Join Date: Jun 2008
Programs: TK*G (E+), IHG Plat Ambassador
Posts: 7,884
I thought AR would be much worse... Looks like an acceptable experience, if you lower your expectations
Re. PP (Star Alliance) Lounge - it is a zoo in the evening - especially when TK and NZ depart at the same time. You may still approach the lounge front desk, but probability of rejection is high (and sorry - I was one of those who complained about PP members admittance in the evening, huh).
Re. PP (Star Alliance) Lounge - it is a zoo in the evening - especially when TK and NZ depart at the same time. You may still approach the lounge front desk, but probability of rejection is high (and sorry - I was one of those who complained about PP members admittance in the evening, huh).
Dec 15, 2016, 12:28 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 1999
Programs: FB Silver going for Gold
Posts: 21,796
Nothing's ever great in the back but I flew the same route, in the reverse direction 25 years to the season ago so that brings back some memories. 747-200s back then, and there was a daylight north bound flight back then. No PTV of course and the seat pitch was just as tight. Being AR, seats were leather. Old AR terminal at EZE (looks like AR still uses the old terminal? Last used it for a EZE-FTE flight in 2003). Can't remember which terminal AR used in 1991 but it wasn't 2, 4, 8 or 9.