Aerolineas Argentinas

About Aerolineas Argentinas

Aerolíneas Argentinas, formally Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A., is the state-owned flag carrier of Argentina and the country's largest airline. The airline was created in 1949, from the merger of Aeroposta Argentina (AA), Aviación del Litoral Fluvial Argentino (ALFA), Flota Aérea Mercante Argentina (FAMA), and Zonas Oeste y Norte de Aerolíneas Argentinas (ZONDA), and started operations in December 1950. A consortium led by Iberia took control of the airline in 1990, and Grupo Marsans acquired the company and its subsidiaries in 2001, following a period of severe financial difficulties that put the airline on the brink of closure. The airline was renationalised in late 2008. It has its headquarters in Buenos Aires. The airline joined the SkyTeam alliance in August 2012; the airline's cargo division became a member of SkyTeam Cargo in November 2013. Source: "Aerolíneas Argentinas" by Wikipedia contributors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerol%C3%ADneas_Argentinas), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Edit history on the linked Wikipedia page.

Overview

Aerolineas Argentinas is an active scheduled passenger airline based in Argentina. You will see it in booking systems as IATA AR, and on the radio as "ARGENTINA". OpenFlights tracks roughly 154 scheduled route pairs flown under its codes, reaching about 55 separate destinations.

Network and hubs

The network depends on three things: where the airline holds slots, the aircraft sitting in its fleet, and the bilateral agreements between Argentina and the countries it serves. Like most carriers of its size, Aerolineas Argentinas operates from one or more home hubs, feeds nearby countries with regional flying, and stretches into longer thin routes wherever the demand and the aircraft line up.

Cabins and onboard product

What it feels like onboard depends on the part of the market the airline competes in. A short-haul, single-aisle fleet usually offers a flexible economy product and a front cabin that converts to business class on selected sectors. Longer-haul rotations, where they exist, add lie-flat business seats and sometimes a premium economy cabin in between. Catering, baggage rules, seat-selection charges and buy-on-board pricing all change with the route and the fare class, so the most reliable way to set expectations is to read the fare conditions at the moment you book.

Loyalty and partnerships

Frequent-flyer benefits depend on whether Aerolineas Argentinas belongs to a global alliance or runs bilateral partnerships with another carrier. Where alliance membership is in place, members of partner programmes can normally credit miles, get into lounges with eligible status, and through-check baggage on a single ticket. Even outside alliances, codeshare and interline agreements often let you build a simple combined itinerary on one record.

Operating notes

Operationally, Aerolineas Argentinas is registered in Argentina and answers to that country's civil aviation authority. Onward flying follows the rules of every other country it serves. When you book, keep its IATA and ICAO codes handy for matching codeshare flight numbers, double-check terminal assignments at multi-terminal airports, and confirm any visa or transit rules that apply to the routing rather than only the marketing carrier on the ticket.

Sample destinations

A sample of destinations served by Aerolineas Argentinas in the public schedule. Open any airport for its own terminal and route guide.