Hello everyone, long time no see. I’m so glad to be writing a new flight report after almost 15 months of no flight at all. At the ending of 2020 the Argentinian Government announced that tourism activities will be authorized to restart on 2021. I still have some flight tickets I hope to be able to use soon, one to NYC and another to Ecuador. So, in November I decided it was time to make reservations for the long weekend of February. Until one week before the flight I wasn’t very confident about the trip, I was always thinking that we´ll be back in quarantine. Thankfully it didn’t happen.
So, let´s start with the report
AR1702
Date: 13/02/21
Origin: Rosario – Islas Malvinas International ROS
Destination: Bariloche – Lt. Luis Candelaria BRC
Departure: 17.20 (17.20 real)
Arrival: 19.20 (19.05)
On the date of the flight, I got to the airport 3 hours before. My dad drove me, so that’s why I made it pretty early. When I entered, I found out about the new protocols of air travel (and travel in general). On the entry door they scanned your temperature and an airport agent asked you to show the CUIDAR mobile app (it’s a government app to make a self COVID diagnose, they issue a code you have to renew every 48h hours).
Then I went to Aerolineas Argentinas counters. They were checking in passengers for EZE and BRC flights. I had already checked in online the day before. When I came to the counter, the agent asked me to show the travel authorizations requested to board the flights (one is national, and the other was from Rio Negro Province). I showed them both on my mobile. She also asked me if I had the digital boarding pass, so she didn’t print it for me.
Then I had a couple of hours to wander around before the flight. I heard some month ago that a new library shop opened near the arrivals gate, and I wanted to buy a book. When I got there, I found that on Saturdays they close early…
Today´s flights
I went to the upper floor, where there is a nice big window towards the tarmac. But there wasn’t much movement.
After a while I saw the landing of the EZE-ROS flight on Embraer 190 LV-GAQ. This will be the aircraft of my trip to BRC.
My boarding pass
Some minutes later they announced the opening of the boarding gate. A line was formed to pass through security check.
On the boarding area there isn’t much. Just a small bar and a VIP Lounge. The best it the huge window with views to the tarmac.
Beautiful day to fly, right?
At 17 a line was formed to start boarding. First passengers with Sky Team status, then the rest. When the agents spotted families with little children, they made them cut the line.
Boarding the plane through stairs
Although the livery says Austral, last year during the pandemic Argentina´s Government announced the merger of Austral and Aerolineas Argentinas. I heard that they started painting some Embraers under the AR livery
When I boarded, I was disappointed, because this EMB 190 is the only one on Aerolineas Argentinas fleet that doesn’t have PTVs.
Enter text here…
The crew didn´t seem cheerful at all. They looked very hurried to finish boarding and go back home.
After a couple of minutes, boarding was finished. The captain introduced himself and announced that we well take off soon.
Take off was right on time.
We headed north, then east. I had some beautiful views of Rosario, the bridge and the islands of Paraná River.
ROS Airport from the air
The flight happened quite fast. I didn’t have many great views because my seat 5A doesn’t have a proper self-window. It has half window on the front and half window on the back. And on my side of the aircraft the sun was hitting hard, so the windows were closed most of the flight. No food or drink service was offered. On long haul international flight AR is giving the passengers a bag of snacks on the boarding. Pretty poor…
The seat was ok. There was nobody next to me. The flight wasn’t 100% full, but it almost was.
At 18.40 we started descending. The captain announced we will be landing in some minutes.
Patagonian dessert views
At 19.05 we landed. Some minutes ahead of schedule.
We exited the aircraft through jet ways.
My luggage came up very fast, and I went to my hotel on a shared shuttle.
Enter text here…
Now, some pics from the trip
Tronador Mountain
Ventisquero Negro Glacier on Tronador Mountain
Stunning view from Catedral Mountain
Bariloche Civic Centre
Frias Lake, near the border with Chile
Raspberry cheesecake with roses tea
Hermoso reporte Viajero90, saludos!
Muchas gracias Fernando, me alegro que te haya gustado!
thanks for the report , its very sad that domestic flights are so expensive for non-residents and foreigners in argentina
I wished i could enjoy them instead of buses , but they cost too much compared to transatlantic long haul flights from europe to BA
Hi! I´m glad you liked it. I agree with you, its unfair that Aerolineas charges more to non residents. But i dont think that the other domestic carriers like Flybondi or JetSMART are doing the same
ok i will check next time i come to BA . i guess in 2022 . Hopefully there will be other airlines than AR
Hola Viajero90, nice to see your reports again! Love seeing Covid-era reports and how different the experience is on different airlines. Really a shame that a year into the pandemic, there's no service at all on a 2h flight. Even US carriers, who are notoriously cheap, give a snack and water on shorter flights.
Kind of a shame to see the Austral livery go. Granted, I find AR's livery pretty as well, but would be nice to keep one "retro" jet in Austral-colours
Beautiful bonus pics of the San Carlos de Bariloche area! Absolutely breathtaking. It reminds me a lot of the Alps or the South Island of New Zealand. Patagonia has always been high on my bucket list. Hopefully once things get better I'll finally be able to go.
Thanks so much for sharing and welcome back!!
Hello! Thanks for your comment.
I remember the first time I flew austral (11 years ago) I got a full breakfast on a 2 hour domestic flight. So sad to see they use the pandemic tu cut on board service.
Yesterday they unveiled the first embraer with AR livery.
Patagonia is a huge and amazing region. It’s worth the trip!
Cheers!
Lovely, lovely, lovely report, viajero!! Los Embraer son mis aviones favoritos, pero lamentablemente la única vez que he podido volar en ellos ha sido para cruzar de Bs As a Montevideo. Me encantaría hacer un viaje más largo en ellos, pero a este lado de la cordillera hay puros Airbus. :'''(
Rosario se ve magnífico desde el aire! Y las vistas desde el cerro Catedral me dejaron sin habla. Puedes creer que he estado dos veces en Bariloche y todavía no subo??? jajajaj La tercera será la vencida.
Lástima por Austral. Pero se veía venir. Qué se le va a hacer.
AR nunca ha destacado por la atención a bordo, eh? No me gusta esto de que quieran mantener la imagen de una aerolínea "legacy" cuando el servicio sería mucho mejor si tuvieran venta a bordo. Hace poco leí el informe de un vuelo en business en AR y les dieron una barrita de cereal, por Dios!! O algo así, pero era bien rasca. No recuerdo si era un informe tuyo. Y cuando volé de SCL a AEP con ellos fue lo mismo. Una cajita, incluida en el pasaje y todo, pero era más apropiada para el cumpleaños de un niño pequeño que para un viaje internacional. Hasta latam ha mejorado en eso! Y eso es mucho decir! jajjajja No entiendo cómo no han hecho más mejoras con la presión de las low cost.
Me llamó la atención que las puertas de embarque en ROS estén marcadas en castellano, inglés e... italiano?? ("Porta") Será debido a la inmigración italiana?? Pero eso fue hace tanto tiempo! Todavía hay mucha gente que habla italiano ahí? Todavía recuerdo cuando era niño y miraba "Marco: de los Apeninos a los Andes" en la tele. Lo viste alguna vez? Pobre Marco. Me estresaba verlo sufrir tanto. LOL
Muchas gracias por compartir!! :)
Hola! Me alegro mucho que te haya gustado el reporte.
Dicen que la vista del Cerro Catedral es una de las 10 mejores vistas del mundo. Hay que ver para creerlo jaja
Una pena por el servicio de abordo. La última vez que volé por austral allá por 2013 de AEP a ROS (un vuelo de media hora). Me habían dado una bolsita con un jugo, una barra de cereal y unas galletitas. Ah y otra bolsita con aurículares. Esta vez casi ni las buenas tardes me dieron :(
Esperemos que de a poco retomen algún tipo de servicio. Dicen que en los últimos años había mejorado bastante.
Saludos!