Patagonia flights

gafferino

Hi folks

Will be doing a trip to Moreno Glacier in Patagonia from Buenos Aires - would like to fly from patagonia up to Lima - does anyone know if this is possible?

filthymcnasty

the nearest aiport to the perito moreno glacier is el calafate.
i'm pretty sure the only flights to lima or anywhere else from here are via buenos aires; your best option (possibly the only one), is with aerolineas argentina

RATM

Aerolineas Argentina are not the only option but they certainly are the worst one- cancelled flights, rude service, flights brought forward, etc are the norm for this state run airline. Another qualm most people have with them is that they charge foreigners 20-35% more for the same flight than locals have to pay. This wouldnt be a big issue if the flights are dirt cheap but they are far from that.
Option 2 is lade.com -the airline run by the military. However they only fly domestically so you would need another flight.They are very cheap compared to Aerolineas but their flights are infrequent.
By far the best option is Lan.com They are typically cheaper than Aerolineas and have far better planes and service. Unfortunetaly they also charge foreigners more but you can get around this by booking on their Argentinian/Chilean/Peruvian website- the fare will be about 15-20% cheaper than if you book it through the US/UK & Ireland site. If you need translations then just google 'translation' and you'll find a few sites to do it for you.Lan wont have a direct El Calafate- Lima flight but they will connect to either Mendoza or Buenos Aires to get you there.
Hope this helps.

v.e.r.b.a.l

RATM wrote: »

Aerolineas Argentina are not the only option but they certainly are the worst one- cancelled flights, rude service, flights brought forward, etc are the norm for this state run airline.

We just flew from El Calafate to BA with them and they seemed fine. No rudeness or delays. It was even snowing that day and no problems. Don't know about charging us more than anyone else, but we bought online and it cost under 100 euro (cheaper than a bus)

You could check Terminal A - never used it before, but we met a french couple in El Calafate who said they got a great deal there.

RATM

Different folks, differnt strokes Verbal- I just flew with them yesterday from Ushuaia to El Calafate- 1.5 hour delay and then we got on a McDonnell airplane with filthy seats. The aircraft was at least 20 years old and very noisy inside the cabin, you could literally hear and feel every rev of the engine. The speakers didnt work so no-one could hear the safety announcment whatsoever. Didnt even get so much as a biscuit throughout the 1hr15 min flight which I wouldnt mind if I was paying Ryanairs low prices.
We paid €80 one way, the price for Argentinians was €55- I checked the website in both english and spanish to see what the difference was. If you didnt have an Argentinian passport you get charged more, simple as - 'state sponsored racism' as my friend put it.

Having also flown with LAN from Salta to Ushuaia I would tend to say that they are miles ahead of Aerolineas when it comes to cleaniness, punctuality and general customer service. They use fairly new Airbus planes which are spotlessly clean. They are also generally cheaper than Aerolineas on the same routes that they fly.

Most Argtenians Ive met feel the same way, many describe Aerolineas as a national embarrassment and most avoid flying them if it is at all possible.

v.e.r.b.a.l

Very true, everyone has different experiences. I think most companies charge foreigners more than locals in South America. It's hard to escape it. We found that when we were trying to get a flight from Bolivia to Rio (had to bus it in the end cos of the price!) But it's always on museum entries etc.

Sounded like we had two completely different experiences with AA!!! We were on a nice Boeing 737 and were served lots of coke and coffee and a nice chicken and rice dinner (I say "nice" in terms of airplane food!) I guess it's just the luck of the draw!!