Post by Ella.
There are several choices. Aerolineas Argentinas, Fly Biondi, Jet Smart, LatAm. Reading reviews, Aerolineas stood out.
We now have 5 out of 5 flights completed. One flight had boarding delayed by 40 minutes but still arrived only 10 min late. All the others were on time.
We carried on our luggage. One roller board and one day pack each. Here are the restrictions.
3kg is about 6.6lbs. 30cm x 30cm x 40cm is about 11.8” x 11.8” x 15.75”
8kg is about 17.6lbs. 25cm x 35cm x 55cm is about 9.8” x 13.8” x 21.7”
On our first flight, (Buenos Aires to El Calafate), we headed to the check in line because we thought our suitcases, although they fit the size limit, would be over the weight limit. A young woman in line in front of us told us we should just skip this line (it was really long) and head to the security screening because bags are rarely weighed at the gate anymore. We thought, okay, we will give it a shot. There was no bag weighing at the gate and hardly a glance at our suitcases.
These are all 737 Max 800’s by the way. So like your typical Southwest plane.
Flying out of El Calafate, since the check in line only had a couple people ahead of us, I figured we might as well have them weigh our stuff. I really thought both our suitcases were too heavy and we’d have to check them in, but the guy just gave them the tag of approval and nodded us on. Good thing too because the gate agent here was weighing carry on bags and making some people check their bag as they boarded. The tag of approval got us a free pass. And why yes, we did keep the tag on for the rest of the flights, because why not?
Security screening. Shoes stay on. You don’t have to pour your water out. Cases of unopened alcoholic drinks are allowed. You can bring a case of wine as a substitute for your hand luggage.
Something which took us by surprise, whether you check in your luggage or not, all the baggage needs to be scanned before you can exit the baggage claim area. And getting off the plane, everyone has to exit through baggage claim. Sometimes the guard would tell me just to put my back pack through, most of the time it was all luggage. And these were all domestic flights.
Snacks on board. Only if the flight is over 2 hours. A bag of pita chips. Limited choice of coffee, water (still, not sparkling) or one of two sodas – Sprite or Coke.
Most of the onboard announcements were in Spanish (Argentinian Spanish of course) and English. Sometimes i couldn’t understand the English.
Some people watched something on their phones without headphones. No one got uppity about it.
If I understood your post correctly,all luggage, both hand and checked, is scanned when leaving the baggage claim area. If by scanned you mean x-rayed, what’s the point?
Yes, exactly. We’ve been scratching our heads about the exit x-ray. These were all domestic, non stop flights.
Update. Can’t say for sure, but I’ve been asking around. It may have to do with regulations in individual provinces. Some are more strict than others about what is allowed in even from another Argentinian province.
Possibly, but also probably ineffective. What could not be allowed in that an x-ray would detect? Guns maybe. Bananas? I remember agricultural inspections for things like fruit flies when entering parts of California by car.