Aerolineas Argentinas axes Sydney-Buenos Aires flights, exits Australia
By David Flynn, November 12 2013
Aerolineas Argentinas is axing its Sydney-Buenos Aires flights in a move which will see the South American airline exit the Australian market.
A spokesperson at the airline's Sydney office confirmed the Sydney-Buenos Aires service, which currently runs three days a week, has been cancelled as of 2 April 2014.
This will leave Qantas and LAN – both members of the oneworld alliance – as the sole airlines offering direct services between Sydney and South America, although their flights arrive into Santiago, Chile.
That's an obvious inconvenience if you want to go to Buenos Aires, but just about everyone else heading for South America will find that Santiago is the better choice as LAN's hub offers far more connections to other destinations.
Aerolineas Argentinas began direct services from Sydney to Buenos Aires in April last year, dropping its previous Auckland stopover as part of a worldwide route overhaul to boost the focus on Europe and developing more South America routes.
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Jun 2013
Total posts 28
That's a shame. Especially with the new Skyteam lounge opening and all.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
19 Nov 2011
Total posts 243
Santiago (SCL) is a very nice airport for Chile. Modern, spacious and comfortable - wouldn't complain about stopping over there and connect onwards.
QF and LAN probably have superior products than Aerolineas Argentinas anyway.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
29 Aug 2012
Total posts 23
No major loss. AR is definitely a distant third when it comes to product offering between Australia and South America...though they did often have some amazing fares which almost made putting up with them worth it. Will be interesting seeing the dynamic change on the route with SYD-SCL and SYD-AKL-SCL now the only routes offered, and offered by airlines in co-operation with each other.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 May 2012
Total posts 76
With no compitition lets watch prices go up.
12 Jun 2013
Total posts 735
Some days, you could find business class fares on Aerolineas for the same price as an economy class fare on Qantas (about $3000). Maybe a pretty crummy business class, but for that price who could complain?
Anyway, here's hoping that QF or LAN will pick up the slack and put additional capacity on the SYD-SCL route. Even better if QF would go back to SYD-EZE like a few years ago.
Or, crazy scenario, with TAM joining oneworld would a flight to Brazil be too much to hope for? Sydney to Sao Paolo is slightly shorter than Sydney to Dallas so I assume it's possible; on the other hand unless you're actually going to Sao Paolo then Santiago is a more convenient route.
Lima, being another LAN hub, is probably a better choice as a gateway to northern South America.
07 Oct 2012
Total posts 1251
I'd like to see Brazil flights... with World Cup + Olympics, the growth of Brazil's economy and Sao Paolo being a TAM hub, it could work.
I don't see EZE working for QF as I think they need feed.
Lima though... I like the idea. Perhaps QF could do 3x SCL and 3 x to another LATAM hub per week.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 Aug 2012
Total posts 2204
The SCL route is done 3x weekly, which suggests it only uses one plane at a time. QFi's increasingly limited 744 resources probably restrict their options here, though a GRU service would certainly be great.
Perhaps QF would be better off growing the SCL service, with a goal of eventually hitting daily service; and then it could feed using codeshares, perhaps with LAN/TAM.
It is a shame to see Aerolineas call it quits, not only because it ends an era and reduces competition, but because they're getting five A345s ex-SQ and the Sydney route was speculated to be one of its best deployments.
25 Sep 2013
Total posts 1245
I thought Singapore Airlines was returning its A345s to Airbus?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 Aug 2012
Total posts 2204
At one point, AR was getting them off Airbus after they returned. It is now uncertain.
19 Sep 2012
Total posts 9
End of an era. I know the direct Sydney to BA route is new, but the previous route with the AKL stopover is decades old.
21 Apr 2012
Total posts 3012
I wonder if this article will invoke the much desired "commotion"...
Etihad
23 Jan 2013
Total posts 175
Direct flights across the Pacific are woeful - both to North America and South America. If you want to travel to these continents you have to go via Asia or the Middle East.
Ive often thought about travelling to South America, but the notion of taking one of the few direct flights there has constantly put me off.
Id rather fly Emirates SYD-DBX-GIG-EZE than go via the Pacific.
10 Aug 2013
Total posts 29
What does does the pacific make? I certainly don't find anything different.
12 Jun 2013
Total posts 735
You'd rather fly Emirates via Dubai than Qantas non-stop? To either North or South America?
You "have" to go via Asia or the Middle East to North America rather than flying QF or VA or DL or AC or NZ or (the admittedly crummy) UA?
That's not even snobbery any more, that's just... random.
Etihad
23 Jan 2013
Total posts 175
I would prefer to fly the long way. If in Y I don't think it would matter much, but shelling out for J or F I don't think direct flights out of Sydney are worth the money for what's on offer.
Maybe QF F, but their 2-2-2 J service doesn't appeal to me. But the F service on the A380 only goes to LA.
It's also worth noting that it's sometimes cheaper to fly the opposite way than across the Pacific. That was certainly what I found late last year for NYC.
Everyone has their preferences; just expressing mine.
09 Sep 2012
Total posts 139
Very few Australians can fly non-stop wiith Qantas.
25 Sep 2013
Total posts 1245
Sad news.
Singapore Airlines - The PPS Club
14 Nov 2013
Total posts 40
It is a shame, now it leaves 2 oneworld airlines to service Sth America, prices will go up by at least 15%. A smart move from Qantas would be to start the Sydney Buenos Aires leg again, i flew this leg in 2011 and it was fantastic, crew, service and aircraft all were great.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
30 Aug 2013
Total posts 8
Maybe virgin australia can take up Sydney - buenos Aires....
12 Jun 2013
Total posts 735
Aside from the improbability of that as a business decision, it's an ETOPS impossibility.
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