Hello, Flight Reporters. Some of you may find this flight report interesting, since it shows a domestic Argentine route quite exotic, in a (non Argentine) commercial aviation site: CRD (Comodoro Rivadavia)-AEP (Buenos Aires/Aeroparque).
Comodoro Rivadavia is the second largest city in the Patagonia region and my current city. I know most of you are avid travelers, so I don't need to explain much about this vast, fascinating and mostly uninhabited Argentine territory: Patagonia.
Comodoro (as locals call this city) is famous in my country for its petroleum industry.
Once a month I fly from Comodoro to Buenos Aires to do my work and I usually have the chance to go clubbing or to an electronic music festival, like in this case. If you had read my previous flight reports, you know I love techno music but not as much as flying ;)
Well, let's go flying. This is the Comodoro Rivadavia's airport: General Enrique Mosconi (CRD), from the parking lot.
I had my boarding pass printed at home, so I passed through security to the boarding room in 5 minutes. And I found the Aerolíneas Argentinas B737-800 LV-CTB wearing the new livery. I really like the design.
The eastern side of Patagonia is a very deserted land, full of plateaus, as you can see.
Seats near the gate. OK, it's not Changi… Blame the private airport operator: Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 S.A.
Where is the Aerolíneas condor in the fin?
The rather long B738 from the jetway
You can note the tight seat pitch, and I'm not tall at all… Can you spot a Lufthansa's crane? ;)
The airport and a bit of the jetway
No doubt this is a former Air Berlin aircraft…
Alta, Aerolíneas Argentinas boring inflight magazine
In Aerolíneas Argentinas flights there is a second magazine, as boring as Alta, called Cielos Argentinos (Argentine Skyes)…
A really busy morning for spotters at CRD…
Hundreds of abandoned oil wells…
The long National Route 3, from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia (the southernmost city in the world)
Half hour after take off, crew delivered the meal boxes… It's interesting from a collector point of view, that stamp with a Short S.25 Sandringham, operated by Aerolíneas Argentinas in the 1950's
This is not real food… OK, it's a so called snack. By the way, I just tried the mousse.
Puerto Madryn, 400km from Comodoro.
The Patagonia's sky is specially blue…
Cabin crew and a sleepy passenger. The flight was smooth and uneventful. One of the cabin crew asked a kid who was seating in 21E if he wanted to visit the cockpit during the flight… Of course the boy agreed with that and so his father did…
Starting the approach, on a cloudy Buenos Aires…
The San Isidro Hipódromo (racecourse)
At this moment something weird happened… A guy who was seating in 21D (my seat was 21A) told me something like: hey, turn off your camera, it's forbidden… I was really surprised and I didn't want to argue. I just replied: Don't worry, it's a camera, not a mobile phone. You should know that the FAA recently eliminated the electronic devices restriction…Also you should know that visiting the cockpit during flight is forbidden…
De la Plata River
Almost there… Costanera Avenue.
The Pampa's region fertile soil (compare with CRD soil…)
Aeroparque terminal and Aerolíneas/ Austral aircraft
We parked next to an Aerolíneas Skyteam B73G
Tourist bonus. The Palace of Justice seen from my room.
Saturday night I went to Ultra Music Festival at former Parque de la Ciudad, where you can find the tallest tower of Argentina: Torre Espacial.
Nicolas Jaar, the talented American/Chilean DJ, producer and composer was playing live his cutting edge electronic music.
If you are interested in his music, watch this video from last Saturday. One of those shaking heads was mine :P
I hope you enjoyed this Argentine flight report. Thanks for reading…
Thanks for sharing this interesting report on an Argentine domestic flight. Aerolineas living up to its reputation for mediocrity, thought the snack box is better than anything you would get on a domestic flight in the US.
Kévin: thanks for your comment. I agree about the snack box, although I'm very demanding about airline meals. Flying makes me hungry :P
Gracias por este reporte tan interesante.
When I was in 6th grade, I received an AR carry on bag and used that as a backpack to school everyday. I grew fond of the condor logo and despite AR's terrible reputation, I was partial to it for sentimental reasons.
The snack box is a nice touch for a domestic flight. At least you still get something to nibble for free, unlike most domestic service within the U.S. except for B6. Was the lemon Balcarce pack an alfajor?
Jetsetpanda: de nada! (you're welcome)
How did you get that AR carry on bag?
The lemon Balcarce was a lemon cookie with something like lemon cream... I hate lemon cookies and it's ironic that LAN Argentina used to serve -in domestic flights- those nasty cookies from a different brand (Havanna) and now Aerolíneas... :P
My aunt gave me that bag. When she traveled to Hong Kong from Nicaragua back in the 70's the travel agency gave it to her as a present. Back in those days travel agencies were the official outlets for airlines and they used to carry all sorts of marketing things.
When I lived in Costa Rica, my parents used to travel often and had a friend who was the owner of a travel agency. I remember getting all sorts of promotional brochures and loving it.
Thanks for sharing this FR
A lot of gorgeous aerial pictures
The snack is not that bad, especially for a domestic flight
Lagentsecret: thanks for your comment. I'm glad you liked my aerial pics ;)
Patagonia-BsAs flights must be among the longest domestic flights in latin america! It's disappointing that IFE and meals are not congruent with the length of those flights. AR has an awesome livery, but I miss the condor on the tailfin. The snack boxes look great, I'd like something like that on AV.
Gracias por compartir, saludos!
Gracias por tu comentario! (thanks for you comment)
I wish AR had PTV in economy, like AV ;)
The Aerolineas condor is still on the tailfin, well a little bit of it...
Saludos! (regards)