The beautiful water off the coast of Argentina tells a far different story from the winds below! Photo by: Evan Berman

I spent only about 2 hours in the Southernmost City in the World: Ushuaia, Argentina. After that, it was time for my next destination: Buenos Aires! As mentioned before, I flew Aerolíneas Argentinas from my origin city of El Calafate, Argentina to Buenos Aires, stopping in Ushuaia. This flight was in the Boeing 737-800 and was very similar to the other 737’s I flew with AR during my time in South America.

Intro

24 Hours in New York, NY

Flight: CHS-JFK in Delta Comfort+

New York Hotel

Flight: JFK-SCL in LATAM Economy+

W Santiago Hotel

Hyatt Place Santiago/Vitacura

3 Days in Santiago, Chile

Osaka Santiago, Chile Restaurant Review

Flight: SCL-AEP in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

Flight: AEP-FTE in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

Trekking on Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentine Patagonia

El Calafate Hotel

36 Hours in El Calafate, Argentina

Restaurants in El Calafate

Flight: FTE-USH in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

Flight: USH-AEP in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy (This Article)

2 Hours in Ushuaia, Argentina

Buenos Aires Homestay

2 Days in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Flight: AEP-SCL in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

Flight: SCL-MIA in LATAM Business Class

Hyatt Place Ft. Lauderdale/Plantation

Flight: FLL-CHS in Silver Airways Economy Class

Conclusion

Flight Info:

Route: USH-AEP (Ushuaia, Argentina’s Malvinas Argentinas International Airport to Buenos Aires, Argentina’s Aeroparque Jorge Newberry Airport)

Date: Friday, 11/25/2022

Flight: AR 1891 (Aerolíneas Argentinas)

Plane: 737-800

Seat: 8A (Main Cabin Window)

Est. Departure: 4:50pm local time (2:50pm EST)

Taxiing: 5:06pm local time

Takeoff: 5:11pm local time (3:11pm EST)

Gate: 3 (Main Terminal)

Est. Arrival: 8:10pm local time (6:10pm EST)

Touchdown: 8:20pm local time (6:20pm EST)

Arrived at Gate: 8:23pm local time (6:23pm EST)

Gate: 12 (Domestic Terminal)

Pricing:

I booked all of the intra-South American flights through Chase Travel. The entire trip cost $531.60 and I used the $300 travel credit from the Chase Sapphire Reserve as well as 15,440 UR Points to pay for the flight. As such, I paid $0 in “real money.”

Earnings: 370 Delta SkyMiles

Flight Info: Class G (Deeply Discounted Economy), 1,477 miles

MQM: 370 (25% of distance flown, per fare class G)

MQS: 1

MQD: $74

Booking:

As mentioned above, I used the Chase Travel portal to book these flights. Argentina’s official exchange rate makes everything much more expensive in USD than using the “Blue Dollar” rate of converting to Argentine Pesos from USD in Argentina. (See more about this in the reviews of my time in Argentina).

I compared prices on Aerolíneas Argentinas’ own website, AmEx Travel Portal, Capital One Travel Portal, Chase Travel Portal, and Google Flights. The prices on the AmEx Portal and Chase Travel Portal were equivalent (lower than the price of Google Flights). I chose Chase as I could use the Travel Credit and redeem at 1.5 cents per point, compared with AmEx’s 1 cent per point.

Because I booked via a travel portal (as opposed to directly with the airline), despite inputting my Delta Frequent Flier Number (both are SkyTeam members), it did not show up in the confirmation email from Aerolíneas Argentinas (AR). Additionally, I had to call Chase as for some reason, despite receiving confirmation, the trip was not showing up on AR’s website. Thankfully, I spoke with a competent supervisor who was able to do something that made the reservation appear on AR’s website.

Note that if you have elite status with another SkyTeam partner, you may choose to include this frequent flier number instead. I have entry-level Silver Status with Delta and that entitles me to a free checked bag, priority check-in, priority baggage handling, and priority boarding on SkyTeam flights.

The other consideration is where to credit your flights. I use this helpful website, Where to Credit to determine the best course of action. All you need is the airline and booking class. Look for that on the confirmation email after purchasing or when choosing the specific fare, note the class. In this case, I valued Delta status perks over redeemable miles, but you may have a different calculus.

Lounges:

Once again, in a small airport such as this one, it should be no surprise that there is no lounge!

Recap:

As mentioned above, this plane is a 737-800. All of the flights I review on this trip save the ones to and from North America were on either 737 or 737 MAX planes.

Despite the late takeoff, the flight was quick and uneventful and we got in just about on time. As usual, I enjoyed boarding early (thanks, SkyTeam Elite Status) and ensuring my bag was placed in the overhead bin above me.

I opted for a window seat as usual and enjoyed the beautiful sunset as well as various rivers and trees as we headed north towards Buenos Aires.

The 737-800 we flew has the typical setup of 2-2 seats in Business Class and 3-3 in economy. There is no premium economy on these flights.

Meals:

Despite flying for 3 hours, we were treated only to a delicious and nutritious granola bar! This time the flavor was yoghurt and frutilla– I had previously gotten a different great choice on the SCL-AEP route.

Sleep:

This was a daytime flight and I did not need to sleep.

Experience:

The flight was longer than my previous intra-South America ones at a little over 3 hours. Despite the winds below, the flight was smooth and we caught a beautiful sunset heading north towards Buenos Aires.

November is the springtime in South America so by the time we touched down in BA around 8pm local time, it was dark.

Customs:

This was a domestic flight, so there was no need to clear customs.

Recap:

After just a couple of hours spent in Ushuaia, it was time to head on towards Buenos Aires. The weather was a bit… different from that in Patagonia. Next up: the recap of our time in BA!