Buenos Aires is one of the great South American cities and the gateway to Argentina. The main airport is Ezeiza International/Ministro Pistarini (EZE) and flight time from Europe takes approximately 12-14 hours non-stop.
The distance between Madrid (Spain) and Buenos Aires is 6,250 miles – even longer from northern European cities.
Fares – Airfares from Europe to South America in general tend to be higher than more competitive routes of similar distance – such as Europe to south-east Asia. The cheapest fares are often found ex-Madrid which is the principal Latin American hub in Europe. Reasonable fares can also be found ex-London.
Below is a rough guideline to “value” for the Europe-Buenos Aires route in economy class priced in pounds sterling:
Excellent Deal – under £500
Good Deal – £500-£600
Average – £600-£750
Expensive – £750-£1,000
Ouch – over £1,000
Normal business class fares are priced in the £2,000-£2,500 range – anything under £2,000 is a good deal whilst biz fares under £1,500 are considered excellent.
Exchange Rate – The Argentine Peso has been consistently weak (currently 1GBP = 6.5 ARS, 1EUR = 5.6 ARS, 1USD/1AUD = 4 ARS). Argentina remains good value for visitors despite experiencing some heavy price inflation of late.
Airlines – The following airlines fly non-stop between various European airports and Buenos Aires:
Iberia - Spanish carrier (now merging with British Airways under the International Airlines Group) which flies 2x daily from Madrid using Airbus A340 aircraft. Plenty of connections are available to many EU airports – but note, Iberia’s short-haul flights are no-frills. Service standards on long-haul can be variable, especially in economy class.
Alitalia - The Italian airline flies daily from Rome (FCO) to Buenos Aires using a Boeing 777-200 with 3-3-3 config in economy class and 2-2-2 in business.
Air France – Flies daily from Paris CDG also using a Boeing 777-200. Config is 3-3-3 for economy, 2-3-2 business and 4 first (Premiere) seats up front.
Lufthansa - The German Star Alliance carrier flies daily (except Tuesday) between Frankfurt and Buenos Aires using a Boeing 747-400 aircraft. Upper deck has LH’s first class cabin with 8 seats.
KLM - The Dutch carrier will re-start non-stop flights between Amsterdam and EZE on October 31st 2011. The 3x weekly service will be operated by a 2 class Boeing 777-200 going to 4x weekly in 2012. KLM has a good feeder network to/from many UK regional airports.
British Airways – BA will start a daily non-stop flight from London Heathrow to Buenos Aires from the end of March 2011 (the current service makes a stop in Sao Paolo in Brazil). The flights will be operated by a 3 class Boeing 777. Looking at prices today, BA’s lowest quoted fare is £950 economy, £1,380 in premium economy and a whopping £3,700 in Club – although prices ex-Europe are cheaper.
Air Europa – This Skyteam airline flies daily from Madrid to EZE using an Airbus A330-200. Includes a small 2-2-2 business cabin. Prices can be competitive although service is probably lacking compared with the major carriers.
Aerolineas Argentinas – The Argentine national carrier flies from daily from Madrid to Buenos Aires using an (older series) Boeing 747-400. It also serves both Barcelona (BCN) and Rome (FCO) 4x weekly with an Airbus A340. Again, service standards are known to vary and it wouldn’t be our first choice.
Other airlines serving Europe to BA via stops:
LAN Chile – The OneWorld carrier is probably south America’s best airline and a recommended alternative option. It flies Frankfurt-Madrid-Santiago using an Airbus A340. The 700 mile SCL-EZE sector is done with either A320s or B767s.
TAM – Brazilian airline TAM flies to Sao Paolo (GRU) from Madrid, London, Milan, Paris and Frankfurt. (Variety of aircraft used: A340/A330/B777). Onward connecting flight from GRU to EZE done on A320s. Note, Star Alliance TAM is merging with Oneworld’s LAN shortly.
Air Canada – Flies daily from Toronto to Buenos Aires with a short stop in Santiago (SCL) using a Boeing 767-300ER. From Toronto, AC serves a number of EU destinations.
Singapore Airlines – The Star Alliance carrier will start operating a 3x weekly service from Barcelona to Sao Paolo using a Boeing 777-300ER. Flights start March 28th 2011. From GRU take the TAM flight onward to EZE.
For Europeans willing to go through the relative hassle of a US stopover there are the following options:
American Airlines – Flies New York (JFK) and Miami (MIA) to Buenos Aires using Boeing 777s.
Delta Airlines – Flies from Atlanta (ATL) to Buenos Aires using Boeing 767s.
United Airlines – Flies from Washington (IAD) using Boeing 767s. Partner Continental serves EZE from its Houston (IAH) hub also with B767s.
Note that Buenos Aires has a second airport – Jorge Newbury (AEP) nearer the city centre – where many domestic flights depart. Be aware that domestic airfares for Argentine residents are lower than for non-residents. We recommend flying LAN Argentina over Aerolineas for domestic flights.
We recently tried out the A380 upper deck economy cabin on a 13 hour flight between London Heathrow and Singapore Changi airport. We found the $50 investment for row 81 was money very well spent. In comparison, Qantas charges AUD80 (around US$80) for a pre-assigned exit row (A380 lower deck or 747) on the same route.
