Italy's least wow business class: review Aereolineas Argentinas from Rome to Buenos Aires
"Hey Barbone, but why haven't you reviewed Aerolíneas Argentinas yet?" This question came to me at least once a week and [...]
SkyTeam
FCO
Argentina
"Hey Barbone, but why haven't you reviewed Aerolíneas Argentinas yet?"
In this article:
- Specifications
- Aircraft:
- A330/200
- Class:
- Business
- Treat:
- FCO - EZE
- Price:
- 99k eurobonus + 90
- Book
This question came to me at least once a week, so I decided to try the national airline of Argentina, which flies to only two European destinations: Rome e Madrid.
Uniting the two capitals are surely the ancestors: numbers in hand, at least one out of every two Argentines has Italian blood, and if it were not for Genoese migrants, today we would not even have the Boca Juniors and the Bombonera. Therefore, it is logical that it is AZ which AR regularly fly this route.
Reservation
What if your next trip was because of points?
Join the Training Center and improve your knowledge in the world of travel reward
I used slightly less than the 10% of points obtained with my challenge of SAS To book this ticket. This was, for all intents and purposes, the first ticket that made a dent in my million-mile EuroBonus.
The final cost was 99k miles e 9o€ of surcharges, for a ticket that cash, round trip, is never under the 3 thousand and one way travels around €2,500
At the airport
I arrived in Rome from Genoa on the first flight of Aeroitalia on the route GOA/FCO.
As chance would have it, when the Italian airline announced the activation of the connection so longed for by Ligurians, I needed to fly to Fiumicino in order to catch this flight. So I worked in the lounge for most of the day before leaving for the gate.
Unfortunately, ITA's divorce with SkyTeam led to the separation with AR. Although the flight is still codeshare, passengers can no longer use ITA's lounges, but they are directed to the T3 Premium Plaza.
I, as usual, however, moved to the gate well in advance, partly because theE23 at Fiumicino is the one that gives the best spot to take pictures of the plane. I did not include this cabin in the my top5 worst because, as mentioned, it flies very little in Europe and the world in general.
On board
I knew very well that I would not have a wow booth, but I was still hoping to catch a car set up with the most modern cabs.
Instead, I got the older one, But in world livery.
The configuration is 2-2-2, but unlike the more modern ones here we are really in a time machine, like when you pull out the 500 ASI from the garage to go for a drive in the village.
Zero privacy, zero comfort, no monitor on the back of the seat in front: in short, it feels like we have gone back 20 years, although this A330/200 he was only 10 years old.
Economy is also not the best, 2-4-2 layout, and no premium economy.
The chair
The configuration, as mentioned, is 2-2-2. My hope of not having a neighbor lasted more or less 1 minute when I heard an attendant explain to another passenger that the flight was full.
I had assigned myself the chair 7H; for a flight of 14 hours freedom of movement is important, but in this case having a few extra inches of space is even more important to me.
It is a configuration old and destined to disappear, but with Argentine times, and that means that years pass between saying and doing. Suffice it to say that in the 2023 the company had announced the installation of the wi-fi on board and today it is still not there. Similarly, during the 2025 have announced a fleet modernization, but again the announcement is currently the only hint of this intent.
Space is tight, storage nonexistent, privacy a mirage.
There is no bulkhead that can at least divide the two passengers a little bit.
The chair does not become a bed like modern ones, and in my case, I had it even worse since the end end of the leg support did not rise as it did to my neighbor, which forced me to sleep downhill all the time.
Everything is operated from the hand control on the armrest. There are presets and then controls for every single aspect of the seat. As a reminder that this machine comes from the past, there is then the massage. An option that was very fashionable in the early 2000s, but was later abandoned because it was very fragile and complicated to fix.
The coffee table comes out of the armrest, is not very big and obviously, if opened, prevents the passenger from moving around. The screen, on the other hand, comes out of the central structure of the seat.
The thing that bothered me most is the fact that the power outlet is located under the armrest, inconvenient to use, but especially if you want to lower the armrest you can't use it. A grab bar and a reading light are also among the features.
The only positive factor is the flight time, which is all night. It departs at 18 and you get to the 4: this means that if you arrive nice and tired, you have dinner and then collapse, and so I did.
Even the bathroom showed signs of fatigue and I must say it was among the saddest ever found in an airplane in the West.
Service
The staff was the most positive thing about the flight, within the confines of the cabin and what are the dictates of the company.
Translated: during service, dishes are "discarded" in front of the passenger, as in the worst old school experiences.
However, if I think that when I flew Delta One Suite the first drink came to me after 60 minutes from takeoff, here after 5 minutes That I was sitting had champagne and peanuts.
At the place you find pillow, blanket and amenity kit.
The night staff literally disappeared, but that's okay on an overnight flight. Let's just say, though, that I didn't see them pass by even once to see if there were thirsty passengers in the cabin or in need of anything else.
The contents of the small clutch bag are better than the container: the equipment is standard, but the pouch is really too plastic.
IFE
On board, as mentioned, there is no wi-fi. And the screen is the only possible distraction. Of course, if it were on the seatback in front, as on the more modern fleet, it would have been better, but instead in the rotation of Aerolíneas' very few long-haul machines I got the less modern one.
The contents are there, not a lot, but at least there is to say that interface and movies are in Italian.
The map is what it used to be: no visuals, no interactivity, just and only flat screens.
Included are headphones and, if desired, also a controller to manage it, but being touch and close, the screen does not make sense to use.
Obviously nothing Bluetooth, but fortunately my trusty adapter allowed me to get rid of the cable Of standard headphones.
Food & Beverage
Here we say that the combination of supply and service was quite disappointing. No menu, impossible to know what's being offered to eat, and honestly I think in business class I've only had that happen to me aboard Air China.
Sure dinner was quick, as is required on an overnight flight, but having no idea what you are eating is not the best in economy, let alone business. No tablecloth or napkin, everything on the tray.
First comes the appetizer: a burratina good, amidst a crumble of dried olives and a sliced cherry tomato.
Then the hot dish cart arrives and you are told: vegetable, salmon or meat lasagna. And when you choose the dish it is "discarded" in front of you. I opted for the salmon, I have to say the best thing of everything I ate on board.
To finish, always by the cart, dessert. No fruit or cheese, just a panna cotta.
Ditto at breakfast, same mode. The tray arrives with granola, fruit, jam and hot bread And you are not told that the hot dish will be served afterward.
So you end up making brioche with jam, and then, a minute later, you pop up a'ham omelet (or alternatively a toast) without anyone having warned you.
In conclusion
It is not worth the price of the ticket. If you want the direct from Rome, theA350 of ITA compared to this machine is like a limousine and a Point S.
And this is true in all classes: the A350 is the most modern machine on the market today, the A330/200 among the oldest conceptually. The point then is the price: paid cash it's really expensive, and it's not like it cost me cheap with points. Practically with the same points I fly a/r in the USA in business with SAS o Air France.
Pro
- Staff
Against
- Screen in the armrest
- You don't know what you eat
- No wi-fi