Review - Flybondi Economy Class B737-800 Buenos Aires Aeroparque to Mendoza
FO5052 AEP-MDZ
August 13th, 2023
Posts in this series:
Introduction - The Andean Crossing
Review - American Airlines Business Class B777-200 New York Kennedy to Buenos Aires Ezeiza
Review - Anselmo Buenos Aires, Curio Collection by Hilton
Review - Flybondi Economy Class B737-800 Buenos Aires Aeroparque to Mendoza
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Review - Mandarin Oriental Santiago
Review - The Ritz-Carlton Santiago
Review - Air Canada Business Class B787-8 Santiago de Chile to Toronto Pearson
Review - Air Canada Express Business Class CRJ-900 Toronto Pearson to Washington Dulles
Check-in:
When it comes to aviation in LatAm, Argentina isn’t quite a powerhouse like Chile or Brazil. There’s Aerolíneas Argentinas, which is the flag carrier of Argentina. And then there’s a couple other startup-ish airlines, like Flybondi and JetSmart. I knew about JetSmart because it is owned by Indigo Partners, the PE firm behind Frontier, Wizz and Volaris. I had no clue about the background of Flybondi, but if you aren’t intrigued by unknown or random airlines are you even an AvGeek? While hyping up Q-Suite like the 99,999th travel blogger will catch the most eyeballs, it’s reviews like this that add the most value for fellow travelers.
So here we go, Flybondi B737-800 economy to the Argentine wine country.
We arrived at Aeroparque Internacional Jorge Newbery (AEP) around 90 minutes ahead of our scheduled departure time. This airport used to serve domestic destinations exclusively, but over the summer they began adding some international flights as well. Similar to cities with more than one major airport, AEP is a lot closer to downtown Buenos Aires than Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE) in Ezeiza.
The terminal was definitely bustling, though not overwhelmingly so. Argentina was one of the last countries to reopen in the region, so it was great to see travel back in full swing. We queued up to drop off our baggage, which took maybe 15 minutes. The staff were very friendly. Honestly, all the Argentines we met were friendly and hospitable.
Flybondi is a low cost airline, which means you have to pay for anything ancillary. We paid for our checked bags at the counter, which was ~$15 per bag. It’s wild traveling in Argentina because everyday you wake up and things cost less 💀. We were assigned 2E and 2F by the agent.
Flybondi Check-in at AEP
Flybondi Check-in at AEP
Boarding:
There was no lounge options at the airport, but the planespotting was phenomenal - you could see the city in the distance, which gives you a sense of how close to the city the airport was. We even saw the Argentine “Air Force One”!
Flybondi B737-800 at AEP
Argentine Presidential B737/B757 at AEP
Given we were seated in the second row of the plane, our boarding group was 1. Our plane was parked at a remote stand, so we took the shuttle bus from the terminal. Flybondi boarded from back to front, so even though we were in group 1, we were the last ones to board the bus.
When we disembarked from the bus, I immediately recognized the Garuda Indonesia livery on the tail and winglets. Fascinating!
Flybondi (ex-Garuda) B737-800 at AEP
Flybondi (ex-Garuda) B737-800 at AEP
To our left was a B738 with the actual Flybondi livery.
Flybondi B737-800 at AEP
Once onboard, the cabin felt standard. It was nowhere near as cramped as on Ryanair or Allegiant. The seats were able to recline, but I’m not sure if it was because they hadn’t retrofitted the cabin from Garuda.
Flybondi B737-800 Economy Class Seat
Flybondi B737-800 Economy Class Seat
Inflight:
We pushed back and were airborne right on schedule. Generally when you fly with a low cost carrier, onboard service is not included. This was true on Flybondi, however, the FA explained to us that passengers seated in the first three rows of the cabin received free coffee/tea and a little snack. In true Argentine fashion, it was an alfajor. I thought it was a cute touch, and anything with dulce de leche was obviously delicious.
Cleanliness, on the other hand, was concerning. It appeared that someone spilled something on the tray table but was never cleaned. When we opened it to place our coffee, the FA was very apologetic and took some napkins to wipe it for us. This picture below was taken after that. Well, it’s not like the planes in the US are any cleaner…
Flybondi Economy Class Snacks AEP-MDZ
On Arrival:
Soon enough we started our descent into Mendoza alongside a stunning view of the Andes. I had a decently pleasant experience with Flybondi - friendly, cheap fares and ancillary fees, and most importantly, on-time. Once on the ground, the checked bags were also delivered promptly. I wouldn’t mind flying with Flybondi again at all. The thing is, I’m not sure if it’ll be around next time given how often airlines like this fail…
Descent into MDZ