RDU > JFK (AA)
Weather in Raleigh was terrible all day and we kept getting notices about changing our flights if we wanted to. Eric called AA but we couldn’t get seats next to each other through Miami so we decided to stick with our normal routing. Apparently the plane was empty because we both got upgraded to First Class, ha. Flight was a bit bumpy and we landed early, but I got some sub-par bubbles out of the deal. Cooled our heels at JFK for 3 hours before boarding our overnight international flight.
JFK > EZE (AA, premium economy)
Our seats were 17A and 17C, surprisingly spacious, and I loved that it was just the two of us in a row. It took us a while to leave as the plane had to be de-iced and then we waited for a bit on the runway. The first hour or so was bumpy so they delayed meal service, which meant lights were on and people were chatty for longer. I attempted to eat some of the meal (Eric was sleeping) and managed to doze some. No trouble with immigration, it went pretty quick. No passport stamps though, boo.
AEP > BRC (JetSmart)
All of our intra-country flights were on JetSmart and it took us a bit to get the hang of how they do things. We didn’t check in ahead of time because we had prepaid for the special package that allowed us to print our passes at the airport. We arrived three hours before our flight and the line was chaotic. After talking to the staff, I was told to use the app, but I never found it. Instead, while standing in line, I managed to check us in via the website on my phone and download a PDF boarding pass. This turned out to be acceptable, so we headed up to security where my forgotten (full!) water bottle went through with no trouble. Eric got us into the PriorityPass lounge so we were able to relax for an hour before boarding. There was a separate boarding lane for group 1, which was nice, but we stood on the very hot jet bridge for nearly 15 minutes while the crew was doing who knows what. We had exit row seats which meant everything had to go up in the overhead bin but our carry-ons fit nicely and we had the middle seat open between us – bonus. This flight was also delayed about an hour.
Hertz Rental car @ Bariloche airport
Easy (but time consuming) pick-up experience. Apparently our first assigned car was huge – 7 seats! – so they moved us to something smaller, then after additional discussion upgraded us to a nicer, but still smaller than the original, car option. We were led directly to the car, which then changed again, and ultimately we ended up with a VW Taos – which is about the same size as my car back home, so perfect!
Returning the car at 7:15am was a bit hectic. I had to pull off the road past the parking area and send Eric to find a Hertz employee to advise us where to park. That guy wound up moving a car to free up a spot. We stood in line inside the terminal to drop off the keys, then waited another 10 minutes to get a thumbs up after another employee checked the car. Busier than expected at this hour!
The car handled all the gravel roads just fine, but Eric was about to lose his mind with the bluetooth interface – it was terrible!
BRC > IGR (JetSmart)
Got through security very quick, had to take out all electronics but not liquids. Flight was delayed about 30 minutes. Again, they started boarding group 1 and then left us on the jet bridge while the previous passengers were deplaning. Quick turnaround! Similar jet as last flight, no trouble storing all our bags as we were in the bulkhead for this flight too. Eric nicely switched to a middle seat so a guy and his wife could have the aisles across from each other. Upon landing we had to wait for the ramp to be repaired before we could disembark, which didn’t stop a bunch of people from getting up, getting their luggage out of the overhead bins and standing in the aisles?!
flying into city airport in Buenos Aires
There were no direct flights from Bariloche to Iguazu so we had a 5 hour layover in Buenos Aires to sit through. Spent about an hour in the lounge, then got an email that our flight was delayed an hour. We waited another two hours and when boarding time came, the official board finally showed the change. Flight itself was fine and we discovered via the tail number that we were on the exact same jet as this morning!
snacks in the Priority Pass lounge
landing at Iguazu airport at dusk
IGR > AEP (JetSmart)
We arrived to the airport early for our flight back to Buenos Aires and the airport was totally deserted. We spent a bunch of hours in a really nice lounge, and, again, the flight was delayed over an hour with no updates on the website, Google or in the airport. I am seeing a trend with JetSmart.
EZE > MIA (AA, premium economy)
We knew ahead of time that this flight was delayed an hour due to a late incoming jet, so we arrived at the airport about 3 hours early and confirmed that you can take liquids past security! That’s a first. Of course, this meant random liquid checks at the gate, because America. Thankfully we were able to access the lounge for about an hour before our flight, which meant we could have dinner and brush our teeth. Once on the plane we put our eye shades on and went to sleep right away, skipping the meal and drink service. Like the AA flight down, we had the same seats, 17A and 17C and a bit of a shorter flight into Miami. Unmemorable otherwise, with typical crowds during boarding.
FTL > RDU (Southwest)
The only flight that left on time! No notes. :)