[Flight Report] Flybondi FO5050/5051- Buenos Aires-Corrientes: Textbook Low Cost

The Argentine airline market was revolutionized when Flybondi arrived, adopting and embracing the whole «no frills» model. It was the first company to choose to call itself low-cost and to bear the weight -and the credit- of that choice. Today, in Argentina low-cost and Flybondi are synonyms. With all that this implies.

A few weeks ago, I scheduled a trip to Resistencia, Chaco, and the most sensible option – due to the proximity of dates and availability – was to fly to Corrientes with Flybondi. Considering the proximity of both cities (getting from the capital of Corrientes to the capital of Chaco took about half an hour) and the location of the Resistencia airport, it made sense.

The flight left the metropolitan Aeroparque on time: it shouldn’t be news per se, but the operator’s spate of cancellations and delays was at the center of the storm during the peak of the winter season. In this case, both the outbound and return flights went smoothly, operating as normal.

So that the normal does not become the exception, Flybondi will have to work on its tight schedule, which will have the double relief of the low season and the arrival of more aircraft, with the intention of closing the year with a 10-plane fleet.

For the outbound leg to Corrientes, we boarded the LV-HKN, the oldest Boeing 737-800 in Flybondi’s fleet, introduced in 2019. With almost 15 years and a past at Air Vanuatu and Jet Airways, the interior shows logical signs of age. Beyond that aesthetic detail, the seats are comfortable, and the interior space is not much different from other offerings in the segment.

We embarked in remote position in a quick process and through both doors. The boarding was quickly completed and we were able to start taxiing on schedule. A few minutes later, we were taking off from runway 13 heading south, then turning over the city and heading to the north of Argentina.

Shortly after reaching cruising altitude, the onboard service began, offering meals and beverages (individual or combo) at a more than affordable price. Purchases can only be made in cash.

The flight was uneventful and landed a few minutes before the scheduled time at the Corrientes airport. We deplaned quickly through both doors and the Corrientes terminal was surprisingly oddly designed with a small and crowded check-in hall and boarding area.

The return trip, on the LV-KAH, did not show any significant difference in relation to the outbound trip: fast boarding, on-time departure, uneventful flight. We landed at Aeroparque on runway 31, which allowed us to approach Jorge Newbery with a beautiful view of the city:

Deplaning was again swift, and the remote position allowed us to see some of the operations underway. A JetSMART Airbus A320 decided to steal some of the limelight as we stepped off the plane:

To sum up, the experience of these two flights with Flybondi is correct: it did what it was supposed to do, on time and without any problems. I highlight the friendliness of the crews, which add freshness to a product that needs that relaxed -although professional- atmosphere.

Years after starting operations, Flybondi continues to ask how many first travelers are on board each flight and hands continue to be raised. With a mix of new flyers and users who have been learning the characteristics of the low-cost model, the company that became a synonym of low cost maintains its relevance. And, in an extremely complex context, it continues to grow.