American Airlines has stopped accepting the Argentine peso, and now the carrier displays all prices on its website for tickets from Argentina in US dollars. This change is happening as a result of the increasing instability in the Argentine economy and the recent devaluation of the peso.
Last December, Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, reduced the value of the peso by 50% in an attempt to combat rampant inflation that has been at the heart of the country’s economic crisis. Inflation recently reached a high of 160%, and as a result, around 810 Argentine pesos are now needed to buy one US dollar. During his election campaign, President Milei did not hide his desire to close the Central Bank of Argentina and move towards the use of the US dollar.
Simple Flying has contacted American Airlines for a comment. This is not the first time that the airline has halted accepting the Argentine peso. According to The Messenger, the company temporarily suspended payments in pesos in 2015, citing exchange rate issues with the US dollar.
There are up to five daily flights from the United States to Buenos Aires.
American Airlines operates flights to Buenos Aires (EZE) from two of its hub airports on a permanent basis: New York (JFK) and Miami (MIA), and seasonally from Dallas (DFW). The oneworld member uses its Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft on these routes, which have a capacity of between 234 and 304 passengers, depending on the configuration. Prior to the pandemic, the airline also flew from Los Angeles (LAX) to the capital of Argentina. Currently, American Airlines connects Buenos Aires with New York daily and with Miami three times a day.
The airline faces competition on its New York route from Delta Air Lines and Aerolineas Argentinas, and on its Miami route from Aerolineas Argentinas. Argentina’s flag carrier flies with its Airbus A330-200 with 272 seats on this route, of which there are currently ten in its fleet, according to ch-aviation, with an average age of 12.9 years. Other long-distance routes operated by the airline from Buenos Aires include Madrid, Punta Cana, Cancun, and Havana.
Last year, Aerolíneas Argentinas once again achieved profits and transported more passengers than ever before (a total of 16 million). However, it remains to be seen what impact the peso devaluation will have on this SkyTeam member company. Since assuming office on December 10th, President Milei has shown support for the aviation industry in Argentina, with plans to implement an Open Skies policy and privatize Aerolíneas Argentinas.
