How long does Aerolíneas Argentinas take to refund money?

The refund is requested through the airline's online booking management, its call center, or, if the ticket was bought through a travel agency, from that agency, since it holds the issuance. That detail matters: a ticket sold by an intermediary is refunded through the same channel, adding one more administrative step to the money's journey.

The actual timeline depends on two linked processes. The first is the time the airline takes to authorize the refund once the fare conditions have been checked. The second, which passengers often overlook, is the time taken by the payment method's issuer: when the payment was made by credit card, the credit appears on the statement for the month following processing, so the wait stretches to several weeks even if the airline approved it right away.

Not all fares are refundable. Promotional fares usually only allow the refund of taxes and fees, while flexible fares allow recovering the full amount or applying a penalty. When the cancellation is the airline's responsibility, the passenger is entitled to a full refund with no penalty, plus the assistance required by regulations.

It's worth keeping the case number and all receipts. If the refund doesn't arrive within a reasonable time, the complaint can be escalated to Argentina's aviation authority, which runs a user assistance channel for air transport, and in parallel the consumer protection route can also be pursued.