If you are flying Business Class with Aerolíneas Argentinas, KLM, Air France or another SkyTeam airline from Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport (EZE), there is a good chance you will find yourself in the Aerolíneas Argentinas Salón Cóndor before departure.
This is Aerolíneas Argentinas’ main international lounge at its home airport in Buenos Aires. On paper, it has most of the facilities you would expect from an airline lounge: plenty of seating, food and drinks, showers, work areas and even massage chairs.
But how good is the Aerolíneas Argentinas lounge at Ezeiza in practice?
I visited the Salón Cóndor while travelling through Buenos Aires, and while I found it a pleasant and remarkably peaceful place to wait for a flight, the overall experience falls some way short of the better international airline lounges I have visited in Europe.
Where is the Aerolíneas Argentinas Lounge at Ezeiza?
The Salón Cóndor is located airside at Buenos Aires Ministro Pistarini International Airport, better known as Ezeiza or EZE.
It is in Terminal C, opposite Gate 15, after security and immigration. According to SkyTeam, the lounge is currently open daily from 04:00 until midnight.
The lounge itself is large. Aerolíneas Argentinas states that it covers approximately 1,000 square metres, so finding somewhere to sit should rarely be difficult.
Who can access the Aerolíneas Argentinas Salón Cóndor?
One of the useful things about the Salón Cóndor is that it is not limited to passengers flying Aerolíneas Argentinas.
Complimentary access is available to passengers travelling in Business Class on SkyTeam member airlines, as well as eligible SkyTeam Elite Plus members. Aerolíneas Argentinas also provides access to passengers travelling internationally or regionally in its own Business Class or Premium Economy cabins, subject to its published eligibility rules.
That means, for example, that an eligible Business Class passenger travelling from Buenos Aires with KLM or Air France can use the Salón Cóndor before departure.
For travellers connecting through Buenos Aires on SkyTeam, this effectively makes it one of the most relevant lounges at EZE.
First impressions: surprisingly peaceful
The first thing that struck me was just how quiet the lounge was.
Buenos Aires Ezeiza can feel very different from the huge European hubs such as Amsterdam Schiphol, Paris Charles de Gaulle or Madrid Barajas. Depending on the time of day, international departures can be spread out enough that the terminal — and consequently the lounge — feels remarkably calm.
During my visit, the Salón Cóndor was almost empty.
For me, that was probably its greatest strength.
There is plenty of space between passengers, no need to hunt for a seat and none of the overcrowding that can turn otherwise excellent airport lounges into unpleasant places during peak periods.
Sometimes a lounge does not need to be spectacular to be enjoyable. Having a quiet place to sit before a long-haul flight has considerable value by itself.
Seating and lounge design
The Salón Cóndor looks perfectly respectable without feeling particularly luxurious.
There is a large amount of seating spread throughout different sections of the lounge, so you can choose between more conventional lounge chairs and areas better suited to working or relaxing.
Aerolíneas Argentinas also advertises dedicated coworking areas, a meeting room, children’s facilities, luggage storage, showers and flight-information screens.
Nothing about the main seating area particularly impressed me from a design perspective, but equally, there was little to complain about.
It is spacious, comfortable and functional.
And with so few passengers around during my visit, the space felt considerably more pleasant than the photographs alone might suggest.
The massage chairs are a nice surprise
One unusual feature is the lounge’s dedicated relaxation area.
Here you will find massage chairs, something Aerolíneas Argentinas itself lists as part of the Salón Cóndor’s relaxation facilities.
It is a small detail, but one I appreciated.
For passengers preparing for a long overnight flight to Europe or North America, having somewhere genuinely designed for relaxation is arguably more useful than another row of conventional lounge chairs.
It also gives the Salón Cóndor a little character of its own.
Food at the Salón Cóndor
This is where the lounge disappointed me.
Aerolíneas Argentinas describes the food area as offering a selection of cold and hot dishes together with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and coffee.
During my visit, however, the food selection was nothing to write home about.
There was enough available to have something small before the flight, but neither the variety nor the presentation made the buffet feel like the dining offering of a flagship international airline lounge.
And this becomes particularly noticeable when you compare it with some of the better airline lounges in Europe.
At lounges operated by airlines such as Iberia in Madrid, Air France in Paris or KLM in Amsterdam, food and drink are often a substantial part of the experience.
At the Salón Cóndor, I saw the food primarily as something convenient rather than something worth arriving early at the airport for.
Interestingly, limited food has also been a recurring criticism in older independent reviews of the lounge, although the exact offering naturally changes over time.
Drinks
There is a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, coffee and other refreshments.
Again, I would describe the overall experience as adequate rather than premium.
Everything you need is there, but the food and beverage offering was not the reason I enjoyed this lounge.
The space and quiet atmosphere were.
How does it compare with KLM, Air France and Iberia lounges?
This is where expectations matter.
If you arrive expecting something comparable with KLM’s Crown Lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol, Iberia’s flagship lounges at Madrid Barajas or the better Air France lounges at Paris CDG, you may come away disappointed.
In my experience, those lounges feel significantly more polished, particularly when it comes to food, presentation and the overall premium experience.
The Salón Cóndor is much simpler.
But there is a twist.
I have visited much more impressive lounges that were so crowded that actually relaxing in them became difficult. During my visit to Ezeiza, I had an enormous amount of space almost to myself.
And for some travellers, a quiet, comfortable lounge beats a beautiful but overcrowded one.
That is arguably the Salón Cóndor’s biggest advantage.
Is the Aerolíneas Argentinas Lounge at EZE good?
I would describe it as a decent rather than exceptional lounge.
It has most of the fundamentals right:
- lots of seating and a spacious layout
- a very quiet atmosphere during my visit
- massage chairs and relaxation areas
- showers and work facilities
- food and drinks
- convenient access for eligible SkyTeam passengers
The weakness is the food offering and, more generally, the lack of the premium feeling that you get in some of the better flagship lounges around the world.
I would happily spend an hour or two here before a flight.
I simply would not arrive at Ezeiza several hours early specifically to experience it.
Final verdict
The Aerolíneas Argentinas Salón Cóndor at Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport is a good example of a lounge whose biggest strength is not luxury, but tranquillity.
It is spacious, comfortable and — at least during my visit — remarkably quiet.
The massage chairs are a welcome addition, there is no shortage of seating and it provides a considerably more pleasant environment than waiting at the gate.
Food is its biggest weakness. Compared with flagship lounges operated by airlines such as KLM, Iberia or Air France, the overall experience feels fairly basic.
But if you already have access through an eligible SkyTeam Business Class ticket or status, there is little reason not to use it.
My verdict: a perfectly decent lounge, and an especially good place to escape the terminal and relax — just don’t arrive expecting world-class dining.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Aerolíneas Argentinas lounge at Ezeiza called?
The Aerolíneas Argentinas lounge at Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport is called the Salón Cóndor.
Where is the Salón Cóndor at EZE?
It is located airside in Terminal C, opposite Gate 15 at Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport.
Can KLM Business Class passengers use the Aerolíneas Argentinas lounge at EZE?
Eligible Business Class passengers travelling with SkyTeam airlines can access the Salón Cóndor under Aerolíneas Argentinas’ published access rules. KLM is a SkyTeam member.
Can Air France Business Class passengers use the lounge?
Yes, eligible Air France Business Class passengers departing EZE can use the Salón Cóndor under the published SkyTeam access rules.
Does the Aerolíneas Argentinas lounge at EZE have showers?
Yes. Aerolíneas Argentinas lists showers among the facilities available in the Salón Cóndor.
Does the Salón Cóndor have massage chairs?
Yes. There is a relaxation area with massage chairs, one of the more unusual amenities in the lounge.
What are the Salón Cóndor opening hours?
SkyTeam currently lists the lounge as open daily from 04:00 to 00:00. Lounge hours can change, so it is worth checking before travelling.