Andes Líneas Aéreas

Andes Líneas Aéreas is one of those airlines you don’t spot by schedule but with a bit of luck and a watchful eye on the tracker. The small Argentine company from Salta has an eventful history behind it: MD-80 jets in the early years, scheduled flights across the country, several crises, a restart with the Boeing 737 and a reorganization completed in 2026. Here you will learn how to classify Andes and what to look out for when one of its aircraft crosses your path.

Andes Líneas Aéreas at a glance

Andes Líneas Aéreas is an Argentine airline that was founded in December 2005 in Salta in the northwest of the country. On June 20, 2006, it began flight operations – with a connection between Salta and Buenos Aires. In the following years, more scheduled routes from Buenos Aires were added, including to Puerto Madryn in Patagonia, to San Salvador de Jujuy and to Córdoba.

In parallel, Andes built a second pillar that still defines the airline today: charter flights. For Argentine tour operators, Andes flew vacationers to Brazil and the Caribbean, for schools and travel agencies the popular graduation trips to Bariloche, and big soccer clubs like River Plate, Boca Juniors and San Lorenzo used Andes aircraft for their away trips.

Unlike the state-owned Aerolíneas Argentinas, Andes was never a network carrier with a hub and connecting flights. The airline stayed small, flexible and heavily dependent on the charter business – with all the pros and cons that brings in an economically volatile country like Argentina.

Codes and callsigns

• ICAO code ANS: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on most flight trackers. This is the most important code for Andes, because charter flights often run under the ICAO callsign.
• Callsign AEROANDES: how the crew identifies itself on the radio.
• IATA code O4: is listed for the airline but plays a smaller role in the charter business than at scheduled airlines whose flights are sold through booking systems.

How the two code systems relate is explained in the article IATA and ICAO codes explained. And why flight number and callsign are not the same thing, you can read in Callsign vs. flight number – with Andes this is especially relevant, because the airline also flies on behalf of other companies.

The history: from Salta into crisis and back

2006 to 2016: building up with the MD-80

In its first years, Andes flew jets of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 family. The twin-engine jets with tail-mounted engines were widespread in South America at the time, comparatively cheap to get used and robust enough for routes into the interior. Andes’ MD-80 fleet also included the MD-83, the version with a higher takeoff weight and longer range.

At times, according to Spanish-language sources roughly between 2010 and 2012, regional jets of the Bombardier CRJ900 type supplemented the fleet. Economically this period was not easy: a large part of the business depended on graduation trips to Bariloche, and when the ash of Chile’s Puyehue volcano paralyzed Bariloche airport for months in 2011, it hit Andes hard.

2017: expansion and the first Boeing 737

After the change of government at the end of 2015, Argentina opened its air travel market more. Andes seized the opportunity: in February 2017, the aviation authority ANAC granted the airline permits for numerous domestic and international routes, including destinations like São Paulo, Santiago de Chile and Lima. In the same year, Andes flew seasonally to Mar del Plata and resumed the Buenos Aires–Córdoba and Buenos Aires–Mendoza connections.

In May 2017, the first aircraft of a new generation arrived: a Boeing 737-800 with the registration LV-GWL. Built in the early 2000s, the aircraft had previously served in Malaysia, including for Malaysia Airlines, and came to Argentina with 189 seats in an all-economy configuration. That began the transition from the MD-80 to the 737 – at first as a mixed fleet.

2018 to 2022: pauses, debt, restart

From 2018, Andes ran into difficulties. The devaluation of the peso made the dollar-denominated lease contracts more expensive, low-cost airlines like Flybondi pushed into the market with low fares, and outstanding receivables from the province of Chubut strained the finances. In fall 2019, operations came to a standstill for a time; only after the Chubut provincial government released a payment to the airline did Andes resume flights on November 9, 2019.

With the COVID pandemic, the next interruption came in 2020. Andes ceased operations and went through insolvency proceedings. Toward the end of 2022, the airline returned – this time without the MD-80 and without a regular scheduled timetable, but as a charter airline with the Boeing 737.

2025 and 2026: small 737 fleet and reorganization

In 2025, Andes flew with two 737-800s and additionally took over Boeing 737-700s that had previously flown for Ecuador’s Equair and before that for KLM. In May 2026, the industry portal ch-aviation reported that Andes had completed a formal corporate reorganization. In addition, a wet lease agreement with Flybondi became known in 2026: Andes provides Boeing 737-800s including crew for flights of the low-cost airline.

The fleet: formerly MD-80, now 737

Type	Period	Seats	Status	Spotter tip
McDonnell Douglas MD-80 family (including the MD-83)	from 2006	–	historic	Tail-mounted engines, T-tail – photos from this time are rarities today
Bombardier CRJ900	at times around 2010–2012	–	historic	Regional jet, also with tail-mounted engines
Boeing 737-800	since 2017	189	active (a few aircraft)	Backbone of today’s charter fleet
Boeing 737-700	since 2025	–	active	Shorter version, formerly Equair

Today’s fleet is manageable and consists of a few aircraft. For spotters that is rather an advantage: if you know all the active Andes registrations, you quickly have the airline complete in your logbook. The manufacturer of today’s aircraft is Boeing, while the MD-80 family comes from McDonnell Douglas.

737-800 or 737-700? How to tell them apart

Both types belong to the Boeing 737 Next Generation and look very similar at first glance. The difference lies mainly in length – and from that follow a few details you can also spot in photos from a distance.

The number of overwing exits is the most reliable feature. You will find an overview of all 737 generations – from the Original series to the MAX – in the guide Telling the Boeing 737 Original, Classic, NG and MAX apart.

How to recognize Andes

Since Andes today flies almost exclusively Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft, the type alone helps you little – there are 737s at several airlines in Argentina. Three things are decisive:

How Argentine and other registrations are structured is explained in the article Understanding aircraft registrations.

Where Andes flies: typical missions

Andes has specialized in jobs that large scheduled airlines don’t take on, or take on only reluctantly. Typical missions – partly from earlier years, partly from 2025 reporting – include:

• Graduation trips: The trips of Argentine school leavers to Bariloche have been an important business since the early years.
• Sports charters: Soccer clubs fly with Andes to away matches, including in the Copa Libertadores – in April 2025, an Andes 737-800 took an Argentine club to a match in Quito, for example.
• Corporate charters: Companies book entire aircraft for events, including abroad.
• Filling in for other airlines: Andes provides capacity for companies that are short of aircraft – as with Flybondi.
• Tour operators: Vacation charters, formerly for example to the Brazilian coast, to Punta del Este and to the Caribbean as far as Varadero in Cuba.

The difference between such flights and classic scheduled service is explained in the article Charter flight vs. scheduled flight.

Spotting Andes: practical tips

In Europe you will almost never get to see Andes. The airline flies in Argentina and on charter routes in South America and the Caribbean. If you are in Buenos Aires, you have the best chances at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery and at Ezeiza International Airport. Charter destinations like Bariloche are also worthwhile during graduation trip season.

Because there is no fixed schedule, a flight tracker is your most important tool. How to read ADS-B data sensibly is shown in the guide to flight tracking for spotters. And if you are on your way to South America: besides Andes, JetSMART Argentina and the history of airlines like Austral or LAPA are also worthwhile in Argentina.

Common mix-ups

• Taking Andes for a scheduled airline – today Andes mainly flies charter; there is no fixed scheduled timetable.
• Taking every Argentine 737 for Andes – Flybondi and Aerolíneas Argentinas also fly 737s. The registration decides.
• Equating the flight number with the operating airline – on a wet lease, an Andes aircraft can fly under a foreign flight number.
• Still expecting MD-80s – the MD-80 family belongs to the airline’s history; the fleet today consists of 737s.
• Mixing up the 737-700 and 737-800 – count the emergency exits over the wing.
• Confusing Andes with “LATAM” or Chilean airlines – the name refers to the Andes mountains; the airline is Argentine.

Conclusion

Andes Líneas Aéreas is a piece of Argentine aviation history in miniature: launched in 2006 in Salta with MD-80 jets, grown with scheduled and charter flights, slowed down several times by crises and returned as a charter specialist with the Boeing 737. For spotters, the airline is a real rarity – few aircraft, no fixed schedule, changing assignments. If you catch an Andes 737, above all do one thing: note the registration.