Review flight to Mexico City with Aeromexico in business class
Aeromexico, SkyTeam partner carrier currently does not fly to Italy. The only European routes connecting Mexico City with [...]
Aeromexico
SkyTeam
MEX
Mexico
Brazil
Aeromexico, SkyTeam partner carrier currently does not fly to Italy. The only European routes connecting Mexico City with the old continent are from Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam and London.
In this article:
- Specifications
- Aircraft:
- B787/9
- Class:
- Business
- Treat:
- Mad - Mex
- Price:
- 166€
- Book
This flight was a key segment Of my first Miles run 2022. The complete itinerary consisted of 6 legs, 5 of which were aboard wide-body aircraft, departing from Barcelona to Madrid, from the Spanish capital to Mexico City the subject of this review, and the subsequent flight from Mexico City to São Paulo in Brazil.
The best bonuses
As I explained well in this article, all stemming from a truly discounted rate, not a mistake make But definitely something very close.
For less than €1,000, I was able to book a ticket that allowed me to accumulate Enough XP points to achieve Gold status in the Flying Blue loyalty program (thus also Elite plus in SkyTeam) until 2023 and thus have plenty of time to try to book a ticket in Air France's La Premiere in the coming months.
Reservation
I booked this trip through the travel portal of American Express. Not only because if you book on the portal you can accumulate Membership Rewards points, but mainly because should anything happen, the issue would be handled by the Amex travel office at 100%.
Effectively it went like this. A few days before Christmas I received a call from Amex informing me that one leg of my ticket had been cancelled. A few days later I was contacted again and, with the help of the travel office, resolved the problem.
Sometimes the ticket on the travel site costs a few tens of euros more, but unlike a traditional OTA you are assured that Amex will be on our side In solving any problem.
First leg, from Barcelona to Madrid
My journey began in Barcelona, where I checked in for my AirEuropa flight and headed immediately to the lounge.
This was the first surprise of the trip, I definitely did not expect such a lounge in an airport like Barcelona. Sure, we are talking about the second airport in Spain, but this lounge is superior to so many official lounges of many premium airlines.
My approach flight was aboard a 787/8. It's not every day you get to fly a domestic route in an aircraft of this size.
The Barcelona/Madrid is used not only by business commuters (like the Milan-Rome), but especially as a positioning flight for all passengers who will depart Madrid for intercontinental destinations.
The queue at the gate was impressive and the plane was practically full.
My first time with Aeromexico
The debut with this company was not the best. Traveling during pandemic times is not easy and certainly not stress free.
There are the restrictions, sudden changes in requirements, and above all, every nation has different rules, so ground staff have to update themselves all the time. Not to mention that the nationality of the traveler can also affect all this. And that's what happened to me.
Boarding on the 787/9, Aeromexico's flagship aircraft, began about ten minutes early. Passengers with Zone 1 tickets, i.e. business travelers and passengers with SkyPrioirty, were invited to board.
I was third in line. At the time of reading my bar code on the ticket. a red writing lit up on the screen: DO NOT BOARD
I have to admit that at that moment. I didn't bother, it had happened to me before. I thought the motivation was yet another recheck of the requirements: vaccination, swab and the Brazilian PLF.
Instead, after checking all these things, the gate attendant asked me, "Is it the electronic visa?" At that moment I started to worry. Many nations have instituted an electronic visa like ESTA in the U.S., but also Canada and recently the Korea have something similar.
I had done my homework and was not aware of any visa requirements for Brazil or Mexico. Instead, according to the staff at the gate, I was without a vital document. All this while about 400 people were in line behind me to board.
After about 10 minutes on the sidelines, while searching for information on the Internet, I went back to talk to the staff members and asked them to explain the name of the authorization I was missing. Without getting an answer.
At one point I was approached by a manager who said, "Your visa for Mexico is missing." I explained to her that I did not need a visa like all EU citizens. At that point she looked at me and said with my passport in hand, "But you are Brazilian, you must have a visa."
At that point I thought I was on a joke. I point out to the attendant that my passport, which she herself was holding, was Italian. She replied, "But do you also have a Brazilian passport?" I, increasingly dumbfounded, looked at her and simply said, "NO!"
"Let me check again, show me vaccination, swab and Brazilian PLF. Okay then you can go." Almost in disbelief and quite pissed off I headed for the plane..
On board
I have to admit, Aeromexico was never a company of my interest. Sure, I had done my usual checks before booking, but I had not delved into anything at all.
The only thing I tried to avoid was flying aboard the 787/8, the smaller version of the Dreamliner, because the business class cabin is much less comfortable than the one aboard this 787/9.
The configuration is 1-2-1, there are two cabins: the main one with 8 rows and then a second one with only two rows immediately behind the central door. This means that all passengers have direct access to the aisle, a key feature for a business class seat.
The seat is the same as British Airways mounts in its new long-haul cabin: the Club World Suite. Here However, it lacks the attention to detail that BA has and especially the door that turns the chair into a small suite Isolating it from the corridor.
I believe that among the many chairs available right now, this one (in BA's version) is one of the best in the world. On Aeromexico a little less beautiful, but still. Is a superior product to several companies like the old Delta One or Air France's new business class aboard A350s.
The pros of this configuration are also the cause of the cons. There is plenty of legroom, thanks to the fact that the seats are not alternating.
The con is that there is no place more isolated from the corridor, as is the case when the chairs are alternated.
The absence of the door makes all the difference, because there is a lack of privacy and especially you are exposed to the noise of the bustle in the hallway.
The other cons of this configuration is that One is not really close to the window, since the console is present where the rear passenger's legs go. This makes it less easy to look out and inconvenient to operate the buttons to darken the windows, which on Dreamliners are electric and not with the classic curtain.
In terms of storage space, we are almost at the top of the class. There are two enclosed compartments in the console. A larger one that contains the power outlet, a USB port, the remote control of the IFE, and the outlet where to connect headphones. A second smaller one, with a mirror inside as well, ideal for storing documents, wallet and your glasses.
There is a nice closed cockpit hidden inside the armrest of the seat. Armrest that can also be raised and becomes comfortable when converting the armchair into a bed.
There is then one last compartment in the central part of the console suitable for the beauty kit and other items you want to keep close by. Of course then there is a whole hat box for each passenger.
The chair is the same one used by BA, identical even the touch controller to operate the chair. No massage function, only tilting and lumbar support. But by tilting 180° it becomes a real bed.
As mentioned, when it turns into a bed legs are not sacrificed and there is plenty of room to move around.
Those who have already read my reviews know that For me, a small element is also crucial: the vents for individual ventilation. Here there are and there are two.
Business class passengers have access to 3 bathrooms: one in the front near the pilots' cabin and two in the back of the first business cabin. The latter are more spacious and have windows facing the engines on this 787.
One thing I am not so sure about the 787 is the electrically dimmable windows, it is much more convenient from the classic curtain since it allows you to decide independently how much light to let through, however, it does not completely darken the cabin. Appreciable that, unlike what other companies do, management here is not locked by the crew, but each passenger has free management of his or her own windows.
The service
The problem at the gate forced me to get to my seat last, when all the business passengers had already taken their seats, I immediately noticed that none of them were sipping the classic welcome cocktail, let alone refreshing their hands with a washcloth.
Nothing was offered before takeoff, a passenger asked for an explanation and the answer was categorical. We do not offer this service.
That on some aspects AM saves money is also clear from the fact that business class passengers are offered the Delta Premium branded amenity kit, or what the U.S. carrier offers to Comfort plus, premium economy passengers.
Instead, there was a plastic bag on the seat, at which point Delta itself announced that it would replace it with a washable bag for a plastic-free future on board. Inside the bag, there was a pillow and a quilt, as well as headphones for the in-flight entertainment system. Nothing exceptional and especially there was no sheet to cover the seat with.
Food & Beverage
Overnight routes like this generally feature fast service to allow passengers to get as much sleep as possible. In this case, however, the staff was in no hurry.
The menu is digital and can be viewed on the TV screen or on the remote control. To avoid surprises, I had already chosen what to eat from Aeromexico's website. The airline does not have like Singapore Airlines an extra menu where they select dishes, they simply give the possibility for the passenger to choose from the options provided for that particular trip within 24 hours of flight departure.
About 50 minutes after takeoff, dinner was served. Service is by cart, but not in a single tray. An appetizer and drink is served first.
A cheese plate accompanied with onion and grape jam and a slice of prosciutto with some warm bread and pickles.
For the main course I had reserved chicken with steamed vegetables, served along with a salad. I ended the dinner with ice cream for dessert.
During the flight, it was possible to serve yourself something to drink, make yourself a Nespresso coffee, or grab some snacks from the relaxation area located between the two business class cabins. It's not Virgin's loft, but still spacious enough to have a word with a few passengers. Bottles of rum, tequila, vodka and champagne were present, not just juices and soft drinks as with other companies.
About 60 minutes after landing, breakfast was served.. I opted for a classic omelet with bacon, some fresh fruit, yogurt and a mini croissant.
I have to say. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food on offer, far superior to Delta. Also the choice to do a real service instead of laying a tray with everything in it is a really appreciable choice.
IFE
The screen is large and touch, wanting to watch a program on the remote control and a different movie on the TV. But in this case it is not the medium that makes the difference as much as the content.
The supply is quite poor Both at the level of movies and TV series. The live TV function is present, but it was not working. There are no games or documentaries, just some music albums.
You cannot connect via Bluetooth to your own headphones and the feature that allows people to use their devices connected via wi-fi to the plane was not active.
No webcam to show what's going on outside and zero interactive system to see the route, simulated views from various angles of the plane. Just a map, not touch, with basic information.
Only thing of note the fact that from the remote control you can manage the electronic dimming of the windows, which is convenient because it saves you from having to engineer to use the manual button.
Onboard wi-fi offers the ability to use messaging apps for free (great thing) and two pay-as-you-go cuts for surfing: 180 mb at $19.85 or $39.95 for unlimited surfing the whole trip. Since it was an overnight flight, I opted to activate only texting, but the unlimited option at 39$ is very good for a flight of more than 11 hours.
In conclusion
This flight was a continuous succession of ups and downs, starting with the boarding scare. On the one hand, the seat is definitely a great product, but then you save on IFE content or by giving another company's beauty and what's more the one designed for premium economy. Same on service. You save with the welcome glass and then have a plate service that takes almost 90 minutes with very good products or put real bottles of super alcohol in the pantry.
As mentioned AM does not fly from Italy, Alitalia had tried to activate the connection from Rome Fiumicino without much luck. There are some routes operated by Neos to the more touristy area, but if you want to fly to the capital you have to choose a stopover between Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam or London. There is a lot of competition here, and price can make a big difference.
This is just one of many reviews you can read on our site, covid and restrictions permitting. Every Wednesday we publish a review of a lounge airport, while every Friday you can read the review of one of our flights or a hotel where we stayed.
Pro
- The gastronomic offerings
- The chair (although the door is missing)
- Free wifi to chat and stay reachable
Against
- Delta's premium economy beauty kit
- The in-flight entertainment system, which is too poor in content