I've flown AM on several intra-Mexico and MEX-NRT/PVG/EZE routings and find them to be quite good. The FAs are extremely friendly and always give excellent service. The food is of high quality, even if I think the breakfasts are a little skimpy. I am more of a savoury breakfast man, not into the sweets and AM seems to go overboard with the sweet pastries and fruits. I have never flown on an ancient plane, although the 767s are not my favourite.
My one time on MX was not memorable. The plane didn't even have a C class cabin. FAs were friendly, however Terminal 1 at MEX is horrible. AM with the new Terminal 2 is amazing and the lounges are really cool! AM all the way if you have a choice between AM and MX.
Both airlines are great. The only bad thing about AM is its frequent flyer program that charges tons of money for free tickets (yes, sometimes it is cheaper to by a normal ticket MEX-GDL than paying with miles, as you´ll wate miles and pay the same). But if you credit your miles to DL or AF, then no problem. Their 777 product is the best, but 737´s do middle and short haul trips with confort. So, if you avoid its FF Program, you ll get a hot meal plus free alcohol.
As for MX, also great product. Try to avoid the A320´s, as those are the older in the fleet, but A319 and A318 are great for middle haul flights. Also, credit miles to AA, as they do not have a great FF Product and never have availability as AAdvantage has. As an example, I will be flying MX to MAD next month for $300 USD all in round trip, and I will be crediting the 12,000 miles to AA, as E fares earn miles with AA. No one knows exactly when they will be One World, as some say April and MX is discontinuiong E fares until 1 of May. Also, you ll get hot meal and free alcohol with them and a confortable seat.
So if you avoid both FF Programs, you are good traveling with both. My recomendation will be, go with PRICE. If they are the same, then flip a coin.
Both airlines are great. The only bad thing about AM is its frequent flyer program that charges tons of money for free tickets (yes, sometimes it is cheaper to by a normal ticket MEX-GDL than paying with miles, as you´ll wate miles and pay the same). But if you credit your miles to DL or AF, then no problem. Their 777 product is the best, but 737´s do middle and short haul trips with confort. So, if you avoid its FF Program, you ll get a hot meal plus free alcohol.
As for MX, also great product. Try to avoid the A320´s, as those are the older in the fleet, but A319 and A318 are great for middle haul flights. Also, credit miles to AA, as they do not have a great FF Product and never have availability as AAdvantage has. As an example, I will be flying MX to MAD next month for $300 USD all in round trip, and I will be crediting the 12,000 miles to AA, as E fares earn miles with AA. No one knows exactly when they will be One World, as some say April and MX is discontinuiong E fares until 1 of May. Also, you ll get hot meal and free alcohol with them and a confortable seat.
So if you avoid both FF Programs, you are good traveling with both. My recomendation will be, go with PRICE. If they are the same, then flip a coin.
Not cool. I am flying GDL/LAX MX in Jul/Aug, and it's 320 I'm flying.
Not cool. I am flying GDL/LAX MX in Jul/Aug, and it's 320 I'm flying.
Do not worry my friend, MX swaps aircrafts a lot more than any other airline. They claim they have this program that allouds them to put the correct aircraft in the correct day for the correct route. So, you might end up flying an A319 or A318. If loads are really low, it will be the A318.
I agree with Carlitos, both MX and AM FF charge a lot of money for free tickets, and you have to purchase your award tickets with several months in advance to have availability.
AM business class (premier) is a little bit more comfortable that MX business.
Coach class is by far better in MX than in AM, although some MX need remodeling, you have more room than in AM airplanes, unless you are flying in AM 777, which in that case coach is very comfortable.
AM has more flights to Europe and Asia than MX, but MX with the new alliance to Oneworld is starting to have routes to Europe.
As for upgrades MX in way better than AM, with MX most of the time you can get a upgrade as with AM you rarely get updates.
I agree with Carlitos, both MX and AM FF charge a lot of money for free tickets, and you have to purchase your award tickets with several months in advance to have availability.
AM business class (premier) is a little bit more comfortable that MX business.
Coach class is by far better in MX than in AM, although some MX need remodeling, you have more room than in AM airplanes, unless you are flying in AM 777, which in that case coach is very comfortable.
AM has more flights to Europe and Asia than MX, but MX with the new alliance to Oneworld is starting to have routes to Europe.
As for upgrades MX in way better than AM, with MX most of the time you can get a upgrade as with AM you rarely get updates.
Programs: UA 1K, GM everywhere else. "Yes, I do belong in this line even though I don't look the part".
Posts: 2,546
MX First Time Observations
I just returned from a trip with my family from Mexico and it was my first ever experience on MX so I thought I'd share some observations (I have not ever flown AM so no comparisons here).
We flew MIA-MEX-OAX and OAX-MEX-CUN-MIA on the return (both ways in Y).
Booking - I booked the tickets a couple months in advance and booked the cheapest fares I could find at the time (~$360/person RT AI). I was able to select seats for all four of us online after making the reservations and the assignments were never changed.
Check-In - Check-in at MIA was painless and quick (we got there ~T-Minus 2.5 hours). Check-in at OAX was painless as well, but the line was rather long (got there ~T-Minus 90 min). We had no issues with baggage fees even though our bags were each slightly overweight on the return.
Service - On-Board service was good - being accustomed to the cutbacks on legacy US carriers (*cough* *cough* United *cough* *cough*) I was surprised when I didn't have to pay for a beer and doubly surprised when a hot meal was offered on the MIA-MEX leg. FA's were happy to serve a hefty shot of Cazadores Tequila alongside my Tecate as well. On the return flights (MEX-CUN and CUN-MIA) we got snackboxes with a cold sandwich and some candy. The Fokker flights (<1 hour) yielded drinks (alcohol = beer only) and peanuts.
Baggage - Upon returning to MIA, one of our four checked bags was missing. The lone MX baggage employee was young and not very helpful. We had lost our claim tags in CUN (they were attached to the back of a BP which was collected after we were annoyingly deplaned and then re-boarded after a pathetic excuse for a hand baggage check by security) and he was asserting that there was nothing he could do without them. After much persuasion he finally looked at the tag numbers on our existing bags and took a BP stub. We filed a claim and the bag was delivered to our hotel early the next morning. This would have been a complete non-issue had the agent assisting us been more experienced/cooperative.
Boarding Process - This was a complete nightmare and was the *worst* boarding experience I've ever had on any airline and in any country/airport. It was best in MIA where the agents called for First class and MX elites just after pre-boarding completed, and continued by boarding the plane by row, rear to front. Unfortunately, it was a complete stampede as soon as the show got underway. The worst was in OAX, where there was no order whatsoever. We asked the agent about pre-boarding my MIL as she has a hard time with the steps on the Fokker 100 and was told it wouldn't be a problem. They pre-boarded a man in a wheelchair, but never made a formal announcement or called my MIL up (not that we could've heard them as the PA system was terrible). In CUN, they asked those continuing on to MIA to remain on the plane, only to request we deplane with our handbags. Once at the gate, they collected our immigration stubs and marked our names off a printout. Then we waited for twenty minutes as the plane was cleaned, then we had to have our bags hand screened (which was a joke), and then we were allowed to re-board before the other px. It seemed overly complex considering there was only about 20 of us who were continuing on from MEX.
I know I am spoiled by elite boarding with UA, but all of this was ridiculous.
***Some notes about connecting in MEX***
This may just be particular to MEX and not a MX issue, but I have no other experience connecting there so I am mentioning it here...it was not fun.
Upon arriving in MEX on both the outbound and inbound flights, there was no gate yet assigned for our connection. On the outbound this was initially understandable as our layover was 3.5+ hours. However we didn't find out the actual gate until less than 20 minutes before the scheduled boarding time. As we were traveling with my mother-in-law who is 62 and doesn't exactly move as swiftly as a gazelle, this made things a little stressful. The screens were confusing, and there never seemed to be a consensus on where we should go go from agent-to-agent. This was the 2nd worst part of the trip, behind the actual boarding process itself (see above).
__________________ "Pardon me Matron...but do you have any Grey Coupon?"
Thanks for the report.
I'd chime in that the particular items you mention (boarding process and transferring in MEX) are identical between AM and MX, based on your experience and mine.
MX First Time Observations
On the return flights (MEX-CUN and CUN-MIA) we got snackboxes with a cold sandwich and some candy. The Fokker flights (<1 hour) yielded drinks (alcohol = beer only) and peanuts.
"Pardon me Matron...but do you have any Grey Coupon?"
