Had a decent sleep in in Mexico City before getting up on the earlier side to go out and run. I really don't like running in the morning, but with a redeye flight this evening there was definitely no other choice. Could I get breakfast and such first? Sure, but who wants to run on a full sloshing stomach...it reminds me of being a kid when your parents wouldn't let you go in the pool/lake/ocean right after eating. Anyways, I digress. Run was pretty terrible since you really have to watch out for the uneven sidewalks in CDMX. This, combined with the rather high altitude and general poor air quality makes running in Mexico City very unpleasant...but after a few turns I found the streets completely empty...and I was able to run in the streets since there were no cars or people...and when I turned the next corner I realized why: there was some giant protest march going on, and there were literally thousands of people in the streets and hundreds of riot police....ok....time to go back the way I came! Finished up the run and went to get some coffee. At least I thought I did...idk who this Justin guy is: (side note: the tres quesos sandwich at Mexican Starbucks really slaps every cheese-loving bone in my body)
Flight was on the earlier side, and Mexico City traffic can be super unpredictable, so after a bit of coffee and relax I packed up and headed off to the airport. I couldn't get Aeromexico online checkin to add my frequent flier number (the entire point of this trip) so wanted to be there extra early since I'd been seeing reports from others online that Aeromexico was proving to be one of the trickier airlines in the challenge.
Traffic wasn't bad, and soon I found myself at the checkin area...me and a lot of amazing artwork:
Check-in area for Aeromexico priority was super empty, and the agent was mildy confused at first...since SK had recently joined Skyteam she didn't know their code or how to add them, but when I shared the tip from FT to add as
SK*EBBnumber she tried that and...success!
Super easy security and it was off to the AmEx Centurion Lounge for some pre-flight nourishment. Why not the Aeromexico lounge? I've been in it before and while it was perfectly fine, and I'd normally be plenty happy to have it, Mexico City is one of those places where AmEx really shines...especially as a Centurion holder. Mexico City is one of the few locations where AmEx separates platinum and centurion holders into different lounges, and both have the same extensive menu...with the main difference being (from what I understand) that in Centurion the entire menu is on offer gratis while the main lounge pays a la carte for menu service. Correct me if I'm wrong?
Decided to start off with a delicious mezcalita:
Then moved onto the guacamole with pork rinds. I thought the added jalapeņos might be too much, but it was the perfect right level of spice:
I was trying to keep things SLIGHTLY lighter since I'd be eating on the plane, but couldn't resist finishing with some tacos. It was Tuesday after all, and I was in Mexico, so it's practically mandatory:
By this point I'd definitely had enough, but my lovely assistant was having none of it. I was "forced" to finish with the vanilla flan. Also, I swear that's the same mezcalita in all the pictures. There definitely wasn't more than one:
Hands down some of the best airport lounge food I've had anywhere in the world. Only places that even come close are the Lufthansa First lounges, Emirates First, and perhaps Qatar First. Someone needs to sponsor me to fly Air France La Premiere so I can compare. The best part:
For the quality it would have been insanely reasonably priced at the $65 on the check, but as noted by the stamp...it was gratis and you just had to sign for it. Definitely working on getting my annual fee's worth! Got to the gate just in the nick of time, and boarding commenced less than five minutes later.
Aeromexico flight 1
Mexico City, Mexico (MEX) to Madrid, Barajas, Spain (MAD)
Depart 18:05, Arrive: 11:30, flight time: 10 hours 25 minutes
Boeing 787-9, Registration N446AM, Manufactured 2018, Seat 01J
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 198,050
Lifetime Miles Flown: 3,237,947
Flight number one is always a good excuse to fly an airline:
This wasn't my first time on Aeromexico, and I'd even been on their 787-9 before, but this would be my first true longhaul on it. My previous experience was from JFK to Mexico City, and that was about a five hour daytime flight so I'm much less fussy about the seat. This would be a good chance to put it to the test with over ten hours of flight time. First impression of the seat: good privacy, lots of room, and overall very positive.
The crew was lovely during the entire flight, and although English skills were a notch below fluency (understandable given the route), they scored extra points with me for tolerating my terrible Spanish and letting me practice. Perfect balance of being attentive without intrusive as well, and any requests (including one time where I had to ring the call button to find someone) were always met with smiles. The most confusing thing? I couldn't find an amenity kit anywhere, and I just assumed there wasn't one...until I found it a couple hours before landing. I always travel with my own eye shade and earplugs regardless, so it wasn't a big deal. Ironically, the eye mask was wonderful in the kit and it's since become my default!
The menu only showed the main courses, but you were left to assume there might be more:
My assumption was proved right when the starter came out along with a cheese plate. Air France does this as well and I always find it a bit odd getting your cheese course before your main course, but I'm no expert on fine dining!
This was followed shortly by the main course. I've pretty much stopped eating red meat, especially on planes (the joys of getting older), so went with the chicken which was pretty tasty. Not too dry as it often is on a plane, and a decent amount of flavor.
Finally a bit of ice cream to round things off. You'll never catch me turning down dulce de leche!
From there it was time to pass out...and I was thrilled to get a solid six hours of uninterrupted sleep across the ocean. I don't know what it is about the 787-9, but it's the only plane where I can reliably sleep six or more hours....and several times to South African and Singapore eight plus hours! Went to explore a little bit after waking up, and saw something I've never seen on a plane before...a self-service bar and coffee machine!
Made myself a double espresso to wake up, and soon we were on approach to Madrid. My overall impression of Aeromexico was super positive. The seat is one of the best ones out there for my personal tastes, and the crew, service, and soft product were also well above anything US-based and most European airlines offer. Perhaps it's my years of bias growing up in the US, but even after dozens of work trips to Mexico and having several Mexican colleagues my brain still equates Mexico with lower cost and lowered standards. Logically, I'm aware this isn't the case, but it's interesting how our unconscious biases can play into our daily actions. Being aware is the first step... Anyways, bravo to Aeromexico and thanks for getting this trip off to a great start. Three airlines down, twelve more to go!
Not going to bore you with too many details from Madrid. I'd managed to book this trip as an 18+ hour overnight connection so I'd have time to rest and recover. I know lots of folks had to rush through this challenge, but I had the luxury of time on my side so decided to treat my aging body! Went for a nice long 5k run through Madrid, and of course there were patatas bravas!
I had a super early morning coming up, so managed to get myself to bed by 10pm, which wasn't easy given I'd slept well on the plane and my body only thought it was 4pm, but I managed. Air Europa was a real challenge to find out if my SAS number was on the record...and that's when someone told me about the "info" button in Apple Wallet. The little letter i in a circle that when you click it shows more information about the mobile pass. Boom, there it was!
Was up at 4:30 in the morning to head to the airport for a 7am flight. Definitely earlier than was needed, but I had no idea what kind of a zoo Madrid might be in the morning and I couldn't risk missing this flight and throwing off the whole itinerary. In reality, it turned out to be a piece of cake. There was a dedicated security lane/channel for business/vip and there was absolutely nobody in it. I think I was Uber to lounge in under 10 minutes...the coffee machine was amazing and I slowly started to do something resembling coming back to life after barely six hours of sleep. The flight was showing completely sold out in all classes on ExpertFlyer, so I made sure to be at the gate in plenty of time to board early. I was a little surprised to see a 787 on this route and kept expecting it to change, but it worked out well!
Air Europa flight 1091
Madrid, Barajas, Spain (MAD) to Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS)
Depart 07:05, Arrive: 09:40, flight time: 2 hours 23 minutes
Boeing 787-9, Registration EC-OEM, Manufactured 2020, Seat 01A
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 198,957
Lifetime Miles Flown: 3,238,854
First impression of the seat? Extremely similar to the one on Aeromexico, and I was definitely pleased with it...especially for such a short flight.
The crew did give off a bit of a stressed low-cost carrier vibe, but overall no complaints. I had pretty low expectations for this flight, and they were definitely exceeded. One notable element was the Wifi, which at 5 euros for the entire flight was a solid value. Especially in the breakfast department. Fresh fruit almost on a fresh southeast Asia freshness, eggs with chicken in a covered cast iron (I think?) cooker, and a bread "basket." Very impressive!
Not too much else to say. I was a bit stressed on this flight because I'd booked a same-day connection to SAS in Amsterdam with only 90 minutes in between, so any little delay had the potential to really throw things off. Fortunately, everything went extremely smoothly and soon we were on approach to Amsterdam. More to come from Amsterdam in the next part!