Lufthomie

I have a flight at the end of Oct, Thursday the 29th. Business class.
1st question, our flight arrives at either 1150 or 1250. We are taking flight 501 out of PHX non stop.
On my AA app it shows us arriving at 1250 but on my iPhone calendar today I received a notification that we arrive at 1150. The flight has a duration of 3:15 hours. Which one is it?

Secondly, should I expect long wait times at customs and immigration for either of those times?

What I'm hoping for is to get a better sense of our arrival scenario from someone who has been there recently or who knows MEX well.
I'm trying to coordinate travel times from MEX to our AirBnB and plan dinner for my cousins birthday that afternoon evening.
Thanks for any advice you can give
T

Section 107

It is a time-zone issue. The flight is scheduled to arrive at 12:50pm LOCAL time (meaning at 12:50pm Mexico City time).

It is easy to get confused because parts of arizona do not follow daylight savings time and Mexico adjusts for DST using different dates than the US.

Considering reduced flight loads and no particular issues, your time in MEX passport control and customs should be quite brief - 30 minutes or less. I have traveled through there in peak holiday season with multiple flights with full loads being processed at the same time and the wait has not been more than 40 minutes.

I think if you plan with the expectation of leaving the airport 1 hour after arrival you should be just fine.

Lufthomie

Thanks for clearing that up, It makes sense now. I'm thinking we should be at our bnb between 1500-1530. That gives us plenty of time to unwind before we meet with family that evening. Cheers!

Tanic

Keep checking with AA frequently. They have suspended nonstops between PHX and MEX. A connection could add several hours.

Lufthomie

I just checked and Yes AA canceled my non stop and now we have to connect through DFW and arrive 3 hours later. This sucks!

Lufthomie

So my OCD is kicking in, booking has been changed and now we are AA1887 from PHX-DFW, Then AA 2350 DFW-MEX. I realize these changes are all taking place at the end of Oct ( the new routes) but would anyone care to surmise which terminal we will be arriving at DFW and what terminal we will be leaving for MEX? I am not familiar with DFW. Our layover in DFW is only an hour. I think I actually feel better just asking for advice.

SK AAR

Maybe you should reconsider traveling to Mexico now/in Oct? Due to increasing number of infected persons Mexico doesn't seem to be place that you want to spend your vacation at. Just my cents.

Airbnb in CDMX? Hotels rates are quite cheap so why do you bother and take the risk of staying at an Airbnb place?

Lufthomie

Because I choose to go. I work LE and have already had C-19 in March as did most of the officers in my dept. The CDC states C-19 will be with us for a while and we have to learn to live with it. I practice universal precautions to the extreme in my daily life. The time of year I am going, hotels are raising their rates for Dia de los muertos. Where I stay is my choice not yours. I don't mean to be gruff but I will live my life, in my line of work you never know if your coming home at the end of your shift.

JDiver

Lufthomie The greatest chances are you’ll arrive in Terminal C or possibly Terminal A. The México flight is most likely to depart international terminal D, but has been known to occasionally depart A. On the return you’ll arrive in D for sure, depart C or possibly A. DFW is easy to get around; look for the signs to the elevated Skylink stations. The Skylink trains go in both directions with something like two minute headway, it’s all airside, and there’s no gate you can’t make in ten minutes or less from another.

As you’re flying J to MEX, you’ll have Admirals Club access both outbound and return, because MEX is an exception to AA access policy for domestic, N. America access. Your best bet is Terminal D Club if your flight departs there. Near gate 24, iirc. You’ll have Admirals Club access in MEX on your return as well, assuming it’s open - it may not be.

Lufthomie

God I love FT and members like you. This trip will be an adventure much needed. I think the only lounge access I will be able to hang is PHX before DFW as I like to get to the airport early. I don't know what will happen in MEX when I depart. I do have a 2 hour layover in DFW on the way back. I don't know how long it will take to clear from that flight. My last layover from MEX in 2018 was 2 hours but I was prolonged because I declared the Spanish chorizo I had and my wife threw a fit. The banter between customs and myself was classic and good natured as I handed over the "goods". The wife still gives me grief to this day :P

Eastbay1K

Much better than the cute doggie taking interest in your bag.

JDiver

...and potentially losing Global Entry...

Eastbay1K

(And all the other things that can go wrong, implied in my post )

PointsPanda

Are we talking about the same airport? Are you Mexican and can use the Mexican line thats always empty? I've lived in CDMX for 5 years and until covid hit I believe it has one of the longest waits in the world for immigration and also for your bag to come out. One time during semana santa the line was so far out the door it took almost 2 hours. Another time another year trying to get INTO the airport took almost an hour, I actually had to have the uber leave me about 1.5km from the airport and walk.

That being said since covid hit its super fast, but I would not give this advice out to assume immigration is fast. I think perhaps you just got lucky the few times you came. Plus holiday seasons can be a bit different in Mexico. Mexicans don't travel a lot in late November like Americans do, they don't travel as much in the summer, but late March - mid April is a nightmare, anytime around Easter. Americans dont typically travel for Easter but in Mexico virtually everyone does.

Section 107

I have been promised that as soon as I improve my skill in speaking spanish I will be granted "honorary" Mexican citizenship, but for now I am still just a gringo. My family travels at least once a year through MEX - generally in the week before Christmas but frequently during Easter and the summer months. We use the Extranjeros line and the last several times the line has not been very long - and that has been arriving late-morning, mid-afternoon or the evening. Maybe we are just getting lucky? But I have to think that especially in COVID lines will not be long at all.