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AM - YVR to LIM ~US $750 in J Roundtrip

AM - YVR to LIM ~US $750 in J Roundtrip

Old Dec 31, 2018, 7:41 pm
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by Utskicat
The DL Y-Up fares are valid from YVR YYC YWG YOW and YYZ. All route through ATL-LIM on 767 D1 lie flat. Although you don’t get great redeemable miles, if you’re going for an MQM mileage run, the routing table is amazing. I booked YYZ-SLC-ATL-LIM-ATL-JFK-SEA-YYC-YYZ. The SLC-ATL is A330 DomF lie flat and JFK-SEA is 757 D1 domestic lieflat. Only economy segment is YYC-YYZ due to WS. Over 20k MQMs. If you’re looking for a 24 hour layover in New York, you can get one on most days (ITA Matrix). Approx 5 cpm and in J!


Clarification on my previous post. My routing above is 2 tickets, 1st is 006 Delta ticket that is basically an open-jaw YYZ-LIM, LIM-YYC. I'm in YYC for 4 days. 2nd ticket is a Westjet ticket YYC-YYZ.

I got a few PM's asking about legal routings on the fare. I needed to go to Calgary so my entire trip was intended to be a mileage run to get to Calgary. My fare basis on DL YYZ-LIM is XLNJ8SFW (only allows SLC as far west routing) and LIM-YYC is XLXA3SFW (this one allows the JFK-SEA routing) which is basically an open jaw YYZ-LIM-YYC. I got a one-way with WS's boxing day sale at 30% off coupon for EconoFlex (B class - 100% MQM on DL) for $138. I don't want people looking in vain for the YYC-YYZ route on the DL fare basis. Also, the DL fare is the same base as the AM fare, but has a YR fuel surcharge. My total fare on the DL YYZ-LIM-YYC ticket was $1169 which still made sense for me despite the high YR considering I had to go to Calgary anyway and I am going for Diamond in 2019 with an excellent CPM.

Just checked and the DL fare is still valid til 21JAN.


Category 3: Seasonal restrictions
FROM CANADA - PERMITTED 24DEC THROUGH 01JAN OR 09JAN THROUGH 11FEB OR 13MAR THROUGH 08JUL OR 11AUG THROUGH 12DEC FOR EACH GATEWAY DEPARTURE.
TO CANADA - PERMITTED 24DEC THROUGH 25DEC OR 31DEC THROUGH 01JAN OR 14JAN THROUGH 29JUN OR 06AUG THROUGH 18DEC FOR EACH GATEWAY DEPARTURE.

Category 15: Sales restrictions
TICKETS MUST BE ISSUED ON/BEFORE 21JAN 19.

Last edited by Utskicat; Dec 31, 2018 at 7:43 pm Reason: typo
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Old Jan 1, 2019, 6:08 am
  #17  
 
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Originally Posted by EmailKid
DL sounds good, AM ..... looked into their cheap coach fares, and the overnights in MEX looked horrible. Doubt that that would be any better for biz.

Not to mention reports of transiting in MEX. Nothing but problems, exiting secure area. I'd love to revisit Lima, but not on AM @:-)
Can you share some about MEX and AM? I've been looking at AM to LIM via MEX for a MR. What kind of problems are possible in MEX?
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Old Jan 1, 2019, 4:51 pm
  #18  
 
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Originally Posted by Pocatello
Can you share some about MEX and AM? I've been looking at AM to LIM via MEX for a MR. What kind of problems are possible in MEX?
Oh gosh, where to start! My wife and I flew YYZ-MEX-EZE on AM, in J, in Nov., 2017. On the way down, the equipment(737, 777) was rather dated and the food, esp. MEX-EZE, was rather subpar for J. However, the EZE-MEX return was much better when a 787-9 was subbed for the 777! Seat, meals, IFE, all top notch. What wasn't "top shelf," was the transfer at MEX. That airport is the pits, to put it mildly. And the EZE-YYZ transfer was no better: long line for immigration, then claim bags, go outside into semi-secure area and hand over bags for connecting flight. Arrive at YYZ to discover that one of our bags was missing and, as it turned out, permanently! After many months of emails, and finally phone calls in Spanish(my wife is fluent), did we finally receive a settlement that was reasonable and significantly higher than their original insulting $100 offer. To start with, the suitcase was a relatively new Tumi bag.
Finally, the ultimate "slap in the face" was our inability to receive the J fare MQM and mileage bonuses. The ticket was issued on AM stock, and was a Y-up fare. But, despite our boarding passes showing "J," and my Amex statement as well, and sending DL all the documentation,
they said they couldn't help since it was an AM ticket and the first fare code letter was a coach fare, despite others who had booked the fare thru Expedia reporting that they had received full credit.
So, caveat emptor.
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Old Jan 1, 2019, 9:16 pm
  #19  
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Originally Posted by Pocatello
Can you share some about MEX and AM? I've been looking at AM to LIM via MEX for a MR. What kind of problems are possible in MEX?
Originally Posted by arkangel
Oh gosh, where to start! My wife and I flew YYZ-MEX-EZE on AM, in J, in Nov., 2017. On the way down, the equipment(737, 777) was rather dated and the food, esp. MEX-EZE, was rather subpar for J. However, the EZE-MEX return was much better when a 787-9 was subbed for the 777! Seat, meals, IFE, all top notch. What wasn't "top shelf," was the transfer at MEX. That airport is the pits, to put it mildly. And the EZE-YYZ transfer was no better: long line for immigration, then claim bags, go outside into semi-secure area and hand over bags for connecting flight. Arrive at YYZ to discover that one of our bags was missing and, as it turned out, permanently! After many months of emails, and finally phone calls in Spanish(my wife is fluent), did we finally receive a settlement that was reasonable and significantly higher than their original insulting $100 offer. To start with, the suitcase was a relatively new Tumi bag.
Finally, the ultimate "slap in the face" was our inability to receive the J fare MQM and mileage bonuses. The ticket was issued on AM stock, and was a Y-up fare. But, despite our boarding passes showing "J," and my Amex statement as well, and sending DL all the documentation,
they said they couldn't help since it was an AM ticket and the first fare code letter was a coach fare, despite others who had booked the fare thru Expedia reporting that they had received full credit.
So, caveat emptor.
Looks like Pocatello beat me to the reply ^

In a nutshell, there is no seamless transfer in MEX from ALL reports I've read. I found many great fares, but in the end passed based on MANY horror stories posted. Just look in Mexico forum @:-) I consider myself a bit of an adventure traveller (most recently a ferry, overnight to catch a morning public bus to another ferry, then light rail to the airport and finally public transport from next airport (autobus), but MEX connection in middle of the night is where I draw the line.

Oh, and while far from fluent, I do get by in Spanish (quit carrying a dictionary about 10 years ago).
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Old Jan 2, 2019, 1:04 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by arkangel
Oh gosh, where to start! My wife and I flew YYZ-MEX-EZE on AM, in J, in Nov., 2017. On the way down, the equipment(737, 777) was rather dated and the food, esp. MEX-EZE, was rather subpar for J. However, the EZE-MEX return was much better when a 787-9 was subbed for the 777! Seat, meals, IFE, all top notch.
Aircraft aside (788 vs 789), I have the same feedback for MEX-SCL. Food is terrible out of MEX (just memorize tamales, beans and omelets for breakfast and chicken and pasta for lunch/dinner) but much better out of SCL or other out stations. I had long connection time (overnight and 5 hours) so wasn't as stressed out as those who had connection less than 3 hours. For the J in 737, I consider AC's Y+ product (seat and catering) better than AM's J.

If you miss out this time, don't sweat it, AM has sales in J from time to time, just leave enough connection times, enter your DL Sky Pesos numbers while checking in at airports, and don't use expense bags.
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Old Jan 2, 2019, 2:57 am
  #21  
 
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Ok... I post Aeromexico deals a lot here on FT... mainly because they are great MQD Runs for Delta flyers... Full-Disclosure: I have helped clients book complex MQD runs so it's not my first rodeo with DL/AM...
Here is a post from another thread where Rene Points and I show some communication and use cases with Delta...
Aeromexico Info

Seems that to be safe with Delta:
A) Keep email confirmation with I fare
B) Keep boarding passes if needed (or take photos with phone)
C) Be ready to fight if they don't post correctly....
Still Aeromexico is the best way for American based flyers to collect MQDs at a favorable rate
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Old Jan 6, 2019, 12:50 am
  #22  
 
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I have my trip to MZT coming up this week I got on the same fare sale as the LIM sale, and am on the AM 787-8 both ways from JFK-MEX and MEX-JFK. I just saw on the AM website that only flights departing after 11am serve alcohol. Is this true, it seems very odd for an international flight over 5 hours. The MEX-JFK flight departs at 715am. Has anyone experienced this? jfkeze maybe?

Note: Posted a dedicated thread on Other South American airlines, but there doesn't seem to be too much action over there, so I figured I'd ask here too since you guys monitor the AM prem fare deals. Feel free to post reply over there: Aeromexico No Alcohol before 11am policy
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Old Jan 6, 2019, 1:11 am
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by Utskicat
I have my trip to MZT coming up this week I got on the same fare sale as the LIM sale, and am on the AM 787-8 both ways from JFK-MEX and MEX-JFK. I just saw on the AM website that only flights departing after 11am serve alcohol. Is this true, it seems very odd for an international flight over 5 hours. The MEX-JFK flight departs at 715am. Has anyone experienced this? jfkeze maybe?

Note: Posted a dedicated thread on Other South American airlines, but there doesn't seem to be too much action over there, so I figured I'd ask here too since you guys monitor the AM prem fare deals. Feel free to post reply over there: Aeromexico No Alcohol before 11am policy
In 2018 I flew AM in J a couple times with some of these fare sales (LAX-MEX-LIM and JFK-MEX-UIO). The LIM-MEX and MEX-JFK legs were both breakfast flights leaving at around 7 AM or so, and I was able to have champagne on each flight. So the policy cannot be too strict.

Regarding vincewy's comment on the catering out of MEX--I could not have had a more different experience. Some of the best tasting food I have had on an airplane, ever. For international business class, it was perhaps a bit less classy then you get in J going to Europe. However, it actually tasted good. If a place near me served the goat cheese tamale I had from MEX-JFK, I would be a regular. Also, I love the Amex Lounge in MEX. Now the catering out of UIO was strange, and the chicken dish I had JFK-MEX was so bad it was inedible.
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Old Jan 6, 2019, 1:15 am
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by Biscoff27
In 2018 I flew AM in J a couple times with some of these fare sales (LAX-MEX-LIM and JFK-MEX-UIO). The LIM-MEX and MEX-JFK legs were both breakfast flights leaving at around 7 AM or so, and I was able to have champagne on each flight. So the policy cannot be too strict.

Regarding vincewy's comment on the catering out of MEX--I could not have had a more different experience. Some of the best tasting food I have had on an airplane, ever. For international business class, it was perhaps a bit less classy then you get in J going to Europe. However, it actually tasted good. If a place near me served the goat cheese tamale I had from MEX-JFK, I would be a regular. Also, I love the Amex Lounge in MEX. Now the catering out of UIO was strange, and the chicken dish I had JFK-MEX was so bad it was inedible.
Was the good food out of MEX on MEX-JFK or just MEX-LIM? I've seen several posts that they treat MEX-JFK 787 flight like a domestic flight with subpar catering and not the usual blankets and pillows they use on long haul.
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Old Jan 6, 2019, 12:19 pm
  #25  
 
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Originally Posted by Utskicat
Was the good food out of MEX on MEX-JFK or just MEX-LIM? I've seen several posts that they treat MEX-JFK 787 flight like a domestic flight with subpar catering and not the usual blankets and pillows they use on long haul.
As mentioned in my post, on the MEX-JFK leg I had a goat cheese tamale (the other option was chilaquiles); hands down the best tasting airplane meal I have had in the past year or two. No, it was not served in 3 course fashion, but it was a 4 hour flight. I was happy to get it quickly and lie down.

I think there was somewhat lesser service from MEX-LAX (no printed menus, less wine options, etc), though the actual food options were the same when I flew MEX-LIM. I think the actual flight time on the former was 3.5 hours, and latter about 5.5 hours.

The pillow and blanket on the 787 from MEX-JFK were the same domestic type ones that I got on the 737's from JFK-MEX, MEX-LIM, MEX-UIO, etc. For four hours this was sufficient. The worst flight was UIO-MEX. That 737 did not have reclining foot rests, there was either no pillow or blanket, the food was bad, and we were delayed an hour or two, so we left around 2 in the morning. Of the 8 AM legs I took last year, that was the only one I did not enjoy.

For the JFK-MEX leg--we bought tickets about 4-5 months in advance, and they did swap the 787 to a 737; that was a let down.
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Old Jan 11, 2019, 12:39 pm
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by arkangel
What wasn't "top shelf," was the transfer at MEX. That airport is the pits, to put it mildly. And the EZE-YYZ transfer was no better: long line for immigration, then claim bags, go outside into semi-secure area and hand over bags for connecting flight.
How does MEX compare to Guatemala City and El Salvador? How about Lima?
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Old Jan 11, 2019, 8:48 pm
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by Pocatello
How does MEX compare to Guatemala City and El Salvador? How about Lima?
So I'm in the Aeromexico Salon Lounge in MEX right now waiting for MZT leg. Took AM409 from JFK-MEX 788 this evening in Business. After reading all of the horrible reviews here and on the typical review sites about both AM inflight staff/soft product and MEX immigration, I can honestly say I'm dumbfounded. I must have hit the lottery today. The AM staff on the 787 were INCREDIBLE. Over the top nice. Eye contact, smiles, danadas, endless refillls. Then MEX immigration was empty. Literally. Used the kiosks. From plane door through immigration and security to AM Salon Lounge in under 10 mins. I will write a trip report later. Maybe my low expectations helped, but I have a detailed eye for service and soft product and even if I didn't have such low expectations, it was still great. We will see how the return trip fares for my final judgement!
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Last edited by Utskicat; Jan 12, 2019 at 1:25 am
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Old Jan 12, 2019, 1:38 am
  #28  
 
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So here is a very strange end to my night. I had three hours in the AM lounge tonight (see previous post), and ended up making friends with a couple people. We were chatting and having a good time and I realized that it was 35 minutes before departure so I said my goodbyes to head to the gate. I stopped at the front counter to make sure I had the correct gate number and to get pointed in the right direction...at this point it was T -30 minutes to departure. The agent quickly looked at my flight and then completely freaked out on me. She was nice but said that I was about to miss the plane and I had to run as fast as I could to make it. I clarified with her that the plane was not scheduled to leave for 30 minutes? She said yes thats true but boarding is already complete. She said its gate 57 the very last one at the end of the terminal so its a long way. So I took off running still not really sure why. I mean Ive travelled enough I know that you dont walk up 10 minutes before departure but 25-30 minutes is fine. To my surprise the terminal was not that long at all. She was correct, gate 57 was the last gate but I got there in under two minutes. The way she explained it I thought I would be running for 10 minutes. As I approached the podium an agent immediately stepped out and and greeted me by my name. I ask him how he knew it was me and he was said that I was the last passenger to board. I apologized and told him the lady at the lounge told me to run but I was confused because now its still 25 minutes before departure. Hey said they started boarding early to try to get an early start. I walked on and sat down and they closed the door and pushed back. It was just a domestic flight from MEX to MZT on an E190. So weird. Im so used to everything in Latin America running behind schedule this completely blew my mind. And the flight was almost full as well! Do AM domestic flights typically leave 1/2 hour early?
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Old Jan 17, 2019, 12:49 pm
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by Utskicat
I have my trip to MZT coming up this week I got on the same fare sale as the LIM sale, and am on the AM 787-8 both ways from JFK-MEX and MEX-JFK. I just saw on the AM website that only flights departing after 11am serve alcohol. Is this true, it seems very odd for an international flight over 5 hours. The MEX-JFK flight departs at 715am. Has anyone experienced this? jfkeze maybe?

Note: Posted a dedicated thread on Other South American airlines, but there doesn't seem to be too much action over there, so I figured I'd ask here too since you guys monitor the AM prem fare deals. Feel free to post reply over there: Aeromexico No Alcohol before 11am policy
So a follow-up here in regards to alcohol. On the return MEX-JFK at 715a on a 787-8, no alcohol was offered. But they did serve champagne to a few people who requested and left it on ice in the front galley for the remainder of flight. I requested a coffee with Baileys after breakfast and the FA mentioned alcohol is typically not served on morning flights, but he didn't mind do so anyway. Weird...so weird. Not sure how AM justifies this considering competition or the fact that their Business Class fares are no cheaper in the morning. Maybe its just a cultural thing? In the end, I was fine with it, wasn't in the mood for anything other than the Baileys, but still just really odd of a policy.
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