SkyTeam member Aeromexico uncorked an attractive sale for nonstop business class tickets from Barcelona and Madrid to its hub Mexico City. A roundtrip to Mexico’s capital is available as low as €1,060. Both flights are long, 10+ hour trips, on which you can put your fully lie-flat seat to good use.
The price for flights to Barcelona has gone down to €1,060. That’s a price drop of roughly €300!
Worldwide travel restrictions are in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. While travelling gets easier every month, we currently advise against short term intercontinental travel plans.
To make sure you can benefit from this deal the way you want to, we suggest checking the International Air Transport Association (IATA) website for current updates on a country’s current immigration policies. Their Covid-19 Travel Regulations Map is one of the most useful tools you can find.
Aeromexico uses a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on its flights to Spain. These feature lie-flat-seats in a 2-2-2 seating pattern in their business class cabin.
We expect further shakeups in the airline industry over the following months. Some services might be cancelled, aircraft changed or downgraded. The schedule we describe may very well change.
Search & Book
According to the fare rules, Aeromexico sells these tickets until December 30, 2020 for weekday departures. There is a minimum stay of one night from Saturday to Sunday for this fare. Tickets have to be purchased at least three months in before departure. Availability is pretty good with multiple weekly departures at the lowest fare from December 2020 through June 2021.
You can find suiting flight dates with Google Flights and use them in our flight search to find the cheapest offer by an online travel agency. As far as business class fares go, we always recommend booking directly with the airline, which is available directly on Google Flights or aeromexico.com. Expedia also sells these tickets and matches Aeromexico’s rebooking policy.
Why is booking with an airline better than with an online travel agency?
More often than not, online travel agencies offer lower fares than airlines do. We still recommend booking with the airlines directly. There are two main reasons for that:
Better Customer Service
In case any problems like delays, cancellations or missed connections arise, you can communicate directly with the airline. The airline has to take care of you because you have a contract with them.
If a travel agency issues your ticket, you may have to reach out to them first. You also depend on your OTA to forward information like flight changes instead of receiving them directly from the airline. In many cases, you may get a prime exhibition of responsibility shifting rather than problem-solving.
This especially applies to premium tickets. You don’t want to spend more than €1,000 to wind up with some budget OTA’s telephone hotline in case anything goes wrong.
Baggage and Other Fees
Economy fares not including hold luggage are industry standard by now. In most cases, travel agencies charge much higher baggage fees than the airlines themselves. If bags are not included in your fare, airlines are often the cheaper alternative.
This also applies to other things like food services, insurances or priority treatment. In almost all cases, you pay less for additional amenities when booking on the airlines’ website.
If you need to cancel your trip to Mexico, Aeromexico offers its business class customers three choices. You can change your flight date, but have to pay the fare difference. That can easily be more than €500, given that this is a very cheap business class fare. Further you can accept a travel voucher for Aeromexico, worth 115% of your ticket cost. Or you can apply for a refund, but not earlier than July 1, 2021, and it may take a full year to process – meaning you may get your money back as late as July 2022. You can see their full rebooking conditions here.
Mileage
Aeromexico issues these tickets in booking class I. This results in decent mileage with most Skyteam frequent flyer programs:
- 23,574 Miles on Xiamen Airlines Egret Club
- 22,536 Award Miles + 150 Tier Points on Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- 22,536 RDM + 3,380 MQD on Delta SkyMiles
- 16,902 Miles on Aerolíneas Argentinas AerolíneasPlus
- 16,902 Miles on Copa ConnectMiles
- 16,902 Miles on MEA Cedar Miles
- 16,902 Miles on CSA OK Plus
- 16,902 Miles on GOL Aéreos Smiles
- 16,902 Miles on LATAM Pass
- 14,086 Award Miles + 72 XP on Flying Blue
- 14,086 Miles on Air Europa Suma
- 14,086 Miles on Korean Air Skypass
- 14,086 Miles on Saudia Alfursan
- 14,086 Miles on China Airlines Dynasty Flyer
- 14,086 Miles on Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles
- 11,268 Miles on Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles
Information & Tips for Mexico
Mayan pyramids, dreamy beaches and tacos – Mexico is an incredibly diverse country. If you want to experience the Spanish-speaking country to its fullest, you should definitely stay somewhere other than the tourist hotspots and seaside resorts.
The Best Time to Travel
The perfect travel time is from December to April, during this time it hardly rains and the temperatures are pleasant. Unsurprisingly, during the rainy season from May to October there is more rainfall. Beware of some extreme weather phenomenons that might be unknown to Europeans: Hurricane season lasts from June to November! Those who want to travel to typical holiday areas like Cancún and do not want to spend lots of money should travel in the off season. Areas with less touristic relevance such as Mexico City, on the other hand, are relatively constant throughout the year from a price perspective.
Currency, Credit Cards & Tipping
The official currency of the country is the Mexican Peso. 1 EUR equals about MX$18. The acceptance of credit cards is comparable to or even slightly better than Germany. In almost all shops, even small kiosks, it is possible and quite normal to pay by card. The same applies to restaurants. For street vendors, street snack bars and the like, it is advisable to have a few pesos in cash with you. It is unusual to tip taxis or cab drivers. At a restaurant, 10-15 percent are normal, as long as the tip is not already listed on the bill as a line item. When paying by card, you can usually choose how much you want to tip at the card terminal before entering the pin. Housekeeping at a hotel should usually be tipped 20-40 Pesos per day, small favours have a going tip rate of 5 Pesos.
Immigration & Visa Requirements
Most EU citizens do not need a visa to enter Mexico. All you need to do is fill out the tourist card that is handed out onboard the plane. For touristic and business purposes, a visa-free stay of 180 days is possible.
→ All Dealz for Mexico
Information & Tips for Mexico City
3 Tips for Mexico City
Mexico City is not quite as touristic as, for example, the seaside resort city and party destination Cancun. This means that hardly anybody speaks English, but you also don’t have to be afraid of being ripped off because you look like a tourist. My 3 tips for Mexico City:
- Torre Latinoamericana: The office tower – which looks a bit ugly from the outside – offers a fantastic view over the city, especially at dusk. The ticket is valid for several visits over the course of a whole day and costs 110 Pesos (= 4,50€).
- Chapultepec Park: There is a free zoo in Chapultepec Park. Even though admission is free, you can admire a total of 252 different animal species.
- Teotihuacán: A little outside of town are the impressive pyramids of Teotihuacán. I recommend that you get there early, otherwise you’ll have to wait in line for a long time. I came by public bus (not through an organized tour), I found the instructions on how to do that in this blog. I would also recommend checking out the cave restaurant there!
For getting around Mexico City I recommend using Uber. The countless taco stands are also great and extremely cheap. However, make sure that the meat is adequately cooled. Unfortunately, you often see that raw meat is lying somewhere in the blazing sun.
→ All Dealz for Mexico City
Cover Picture: © Aeromexico
Comment (1)
From/to Madrid operates Aeromexico Boeing 787-9, with 1-2-1 configuration. Came from Mexico City to Madrid one week ago – stand 22.11.2020.