In the vast world of travel blogs, I couldn't find a single article on Aeromexico's Premier Class from London to Mexico City. So here we are. Another travel blog. Aren't you lucky?
The blog will mainly focus on cashback rewards, so naturally, it only makes sense to write a flight review first.
- Pre-Lounge
We go to Terminal 3—the SkyTeam (and others) terminal in Heathrow. We're in business class so surely we get to enjoy the slick pre-lounge experience that Virgin has with its Upper Class Wing? That's the Wing where there's the private drop-off area and you avoid all the riff-raff with a private check-in and security line?
Yea, no - that's only for Virgin and Delta flights.
I did my research beforehand, so I knew this was the case, but I did wonder if Premier Class customers got a better experience at all through security. Do we at least get Fast Pass security?
Does the Aeromexico website tell you? No.
Is there any signage in security? No.
Do the staff working there know? No.
The best I got was from the man at the front of the security saying to try and if it didn't work then just join the regular line.
Thankfully it did work and I was in the Fast Track line. It was fast, had those new security machines that mean you don't need to take out your liquids and drops you inside the main terminal, meaning you avoid the snaking path through duty-free (which you still have to go through even if you use Virgin's Upper Class Wing).
You're pretty much opposite the Virgin Clubhouse. Which, this time, you actually have access too! Hooray!
- The Lounge
Something the blog-o-sphere isn't lacking in is Virgin Clubhouse content so I'll keep this brief. The food is pretty good - the level of a decent pub. I did the public service of tasting lots of the drinks for you, my dear reader, solely to provide an authoritative opinion on them. There's a large list of the ones to choose from so should be something for everyone. The verdict? They're really good and for some reason, they get better and better...
Chicken Methi (great), Champagne (great), another cocktail which I can't remember 100% what is was (great) and the cool outdoor area on the top of the Clubhouse.
- The Flight
I was in 7J on an 8 year-old Boeing 787-9. A pretty good seat and I'd always recommend checking you get a couple of windows whenever you pick a seat when flying business class. You don't want to be that poor sod in 5J or 8J who only has 1 window. It makes the seat feel a lot more claustrophobic. AeroLOPA has seat maps for pretty much every aircraft, so I'd recommend checking your plane and planning accordingly.
I did find the seats a bit tight when they were laid flat. Probably more due to being 6'6" but they did seem a bit worse than other business class seats I've flown. I still got 5 hours of sleep on this 12 hour flight. It was a red-eye though and dark from take-off to landing (which also explains some of the dodgy lighting for the pictures - I tried my best). Also there's lots of crevices where things can fall and get lost - RIP my portable battery 2024-2024.
The food was okay - the beef and potatoes were pretty good, the rest was average. Thankfully I had two meals in the Clubhouse. I think there was a second service, but I was asleep and judging from the first one, I didn't miss much.
The three course meal.
The amenity kit was also standard with nothing too unique. I've still never fit into the slippers that airlines provide.
The wifi was fast but they limit you to two hours. I always find the nickel and diming on wifi for business class customers to be strange. Thankfully you can start and stop it as you need so you can check in news/social media at regular intervals.
The wifi is pretty fast. Also you don't need to add your real email, I don't need a reciept for $0.00.
One nice touch is that the whole baggage section above your head is just for you, so you can just throw all of your bags in there without having to fight for space or have it take up room in your personal area. Especially useful for those of us who don't check bags.
The most unique part of Clase Premier is the self-pour drinks. The options weren't exactly top tier but a nice touch. Unfortunately, my public service didn't reach this far and the thought of drinking tequila at 3am, half asleep, awake mid-nap, didn't seem that appealing.
I'm writing this blog a week after my flight and still in Mexico City. It's best to say that the service on the flight was pretty standard for Mexico. It was fine, no one was rude but it wasn't super warm. Some of the best flights crews go out of their way to make sure you have a great experience, that certainly wasn't the case here. If I'm being generous, it was a redeye flight so it's probably harder for them to make an impression, but I'm not being generous and I reckon the service is generally poor to fine on most of their flights.
- Mexico City
The flight takes off at 10:30pm London time and lands 4:25am Mexico City time. We were even earlier and it didn't seem like immigration were ready for us. So we got off the jet bridge and had to wait for 5 minutes as an airport worker walkie talkied another worker. Finally we were let go - to another man with a walkie talkie. After a slightly shorter wait we were free. To another man with a walkie talkie. Then after a couple of minutes we were once again allowed to walk. This time we made it to the e-gates at immigration. Unsurprisingly we were the first people there so no line and through in seconds. After running my bags through the x-ray machine on the way out I was done.
- In summary
Was Clase Premier worth it? If it's your only option it's not awful but I would probably pick most airlines over it if I was given the choice. The pre-flight benefits were nice and made the experience a lot better. The seats, service and food were very average.
- Appendix
Here's a few extra screenshots of the menus at the Clubhouse because I thought some people might be interested.
Drinks - click on the images for full screen.
Food - click on the images for full screen.
