INTRODUCTION
Hola amigos!
Welcome to this FR series, covering my summer adventure through Mexico, Colombia and Turkey. So the original plan was to only go to Mexico and Colombia. Google Flights kept recommending me to go via Avianca, which would not happen. The question was how to go from Madrid to Mexico City and then to Bogotá. Happily, Google showed as a plausible option to fly AeroMexico. When booking, the only flight that I could pick was AM35 which involved a stop in Monterrey.
So this flight involved a nice amount of AvGeek firsts to score: 1st longhaul in AM, 1st time trying their 787, and scoring a new route between Madrid and Monterrey, which is more interesting than your regular MAD-MEX flight, and that way I could also list a new airport: MTY. Bingo!
I will reveal the rest of the flights and routing as it unfolds.
So let's get on with it!
At Madrid-Barajas Intl.
We took a ride to MAD, we received a recommendation to arrive early because of the summer season and two flights departing basically at the same time (ours and the direct flight to MEX)
We had booked on Economy premium, so we could make use of Sky Priority services. So check in was quite quick. Checking in the agent offered us to relocate us on a flight next day with a reward. Since we had a date that night @MEX we sadly had to refuse.
With that…it was time to go through security, which as promised, took no time
Which droped us into the duty free…
But we were headed to the B gates of Terminal 1, which meant leaving the Schengen Area
The Terminal was pretty much empty. Back then, T1 had a new "El Market" store, which you can also find in several airports in LatAm.
We wen't straight to the Cibeles Lounge
Now, this is one of my favourite lounges. It has an open air terrace, is comfortable and and has great views. Food offerings were standard AENA lounge, which are still way above most lounges in Europe.
Ballsy name for a car.
My pick for the morning
Boarding Aeromexico's 787-8
We soon reached boarding time
The best view of our ride from the T1 Burger King.
Aeromexico operates both the -8 and -9 Dreamliners. The latter having more modern interiors. We would be riding the -8. I wonder how it compares to AV's. Having SkyPriority we were among the first to board
We chose the first row in the Economy Class cabin. We would have extra legroom and would have a head start to immigration @MTY. This cabin is called "AMPlus", but Aeromexico doesn't have a real Premium Economy cabin. It's just your regular Y-class with more legroom and different headrests.
The seat was comfortable, more than adequate for the 10+ hours ahead of us.
These were the seatpocket contents
We had a glimpse into the Biz cabin. AM has a 2+2+2 config on their 788s.
A plastic bag with a pillow and a blanket were in all seats. Headphones were also provided
Now let's check the IFE. It provides a lot of info, including the flight's menu and AM's fleet information
Enroute to Monterrey!
The plane was full, and since we were some of the first to board it took quite a while before we got the good to go.
I find it funny that UX named one of their Dreamliners after Julio Iglesias…and printed his pic on the fuselage!
TK's A330 from IST and the 789 to MEX
Then came a tour through all of MAD's terminals:
And soon we were off for takeoff
We then cruised across Spain towards Galicia
We passed over Ávila
we were handed eyemasks and earplugs
And in good old Dreamliner fashion…windows were dimmed by the crew against our will
But we could clear them out fortunately
About 1 hour after takeoff, our first meal was offered.
BTW, AM does make sure you know about their cocktail offerings…
I went with the beef, whie the Mrs. went with the pasta.
Quantity was excellent for a long haul flight. Quality, wasn't spectacular but well above average.
With the eating done, it was time to relax on our way
After crossing the Eastern USA, we were given our second meal. This time, a sort of Spanish Tortilla and couscous. Not my favourite.
Windows were undimmable during most of our approach to Monterrey, so I couldn't take coold pictures of Houston and Southern Texas as we flew over it.
But eventually it got undimmed and we could see Monterrey and its metro area
MTY in sight
We made the downwind approach to MTY
Terminal B is exclusively used by AeroMexico and partners. Terminal C by Viva and A by the rest.
It is a pretty small terminal. It shouldn't be too hard to make the connection to the same plane towards MEX, should it?
Stay tuned to find out!
