How a few tweaks could take Aeromexico 787-9 PaxEx from good to greatRunway Girl

I’m not sure why it took me so long, but recent travels finally brought me to Mexico City. Several days in the beautiful city came to a close, and it was time to jet off to my next destination: Los Angeles. Several airlines connect the Mexican capital with the City of Angels, most of which I hadn’t flown before. But ultimately, it was an inexpensive Delta SkyMiles business class redemption that sent me into the waiting arms of its partner, Aeromexico.

The 35,000-mile purchase showed up right away in both the Delta and Aeromexico apps, where I selected my seat on the Boeing 787-8 widebody jet. I didn’t think about it again until the morning of the flight.

Check-in was easy via the Aeromexico app, and quickly produced a boarding pass. A document check was somehow still required anyways when arriving at the airport, placing me in a snaking early morning Sky Priority line in Mexico City International Airport’s Terminal 2. Thirty minutes later, it was off to a much smaller security line, where I was selected for enhanced screening (adding another 15 minutes).

Despite the slow start there was still plenty of time to stop by the airline’s Salon Premier lounge. The two-floor space was small and crowded, but boasted good food choices and a great beverage selection.

While heading out to the gate, I noticed our airplane seemed a bit too long to be a Boeing 787-8. A quick check of the app showed the flight had been upgauged to the bigger 787-9, which also happens to have Aeromexico’s long-haul business class product aboard, versus a dense 2-2-2 regional cabin on the -8. A big win!

Boarding began on time, and I noticed two things right away when stepping onboard, the first being that we were greeted not by galley carts but by a very nice looking bar area. I was excited to see it in action once aloft. The second was the color white. For whatever reason the airline eschewed adding any significant branding or accents and stuck with greyish-white, white and more white for the thermoplastics in the cabin.

It’s not that it looks bad; it doesn’t. White is certainly a clean choice. But it felt bland, especially given that Aeromexico has both blue and red in its livery to lean into.

A blanket, pillow and pair of headphones sat waiting on the seat. All three items were plastic-wrapped together instead of individually, thus saving a fair bit of single-use plastic.

A small menu for the three-hour flight also lay waiting on the seat, and a flight attendant promptly collected the breakfast order while handing out pre-departure beverages in branded glassware.

The flight took off on time with a low and slow climb-out. The 787’s over-sized windows were perfect for watching the sun and fog intermingle over the sprawling city.

Aeromexico arranges its 787-9 cabins with the very popular Collins Aerospace Super Diamond (until recently my favorite seat in the sky). That means a standard 1-2-1 configuration, with each flat bed seat claiming 60” of pitch and 21” of width. There are 36 in total, split between two cabins: a larger forward cabin with 30 and a smaller cabin behind the bar with only six.

The seat is extremely off the shelf, with no customization at all. As my second-favorite seat in the sky, I don’t really care, though.

Power worked well, with an international outlet and a USB-A port. Both live inside one of three small but useful storage spaces. Surface space is also easy to come by, with plenty of room to rest a laptop or tablet. A tray table that slides out from under the TV screen extends the available surface space considerably.

The seat controls are located in a touchscreen in the armrest. Combined with the comfy blanket and soft pillow, the seat made for a very comfortable bed. I slept for an hour of the three-hour flight.

A remote for the Panasonic Avionics-powered inflight entertainment system is also located inside one of the storage spaces.

Besides controlling the gorgeously crisp 18-inch screen, it can also play different content (like the moving map) on the remote’s own little screen. It’s a feature I don’t really get tired of.

The IFE is stocked with an average depth of content. I counted around 200 movies, a modest selection. TV boasted 60 titles, ranging from single episodes to a few full seasons. It can be controlled with the aforementioned remote or via touch.

Wi-Fi codes were handed out to business class passengers not long after departure.

Unfortunately it never worked, extending my long streak of underperforming Wi-Fi experiences. I brought it up with the crew, who sighed heavily before attempting a few system resets that also didn’t work. I got the impression that this was not an isolated incident.

Meal service began nearly 45 minutes into the flight. It was a single-tray affair with fresh fruit, a delicious cheese omelette with a smokey salsa, yogurt and fresh bread.

The meal was very tasty. Otherwise the experience with the crew was interesting. On the one hand, they were very approachable and friendly. On the other, outside of the service, I never saw them in the aisle again until landing. A drink order placed in the galley never appeared. It was a curious mismatch.

The self-serve bar did eventually open, offering soda, water, tea and coffee. On longer flights it would have offered light bites and liquor as well. Perhaps I’ll find out on a future flight.

The flight landed early in Los Angeles, concluding a definitively good but just shy of great experience.

Working Wi-Fi and a more present, proactive crew likely would’ve nudged it up to that next level. A few pops of color in the cabin would also be welcome.

While my mission is to fly every new airline I can, I’d still gladly fly aboard Aeromexico‘s 787-9 again. With reasonable SkyMiles redemption rates and the occasional fare sale, that may not be too far in the future.