Aeromexico 737 MAX 9 business class: I didn’t know it was this good!

Aeromexico 737 MAX 9 business class: I didn’t know it was this good!

Don’t you just love it when reality exceeds your expectations? My recent Aeromexico 737 MAX 9 business class experience exceeded mine in a very big way. Basically, it showed me that domestic business class in Mexico is just as good as it is anywhere else in the world.

More officially known as Premier class (or Clase Premier depending on what language you speak), it lives up to its name with spacious seats, high tech in-flight entertainment, decent food, and excellent cabin crews that actually care about your well-being.

I mean, they were even willing to lend a helping hand with the dirty diaper created by the feisty (and obviously well-fed) baby in the seat directly behind me. When was the last time you saw a flight attendant on a US airline volunteer for pooper-scooper duty like that?

AM176
Mexico City, Mexico (MEX) – Tijuana, Mexico (TIJ)
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
Aircraft: 737 MAX 9
Registration: XA-IMH
Duration: 3 hours 45 minutes
Seat: 3F (Premier Class / Business Class)

Aeromexico 737 MAX 9 side view
Aeromexico 737 MAX 9 side view illustration by NorebboStock.com
am176 flight track
Our route from Mexico City to Tijuana this afternoon as AM176.

The video

Flying from Mexico City to Tijuana was the perfect route to create a video review of Aeromexico 737 MAX 9 Premier Class. It’s a 3 hour and 45 minute flight, which was plenty of time to sample everything they had to offer. Check it out:

I recommend watching the video first, and then coming back here to read the full review. There’s a lot I’m about to show you down below that wasn’t covered in the video. As always, the music for that video came from my Amigos at Epidemic Sound.

My full review of Aeromexico 737 MAX 9 business class from Mexico City to Tijuana

Having stayed the night at the Camino Real Hotel adjacent to Terminal 1, it was a fairly simple jaunt over to Terminal 2 in the morning to catch this flight. Unfortunately, I arrived a bit too early. Par for the course I guess.

Curbside Terminal 2 departures level at MEX
Curbside, Terminal 2 departures level at MEX. I’m having flashbacks from the last time I was here!
Terminal 2 departures level at the Mexico City airport
Unfortunately, the flashbacks that hit me the hardest were the ones of me being bored to tears from arriving too early. Dang it.

Terminal 2 at the Mexico City Airport is the worst

Showing up 3 1/2 hours before my departure to Tijuana was a mistake (to say the least) – especially considering that I’ve been here before and I knew what to expect. Apparently I didn’t learn anything. Terminal 2 at the Mexico City Airport is small, cramped, and there are hardly any views to the outside world. This isn’t a place that you want to spend a lot of time in.

Mexico City airport ticketing hall
It’s a neat looking airport for sure, but by lap number 3 of the ticketing hall, I had seen enough.
Aeromexico check in area terminals 2 Mexico City airport
I was so miffed with myself for arriving too early that I nearly forgot to get a pic of the Aeromexico check in area. Disaster averted.
Mexico City airport terminal 2 central concourse
Here’s a pic of the main terminal immediately after clearing the security checkpoint. Judging by the way that pissed-off looking security lady on the left is walking towards me, I’m guessing that she’s not a fan of the blog.
Mexico City airport terminal 2 interior
FYI, running away from angry security personnel in an attempt to blend in with the crowd doesn’t work all that well when you’re the only pasty-white gringo in the place.
Aeromexico 737 max 9 Mexico City airport
Nope, this isn’t the airplane taking me to Tijuana this afternoon (but mine will look exactly like it). I hate the fact that there are very few windows in this airport, so that’s why I’ve always said that short layovers in Mexico City are generally ok if you hate being bored to tears. 

What lounge can Aeromexico business class passengers use at the Mexico City Airport?

The Aeromexico Salon Premier Club (located on level 2 at the center of Terminal 2) is open for all Aeromexico domestic business class passengers. I popped in there for a few minutes just to check it out, and overall, I thought it was decent. If you want a more thorough description of it on that, I highly recommend reading my full review of it (linked above).

Aeromexico lounge open seating terminal 2 Mexico City airport
The Salon Premier Club is decent, and worth checking out if you’re flying domestic Aeromexico business class. It’s also a really good place to hide from angry security personnel. Just sayin’.

The boarding process for Aeromexico flight number 176 to Tijuana

Our departure point to Tijuana this afternoon was gate 66 (over on the north end of Terminal 2). They didn’t make it obvious though, since the information display screen at that gate was showing Ixtapa instead of Tijuana right up until the moment they started the boarding process.

That gave me a good scare, resulting me in running around like a spaz trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Turns out what was going on was an IT glitch of some kind that freaked me the **** out.

Aeromexico domestic business class mobile boarding pass
A pic showing you how early I arrived without actually telling you how early I arrived.
Boarding flight to Tijuana Mexico City airport gate 66
Fast forward a bajillion hours, and…boarding is about to begin.
Mexico City airport gate 66 jet bridge
Or not. There’s a slight blockage here in the jet bridge.
Mexico City airport jet bridge
You probably would have assumed that I would have been the first in line considering how early I arrived. Even I don’t know how I ended up dead last.
Aeromexico 737 max 9 parked at gate Mexico City airport
That’s a squeaky-clean airplane!
Aeromexico 737 max 9 boarding door
You just know it’s going to be a good flight when you can catch a hint of the “new airplane smell” from 10ft away.

My first impressions of the Premier Class seats on the Aeromexico 737 MAX 9

As I stepped through the boarding door, I was having flashbacks to my Aeromexico 737-700 Business class experience from 6 years ago. That wasn’t very good if I’m being honest, but right away I could tell that this was going to be different.

Not only did it smell like a brand new airplane, I was seeing glimpses of neon-purple mood lighting emanating from every crack and crevice. My how things have changed.

Aeromexico 737 max 9 business class cabin
Wait, what? This is Aeromexico? These seats look fantastic!
Aeromexico 737 max 9 business class seats
The window seat is mine. And it just occurred to me as I was uploading this pic that my seat was the only one without a blanket. I got gypped!
Aeromexico 737 max 9 business class leg room
I sure as heck didn’t get gypped on the leg room though. Es muy bueno!
Aeromexico 737 max 9 business class seat storage space
There’s actually a lot of storage space in these seats. The placement of the entertainment system remote is a little odd, but I’m willing to give them a pass on that.
Aeromexico 737 max 9 business class seat storage pockets
And I’m not exactly sure what those little pockets are for, but I can dig it.
Aeromexico 737 max 9 safety card
Some light reading material (and a barf bag). Just trying to be thorough, folks.
Aeromexico 737 max 9 business class cabin looking forward
I don’t want to point any fingers, but who’s to say that the angry security lady didn’t have anything to do with my missing blanket? Oh well. I got pics of her security checkpoint, and she got my blanket. Seems fair.

Right before pushback, the baby in the seat directly behind me that it was a fantastic time to unload into her diaper. Thankfully, dad (with a little help from the flight attendants) took care of it. It’s always an adventure when there are babies in business class!

The departure out of Mexico City

The thing about flying out of the Mexico City Airport is that it requires patience. Lots of it. Today was no different, as it took us about 30 minutes to go approximately 1 mile. It’s been like this for as long as I can remember, so it’s fairly obvious that the Benito Juárez International Airport is in dire need of an upgrade.

Gas truck Mexico City airport
With gas prices being what they are these days, I wonder how much it costs to fill up a MAX 9?
Mexico City airport taxiing to runway
No matter what it costs, I’m sure the $347.55 I paid for this ticket didn’t help.
SANspotter shoes
If you watched the takeoff video (embedded below), you’ll know that it took a while to reach the threshold of runway 05R. This is me (and my foot) trying really hard to be patient.

737 max windows
Yup, if you skipped the video, you missed out on some really sexy 737 MAX engine noises. There’s still time to go back and check it out! I’ll wait…

A closer look at the in-flight entertainment

If you read my Aeromexico 787-8 business class review, the stuff I’m about to show you is going to look awfully familiar. Basically, the video entertainment system on the 737 MAX 9 is virtually identical to what is found on other aircraft in the Aeromexico fleet. It’s a beautiful video screen with an easy to understand user interface, but the content is a little weak IMHO.

Aeromexico 737 max 9 video home screen
Hey, does anyone know what time it is?
Aeromexico 737 max 9 video screens
For what it’s worth, there weren’t any video screens at all on the older Aeromexico 737s, so this is a fairly massive improvement.
Aeromexico 737 max 9 video seat chat
I wonder if there’s anyone onboard who wants to hear about the time I got poison ivy on my you-know-what?

As you might expect, Wi-Fi is available in-flight for an additional cost. I wasn’t feeling very spendy today, so I skipped it.

Aeromexico domestic business class food is so-so

I honestly had no idea what kind of food they were going to be serving on today’s flight. They never sent me an email ahead of time asking me to select my choices, so I assumed that it was going to be something very basic. It turned out that my assumptions were 100% correct.

Basically, they were offering the choice of two different sandwiches (a Club Sandwich, or a BLT). I went with the BLT – which looked nearly identical to the Club Sandwich.

Aeromexico business class box lunch
“I’ll have the Sandwich BLT por favor.”
Aeromexico business class box lunch sandwich
If you’re wondering how that bread managed to stay fresh in a lightly-sealed cardboard box in dry (pressurized) airplane air, it’s not even worth thinking about it. It was stale on arrival.
Aeromexico business class box lunch BLT sandwich
Despite the stale bread (and the fact that it didn’t even look or taste like a BLT), it was actually a decent snack. I’m not all that picky.

How comfortable are the Aeromexico MAX 9 seats on longer flights?

If I had to compare the comfort of the seats in Premier Class on these Aeromexico 737s with other airlines that I’ve flown recently, I would say that they are the most similar to what is found in Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 first class.

The seats are thin, but they do recline a decent amount. That helps to alleviate some of the discomfort you’ll no doubt be feeling on a long 3 hour and 45 minute journey from Mexico City to Tijuana.

Aeromexico 737 max 9 premier class seat recline
Seat recline is pretty good – just as long as you’re not on the receiving end of it.
Aeromexico 737 max 9 premier class seat recline leg room
Protecting my knee (because I know that Mrs 2F is on her third margarita and she’s sure to slam it back any second now).
SANspotter selfie Aeromexico 737 max 9 business class
Knocked. Out. (While still being conscious enough to fire off a selfie, of course)
Aeromexico 737 max 9 under seat mood lighting
By the way, the purple underseat mood lighting is a nice touch. I can only imagine how cool this would look at night!

The arrival into Tijuana

As a resident of San Diego, it’s always a weird feeling landing in Tijuana. On one hand, it feels just as if I have returned home from a long journey. On the other hand, I’m still in a completely different country.

Thankfully, the Cross Border Xpress at the Tijuana airport makes crossing back over into the United States (San Diego) quick and easy. Flying to Tijuana is essentially the same as flying to San Diego.

Flying over gulf of California
Crossing over the northern tip of the Gulf of California means that we are getting close to Tijuana.
Aeromexico domestic business class pre landing snack
It also means that it’s time for pre-landing snacks. Don’t mind if I do.
Aeromexico 737 max 9 engine and wing
Getting closer…
Mountains surrounding Tijuana
Just one last little mountain to dodge…
Arrival at the Tijuana airport
Welcome to Tijuana!
Seeing San Diego from the Tijuana airport
I spy San Diego (over yonder).
Tijuana airport runway and hangar
I also spy the 747SP that has been sitting over there by that hangar for what seems like forever.
Tijuana airport terminal
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to fly Volaris from Mexico City to Tijuana, be sure to check out my Volaris A321 review! Or not. You kind of have to be in the mood for it.
Aeromexico flight arriving at gate
No offense to Aeromexico, but the anticipation of unbuckling my seat belt is killing me.
Aeromexico domestic business class blanket
One last reminder of being gypped out of a comforting blanket as I wait to deplane.
Tijuana airport jet bridge
I can’t complain though, as overall, this was a really fantastic flight.
SANspotter selfie Tijuana airport jet bridge
“Man, just think how much better this review would have been if I was able to get blanket footage!”

Pros and cons of Aeromexico 737 MAX 9 business class

If there’s one thing to be learned from this experience, it’s that Aeromexico domestic business class is getting really good. It’s a lot better than it used to be, and it’s nice to see them trying to be one of the best airlines in the world. They’re not perfect though. Here’s a list of pros and cons you might want to consider before booking a flight:

Pros

  • The Premier Class cabins on the 737 MAX aircraft are beautiful. The deep purple mood lighting (combined with the hospital-white seat trim) is a really nice combination.
  • Seat recline is fantastic. I didn’t get out my tape measure, but it certainly felt better than what you would get back in economy class.
  • The cabin crew on my flight was phenomenal. They were up in the aisle for the entire duration of the flight, which is something you don’t even see on US airlines all that often anymore.
  • Food quality was decent. It was more of a snack than anything else, but it was certainly “quality” stuff.

Cons

  • I found the seats to be a little hard. And that’s saying a lot, because I hardly ever complain about firm seats on airplanes.
  • The food they served was more of a snack than a full meal. If you’re hungry, you’re going to have to bring your own food.

Comments (5)

  1. Janet

    July 7, 2022
    • Scott (SANspotter)

      July 8, 2022
  2. Peter

    July 8, 2022
    • Scott (SANspotter)

      July 9, 2022
      • Peter

        July 10, 2022

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