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)

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:

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.