Trip Report: VivaAerobus, Mexico City to Merida
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I needed to fly from Mexico City to Merida and the day I was looking to fly, only two options were available: VivaAerobus and Volaris. I looked at both websites and priced out both flights - both flights were leaving around the same time and both were low-cost airlines; the only difference between the two that I could see is that VivaAerobus included the airport tax within your ticket price while for Volaris this had to be paid separately. For this reason only I decided to book with VivaAerobus. VivaAerobus is a low-cost airline based in Mexico. As a lcc, the airline operates like any other lcc in that you pay for your ticket and that comes with a seat; anything else is additional. The airline has 4 different ticket options and I choose the option that includes a personal item + carry-on. The option that I choose did not include choosing your seat as that would cost extra. There were no bundle options and when booking lcc's around the world I find that the bundle options always seem to work best for me but they did not have that option. Throughout the booking process there were options to upgrade or add features such as selecting your seat or adding luggage; these options were available all the way until check-in. I booked and paid for my ticket and received my confirmation and then downloaded the app so that I could manage my booking through the app (I could also add all the options for my booking through the app).
With my ticket I was able to check-into my flight 36-hours prior to my flight. Up to this point, and
during the check-in process, there was the availability to add the options of preselecting my seat or adding additional luggage. I did add additional hand luggage because I was not sure how strict VivaAerobus was in enforcing the hand-carry weight restrictions (were not strict at all). After upgrading my hand luggage, I checked in and received a random seat number and my boarding pass. I was assigned a middle seat and I was not able to change/modify my seat without paying for a seat selection. The flight was scheduled to depart at 8:00pm and I got to the airport 2-hours in advance. Because I had checked-in online and had a mobile boarding pass, I did not need to go through the check-in desks but could head straight to security. After security, I checked the screen to see which gate the flight would take off since neither the mobile boarding pass nor the app stated a gate number. When I checked the monitor it said "T gates" and I was confused since every other gate had a number and no letters. I later found out that this is the general waiting area until your gate is announced and then you proceed to your gate since there is limited to no waiting space near the gates. We got a seat near the monitors so we could watch our flight and this is where the fun began. Our flight was scheduled to take off at 8pm so boarding would begin at 7:15p; that time came and went and there was no announcement nor information regarding the flight on the main screen. I had to go to VivaAerobus's own counter where I found out that the flight had been delayed; there was no announcement nor information provided. A little while later, the flight was still delayed and now said a departure of 9:30pm; I talked with the agent who said that the incoming flight was delayed but that the plane had departed and would land into Mexico City at 9:30pm which meant we would not take off until 10/10:15pm. There was no general information nor announcement from the airline nor ground staff. Finally at 9:30pm a boarding gate was announced and we all proceeded to the gate.
The gate was extremely chaotic and disorganized because there was more people waiting for the plane than what the gate could accommodate. Passengers were supposed to board through one line but it was very difficult to hear which group they were boarding unless you went right next to the gate agent. VivaAerobus boards the plane by rows from the rear to the front in 3-row increments; you wait for your row number/group to be called and proceed boarding that way. I am not sure if this was a COVID thing or if this was done pre-COVID as well. During the boarding process, I did see other VivaAerobus staff rolling around carts with weighing machines to enforce hand-carry restrictions but the staff on this flight did not do that. The flight was 90% full so we boarded and pushed back from the gate at 10:15pm. The plane was an Airbus A321 in a 3-3 seat configuration. There were business class seats which VivAerobus contacts as VIP and there were also some economy seats with extra legroom. I was in the standard economy seat in row 18. The standard seat had a seatback pocket on the top which contained the onboard menu, the safety card as well as the airline's magazine. Beneath that was a standard tray table and beneath that should have been a small pocket to store valuables but that was removed so there was nothing. The seats themselves looked nice and decent and were slimline seats; the plane and seats seemed somewhat new. Even though the plane just landed from another flight and they quickly turned around the flight, the airplane was in decent and somewhat clean condition; probably not sanitized but definitely cleaner than I have seen for other airlines. The seat width was decent but the seat pitch was definitely tight and this is where you could feel the low-cost effect. Overall, the seats were decent for the 1h45m flight that we had but I am not sure they would be comfortable on the longer flights that VivaAerobus operates (to Chicago or New York).
Once airborne, inflight service commenced. As with all low-cost airlines, VivaAerobus operates a buy
on-board service. Nothing is given for free and everything is available for purchase. They have a variety of options available including sandwiches, drinks and snacks; I did not purchase anything but I did see a lot of people purchasing items and the costs was the same as what you would get in the airport terminal. The airplane also offered wifi onboard and once connected you could access the onboard menu and magazine, the flight status, information about VivaAerobus, newspapers, movies and TV show, and of course wifi. Wifi was available for purchase and some movies and TV shows were locked and could be accessed by purchasing an entertainment package. The wifi and availability of many options for free was something I was not expecting so kudos to VivaAerobus for that. We started our decent into Merida and landed 2.5hrs later than our scheduled arrival. Overall, it was an interesting and frustrating experience with VivaAerobus. The on-ground experience was frustrating as there was no announcements nor information regarding flight delays, the agents were not service friendly and many of them seemed annoyed that questions were being asked. Onboard, the plane looked new, the cabin was clean, and the seats were decent for a low-cost airline. The main question - would I recommend VivaAerobus? I would say definitely not recommend VivaAerobus for long-haul as the uncomfortable seats and the buy-on-board would not make it a comfortable long-haul flight. For short-haul, under 2-hours, I would say if the price is right then yes. I paid $50 for my one-way flight and that included the extra payment for the luggage (which we ended up not needing) so that is a good price for a short-haul flight.
With my ticket I was able to check-into my flight 36-hours prior to my flight. Up to this point, andduring the check-in process, there was the availability to add the options of preselecting my seat or adding additional luggage. I did add additional hand luggage because I was not sure how strict VivaAerobus was in enforcing the hand-carry weight restrictions (were not strict at all). After upgrading my hand luggage, I checked in and received a random seat number and my boarding pass. I was assigned a middle seat and I was not able to change/modify my seat without paying for a seat selection. The flight was scheduled to depart at 8:00pm and I got to the airport 2-hours in advance. Because I had checked-in online and had a mobile boarding pass, I did not need to go through the check-in desks but could head straight to security. After security, I checked the screen to see which gate the flight would take off since neither the mobile boarding pass nor the app stated a gate number. When I checked the monitor it said "T gates" and I was confused since every other gate had a number and no letters. I later found out that this is the general waiting area until your gate is announced and then you proceed to your gate since there is limited to no waiting space near the gates. We got a seat near the monitors so we could watch our flight and this is where the fun began. Our flight was scheduled to take off at 8pm so boarding would begin at 7:15p; that time came and went and there was no announcement nor information regarding the flight on the main screen. I had to go to VivaAerobus's own counter where I found out that the flight had been delayed; there was no announcement nor information provided. A little while later, the flight was still delayed and now said a departure of 9:30pm; I talked with the agent who said that the incoming flight was delayed but that the plane had departed and would land into Mexico City at 9:30pm which meant we would not take off until 10/10:15pm. There was no general information nor announcement from the airline nor ground staff. Finally at 9:30pm a boarding gate was announced and we all proceeded to the gate.
Once airborne, inflight service commenced. As with all low-cost airlines, VivaAerobus operates a buyon-board service. Nothing is given for free and everything is available for purchase. They have a variety of options available including sandwiches, drinks and snacks; I did not purchase anything but I did see a lot of people purchasing items and the costs was the same as what you would get in the airport terminal. The airplane also offered wifi onboard and once connected you could access the onboard menu and magazine, the flight status, information about VivaAerobus, newspapers, movies and TV show, and of course wifi. Wifi was available for purchase and some movies and TV shows were locked and could be accessed by purchasing an entertainment package. The wifi and availability of many options for free was something I was not expecting so kudos to VivaAerobus for that. We started our decent into Merida and landed 2.5hrs later than our scheduled arrival. Overall, it was an interesting and frustrating experience with VivaAerobus. The on-ground experience was frustrating as there was no announcements nor information regarding flight delays, the agents were not service friendly and many of them seemed annoyed that questions were being asked. Onboard, the plane looked new, the cabin was clean, and the seats were decent for a low-cost airline. The main question - would I recommend VivaAerobus? I would say definitely not recommend VivaAerobus for long-haul as the uncomfortable seats and the buy-on-board would not make it a comfortable long-haul flight. For short-haul, under 2-hours, I would say if the price is right then yes. I paid $50 for my one-way flight and that included the extra payment for the luggage (which we ended up not needing) so that is a good price for a short-haul flight.
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