So we went across to the back of the airport and joined the queue for the ticket desk. There were 3 agents one of whom did not appear to be serving and the other 2 were obviously dealing with something that I though must be very complex as we stood in line for at least 15-20 mins before we were seen even though we were at the front of the queue. Eventually we got to the font and explained that we wished to upgrade. She went to the phone and then came back a few minutes later to ask us if the check in agent had said there was room to upgrade which we confirmed she had and she had only sent us over to pay for it. After she had made sve3ral more telephone calls and probably 10o minutes later (by which time we were thinking of telling them to forget it and we would fly Y) she came back with a credit card receipt for us to sign (then another phone call to get authorisation!). Finally she issued us with a receipt and told us to get back to the check in agent.
By now there was a long queue at check in but as we needed to see this one agent and our bags were already out back, we went around the queue and stood at the side of her desk only then to get loads of abuse form Mexican stood in line to check in who thought we were queue-jumping. Finally she called us over and told us we would have to come back again in 10 minutes as although she had confirmed our tickets, as the flight was originating in Mexico City, she needed confirmation of which seats she could allocate us before she could print our boarding cards. There was no way we were going to have the hassle of coming back and queue-jumping again so we told her we would wait at the side of the desk. [n]
About 10 minutes later she did come back to us with boarding cards duly printed and we asked about checking our bags through to LHR which she also did. No lounge pass was issued this time but we knew the lounge details for CUN anyway and could get in 2 of the 3 lounges there anyway with our priority pass.
Off to the lounge and had a couple of drinks to while away (the now short) time before boarding. The lounges here are all much of a muchness - quite small with not a great drinks selection and a few basic snacks similar to many Servisair etc lounges in the UK. We chose the lounge for the Mexicana Elite passengers as they called the flights in there.
We were called for boarding but this time it was a real scrum. [V] They called Elite passengers first i.e. rows 1-3 but we simply couldnt get through the crowds in the departure lounge to the doors. Then there were Mexicans behind us who pushed in front because other members of their party were allegedly in front of us (even though none of them had yet been called). I still dont understand why people do this why would you sit on a plane in Y longer than you need to we certainly dont if were flying Y. Anyway, there was clearly no policing of this as it turned out that we were the first Elite to board (there were only 8 of us anyway) despite being about half way down the queue. Clearly the other elite passengers knew what to expect as they were about the last to board lesson learned for the future.
Flight was actually slightly better than the last one. The crew were mush friendlier and happier looking. Offered pre-departure drinks and this time the vino tinto was ok. Take off was on time. Seats and cabin were the same and fairly comfortable. IFE was the same old drop down TVs but this time (presumably because of the time of day) we were actually served a meal. We were never actually asked if we wanted a meal or what we would like so clearly there was no choice but luckily were not veggies. The meal was some sort of chicken roulade which actually looked really nice but tasted of absolutely nothing it was so bland. Mr S must have been hungry as he ate all of his. The dessert was a sort of chocolate ganache tart which was really really tasty. Bread roll was rock hard and butter was rancid but we didnt really need to eat anyway.
Before long (flight only just over 90 mins) we were making descent and we landed into Miami pretty much on time.
Lesson learned from last flight and ensured that we were stood mid-aisle as soon as seatbelt signs off to save us being penned into our seats by Y pax coming into the cabin and we were again one of the first off and into Miami immigration. There was a slightly longer queue this time but we were still through within about 5-10 minutes although we were asked quite a lot of questions this time like what we did for a living and what cash and how much we had on us etc.
Through baggage reclaim (as bags were checked straight through to LHR) and followed the dots as advised we found it quite easy to navigate and then through to the VS check in area and onto next flight leg..
Next flight in VS trip reports.
