SkyTeam member Aeromexico currently sells quite a lot of interesting business class tickets. Currently, they run a promotion for tickets to São Paulo, Brazil. With a travel time of more than 40 hours in a premium cabin, this is one of the best value-for-money deals we ever had to offer.
A stopover in Mexico City for several days increases the price by €250, but makes the journey even more attractive.
Sadly, Aeromexico’s refund policies have expired, making these tickets non-refundable.
Worldwide travel restrictions are in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. We strongly recommend gathering detailed information about the travel and quarantine restrictions that apply to your desired origin and destination.
A good start is the International Air Transport Association (IATA) website. It provides current updates on a country’s immigration policies. Even better, the Covid-19 Travel Regulations Map is one of the most useful tools you can find.
Our availability calendar shows all possible flight dates at the lowest fare for trips up to 28 days. It will forward you with your selected flight dates to Aeromexico’s website.
While Aeroméxico’s website does not show them, it is also possible to find these tickets with departure from Barcelona, Bilbao, Palma de Mallorca and Valencia. Google Flights will show you online travel agencies that sell these tickets. All of these flights require an additional stop in Madrid or Paris.
While the itinerary doesn’t make much sense from a distance standpoint, it represents a decent opportunity to spend time in a business class cabin and earn miles. All flights are operated by Aeromexico’s Boeing 787-9 (1-2-1) aircraft.
We expect further shakeups in the airline industry over the following months. Some services might be cancelled, aircraft changed or downgraded. The schedule we describe may very well change.
Search & Book
The fare rules specify this offer ends on November 7, 2021. At least one night from Saturday to Sunday needs to pass between your arrival and departure from Brazil. Your journey has to end on March 31, 2022, or earlier.
You can find suiting flight dates with Google Flights (instructions). While online travel agencies sell these tickets as well, the price difference does not justify the additional risks. Aeromexico has the best possible offer itself.
Why is booking with an airline better than with an online travel agency?
More often than not, online travel agencies offer lower fares than airlines do. We still recommend booking with the airlines directly. There are two main reasons for that:
Better Customer Service
In case any problems like delays, cancellations or missed connections arise, you can communicate directly with the airline. The airline has to take care of you because you have a contract with them.
If a travel agency issues your ticket, you may have to reach out to them first. You also depend on your OTA to forward information like flight changes instead of receiving them directly from the airline. In many cases, you may get a prime exhibition of responsibility shifting rather than problem-solving.
This especially applies to premium tickets. You don’t want to spend more than €1,000 to wind up with some budget OTA’s telephone hotline in case anything goes wrong.
Baggage and Other Fees
Economy fares not including hold luggage are industry standard by now. In most cases, travel agencies charge much higher baggage fees than the airlines themselves. If bags are not included in your fare, airlines are often the cheaper alternative.
This also applies to other things like food services, insurances or priority treatment. In almost all cases, you pay less for additional amenities when booking on the airlines’ website.
Stopover in Mexico City
If you are already in Mexico City after such a long journey, it definitely makes sense to leave the airport and explore the marvels of the gigantic metropolis. The best way to do that is Aeromexico’s multi stop search. Prices start at €1,206 per person:
Information & Tips for Mexico City
3 Tips for Mexico City
Mexico City is not quite as touristic as, for example, the seaside resort city and party destination Cancun. This means that hardly anybody speaks English, but you also don’t have to be afraid of being ripped off because you look like a tourist. My 3 tips for Mexico City:
- Torre Latinoamericana: The office tower – which looks a bit ugly from the outside – offers a fantastic view over the city, especially at dusk. The ticket is valid for several visits over the course of a whole day and costs 110 Pesos (= 4,50€).
- Chapultepec Park: There is a free zoo in Chapultepec Park. Even though admission is free, you can admire a total of 252 different animal species.
- Teotihuacán: A little outside of town are the impressive pyramids of Teotihuacán. I recommend that you get there early, otherwise you’ll have to wait in line for a long time. I came by public bus (not through an organized tour), I found the instructions on how to do that in this blog. I would also recommend checking out the cave restaurant there!
For getting around Mexico City I recommend using Uber. The countless taco stands are also great and extremely cheap. However, make sure that the meat is adequately cooled. Unfortunately, you often see that raw meat is lying somewhere in the blazing sun.
→ All Dealz for Mexico City
Mileage
Aeromexico tickets all flights segments in booking class I. This results in awesome opportunities to earn miles with most SkyTeam frequent flyer programs:
- 42,902 Miles on Xiamen Airlines Egret Club
- 41,012 Award Miles + 300 Tier Points on Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- 41,012 RDM + 6,152 MQD on Delta SkyMiles
- 30,760 Miles on Aerolíneas Argentinas AerolíneasPlus
- 30,760 Miles on Copa ConnectMiles
- 30,760 Miles on MEA Cedar Miles
- 30,760 Miles on CSA OK Plus
- 30,760 Miles on GOL Aéreos Smiles
- 30,760 Miles on LATAM Pass
- 25,634 Award Miles + 132 XP on Flying Blue
- 25,634 Miles on Air Europa Suma
- 25,634 Miles on Korean Air Skypass
- 25,634 Miles on Saudia Alfursan
- 25,634 Miles on China Airlines Dynasty Flyer
- 25,634 Miles on Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles
- 20,506 Miles on Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles
Information & Tips for Brazil
Brazil is probably the country in South America that is most frequented by tourists. Whether it’s the carnival or the Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro or touring the Amazon, visitors will get their money’s worth here.
Traditionally, flights to South America and Brazil from Europe are quite expensive, but since a few years, there are increasingly cheap offers, especially with Iberia and TAP.
Best Time to Visit
Brazil is a vast country – so there is no such thing as an overall best travel time. It all depends on what you want to see. It is best to visit the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo autumn and spring while the dry season fort the rainforest is from May to September.
Entry & Visa
EU citizens do not require a visa for stays of up to 90 days and can enter with a passport only. Note that, similar to the USA, that after your first stop in Brazil your luggage must be collected and brought through customs. Calculate accordingly when booking a connecting flight.
Finding the Best eSIM Plan
We’ve compared various eSIM providers, such as Airalo and Maya Mobile. To see which plan is best for your travel needs, and which network offers the best coverage, feel free to read our detailed guide:
The Best eSIM Plans for Brazil 🇧🇷 Compared
→ All Dealz for Brazil
Information & Tips for Mexico
Mayan pyramids, dreamy beaches and tacos – Mexico is an incredibly diverse country. If you want to experience the Spanish-speaking country to its fullest, you should definitely stay somewhere other than the tourist hotspots and seaside resorts.
The Best Time to Travel
The perfect travel time is from December to April, during this time it hardly rains and the temperatures are pleasant. Unsurprisingly, during the rainy season from May to October there is more rainfall. Beware of some extreme weather phenomenons that might be unknown to Europeans: Hurricane season lasts from June to November! Those who want to travel to typical holiday areas like Cancún and do not want to spend lots of money should travel in the off season. Areas with less touristic relevance such as Mexico City, on the other hand, are relatively constant throughout the year from a price perspective.
Currency, Credit Cards & Tipping
The official currency of the country is the Mexican Peso. 1 EUR equals about MX$18. The acceptance of credit cards is comparable to or even slightly better than Germany. In almost all shops, even small kiosks, it is possible and quite normal to pay by card. The same applies to restaurants. For street vendors, street snack bars and the like, it is advisable to have a few pesos in cash with you. It is unusual to tip taxis or cab drivers. At a restaurant, 10-15 percent are normal, as long as the tip is not already listed on the bill as a line item. When paying by card, you can usually choose how much you want to tip at the card terminal before entering the pin. Housekeeping at a hotel should usually be tipped 20-40 Pesos per day, small favours have a going tip rate of 5 Pesos.
Immigration & Visa Requirements
Most EU citizens do not need a visa to enter Mexico. All you need to do is fill out the tourist card that is handed out onboard the plane. For touristic and business purposes, a visa-free stay of 180 days is possible.
→ All Dealz for Mexico
Cover Picture: © Aeromexico
Comments (8)
Hey Felix
Do you anticipate any more of these sub-€1000 fares for Aeromexico or Latam in the future? I’m kicking myself for not booking earlier & any kind of business availability for AM seems non-existent for months now. Hoping the silver lining of Omicron is an extension of these type of deals.
For Europe-based Skymiles members, these routes & locations are about the surest thing you can bank on this coming year. Not confident my booked AF trips to Asia (Korea & Japan) will be going ahead.
Hi Louis,
sadly, I don’t see them coming back soon. While I am happy that I took the chance to book back in August, I feel completely opposite to you: A bit anxious about Omicron messing up my trip.
Totally get you on that but if it’s any consolation, Mexico & Brazil have been open for business more than pretty much anywhere else during this whole thing.
I don’t expect Brazil to change much until Bolsonaro is gone (late ’22) & Mexico seems to be prioritising staying open to Western holidaymakers.
I’m now looking to book an alternative to Korea in March as there seems little chance they’ll be open by then. Barbados, Dom Rep, Mexico, Brazil or Colombia with AF/KLM are under consideration. Would love Aeromexico for the miles but can’t see anything emerging soon either.
Hi Louis!
The deal is available again with departure from Barcelona. I wholeheartedly recommend taking the chance. Also, make sure to spend some time in Mexico City, the place is awesome. https://travel-dealz.eu/deal/aeromexico-business-brazil/
Where do you find that this deal is refundable? It books in I-class of which AM confirms its non refundable. Also fare notes indicate that it is non refundable
Hi Guidogh! Thanks for pointing that out. This deal used to be refundable, but Aeromexico seems to have deleted all pages related to their Covid refund policy.
40 Stunden mit Maske und weniger Service, man muss schon Masochist sein um dafür noch 1000 Euro zu zahlen…
1. der Service ist mittlerweile fast identisch zu 2019
2. die 40 Stunden stellen die Gesamtreisezeiten dar und nicht Flugzeiten. Da kann man theoretisch einen schönen Tag in MEX zwischen Flügen verbringen.
3. die Länge dieser Flüge bietet unglaublich gute Prämien- und Statusmeilen (132 XP bei AF/KL!), und das eben für unter 1000euro.