Review: Aeromexico Lounge Mexico City Airport

The Aeromexico terminal at MEX is brand new - open within the last 10 years. Very bold architecture, to be sure. If you thought that was outdated, and from a different "age", you should see the other terminal. Now that is a tired, old place (but very functional).

I remember this Salon from a few years ago when we travelled between LA and Cuba via Mexico City, and then around Mexico - using Mexico City as a hub. We would have used the lounge probably three or four times.

I remember being underwhelmed, until I realised there was waiter service. I don't remember self serving anything. The service may have been so good, as we tipped after receiving our first coffee/Bloody Mary. The service made several longish layovers (more than a couple of hours) a pleasure.

I seem to remember difficulties with the wifi as well.

I also agree about the decor. There is something retro and comforting about all those circle pierced surfaces. We were only there during the day - so it always had a light filled quality.

Not the best lounge, but strangely one of my favourites.

Very good post Lucky.

I was just curious as I will be spending some time in the MEX Airport in July flying American Airlines. As a Citi Prestige card member and also will be flying F on AA, which lounge would be best to spend my time - the Admiral's Club or the Aeromexico lounge?

One tip regarding the lounge: the spa offers free showers. There are only two shower rooms and you sometimes have to track down an attendant, however.

And they have constructing a new airport. The new airport is 5miles northeast from the old one, and excepted to be opened in 2020

If you have a Citi Prestige or Citi Premier card you can access to the Beyond Banamex bank Lounge (Banamex is part of citi group), in the Beyond Lounge you have free hot food.

I flew MAD-MEX-LAX just a day or so after you, it appears. I connected from Iberia to American, which meant my transit was in the much older, much more labyrinthine Terminal 1, on the other side of the runway. As @Jason said, you were fortunate to connect in Terminal 2, which is less than a decade old and arguably MEX's premier facility. Finding one's way through Terminal 1 requires *extremely* careful attention to the signs, as there are random floor changes, over a dozen ticket halls and associated security checkpoints, and absolutely no natural light or sense of direction whatsoever - not even from little circles on the walls and ceiling.

Honestly, I didn't find my MEX transfer to be any more confusing or off-putting than a Heathrow transfer. Yes, you have to clear immigration, but the staff were much nicer and the whole process more efficient than any experience I've ever had at LHR. Besides, if one's whole purpose is to fly interesting routes on new airlines, it's going to mean connecting in some less savory facilities. Not every airport is going to be Schiphol or Changi.

The randomizer for customs is common at all Mexican airports and pops up elsewhere from in Latin America from time to time, too.

As others have said, the Aeromexico terminal is actually quite new, it opened around 2007 or 2008. The architecture is simply meant to be rather "avant garde", or something. We can count you as not a fan 🙂

And the international-to-international transfer experience is not great, since Mexico is just like the US in not having a sterile international departures zone of the airport (indeed, you could have gone through security at any departures checkpoint, since all areas of the Aeromexico terminal are connected airside; there is also a connections security checkpoint that can be accessed without having to go all the way landside, but it is easy to miss so not surprising you apparently passed it). So you at least had the experience that Mexicans and other Latin Americans have when they have to fly elsewhere in the world and connect through the US...

MEX used to have sterile transit until the 2004 remodel. It was a nice, modern terminal. They made it more maze-like and shabby and eliminated the sterile zone in order to squeeze in more traffic.

Remember that MEX is the O&D port for a first world megacity of 22 million people. And it's the size of London Gatwick or the old Hong Kong Kai Tak airport. With mountains and city packed around every side in difficult locations, expansion is impossible.

The national government is designing a giant new 4 runway airport with space for four more and a giant modern terminal to be built around 2020. That date will slip but the demand exists to get it built. The only space left in the valley where such a project could go is right over the lakebed of the old lake Texcoco. The lake is dry most of the year now because of drainage projects but still fills up in the September rainy season. To avoid flooding, the airport will have to be built hanging down from stilts erected on giant deep caissons. Even the runways will be built on trusses over stilts. It should be very pretty if they can make it work.

I suspect the elimination of sterile transit is related to crowding. The airport authority wants to preserve space for O&D traffic more than it wants international business so it punishes transfer pax. That prevents growing passenger loads and businesses from the convenient natural hub position that MEX holds between Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

A new expanded airport with sterile transit could mean steep growth in transit and shipping business for Mexican companies connecting the world. I hope so.

@James S "Honestly, I didn’t find my MEX transfer to be any more confusing or off-putting than a Heathrow transfer."

Damning with faint praise.

@CJ "flying F on AA, which lounge would be best to spend my time – the Admiral’s Club or the Aeromexico lounge?"

AM has abandoned T1 for T2 while AA runs all ops from T1, so I'd be surprised if you can access any Aeromexico lounges. There's a $10 slow bus every 15 minutes between the two terminals landside. I think AA J offers access to a couple contract lounges. (AA does not offer any F service to MEX.)

@Owen - thank you for the clarification. I am not familiar with MEX Airport. Good information and yes, you are correct - J class, not F. Thx again!

Lucky, the chips and salsa are to make your own "chilaquiles" which is a Mexican traditional dish from the north, basically a full breakfast and you can add shredded chicken or eggs. That looks better than the Amex lounge I usually visit. Next time I will eat at the AM lounge and then get a massage at the Amex one.

Ive tried each and every single lounge in MEX. The HSBC Premier lounge is the best in T2 in MEX in terms of quietness and personalized service, food and booze, and has great WiFi. Amex has better food though, but for a fee as you have stated.

The lounge furniture and ambience are a little depressing...

In the mornings AM offers a hot mexican breakfast as a burritos, chilaquiles (corn chips with hot salsa and sour cream with cheese), mashed beans, quesadillas, scramble eggs, cereal, fruit salad, muesli, pastries, etc..

Now the National Salon Premier is closed for remodeling, which expand to twice its capacity with a more modern design and buffet food all day.

All those "polka-dot" walls and ceilings! After a while, even the pictures hurt my eyes 🙂 Hopefully they are a little less annoying in person.

-the terminal is less depressing during the day-
-massage prices are fine for the US, but overpriced for Mexico-

I find the arrogant tone of this review even amusing. The writer starts by stating that he arrived early in the morning when it is still dark, and then proceeds to complain over and over about the lack of natural light... blaming it on the facilities!

I personally find the architecture very appealing, but that is a matter of taste. Apart from personal aesthetic appreciations, the fact is that those "wall-holes" have a clear practical purpose: they let natural light in...nevertheless for this unusual architectural technology to function properly, the sun needs to come out!!!...just check the last pictures.

Going through customs and security for international connections is a must in US airports. I wouldn't be surprised if MEX had to implement such a system to comply with security requirements to be allowed to make connections to the US.

Your are talking about the main airport of an alpha global mega-city which is capital to one of the 12 largest economies in the world... Mexico has plenty of AAA consumers, and those massage prices are quite low compared to high end facilities in Polanco or Santa Fe business districts of the city... Mexico is one of the largest growing markets for luxury products; don't let your prejudice rule over your reason!

I've been through both terminals of this airport and can say that Terminal 1 is definitely more confusing, but Terminal 2 can be confusing as well the first time you go through it. If you have to transfer from T2 to T1 or vice versa, make sure you have about an extra hour! That's where things really get confusing as the personnel say things like "at the end of the corridor" but fail to mention that the corridor splits and there is no signage about which direction to go, etc...

I agree with other commenters that the architecture isn't bad at all. It reminds me of Houston's Hobby Airport. It's certainly more aesthetically pleasing than a lot of international airports--IAH, DFW, etc. are all function over form.

The main problem I have with MEX is that the screens displaying flight times seem to malfunction a lot. 2 out of 4 times my flight has mysteriously disappeared from the board, leaving me panicked... Once the flight only showed up on half of the screens but not the other half...

I've found WiFi in both lounges impossible to connect to with Apple products, and possible but very slow and unsatisfactory with a Samsung phone. I recommend the general airport connection, which you might have to pay for if you don't have Amex like the author, but it's worth it if you really need WiFi.

I didn't know that the Aeromexico lounge offered free breakfast! Does anyone know if they have food sitting out throughout the day, too--or is it just in the morning hours?

This is one of the most despondent, arrogant and culturaly insensitive reviews that I have read in a long time. The male gaze and white privilege with which this review is written is disgusting.

I am glad you got to experience what is like for everyone else when connecting through the US.