It’s finally time to leave for this short vacation!
As a reminder, here is the itinerary followed:
Purchase
I purchased the ticket on the American Express Travel website. A mistake not to be repeated again… It’s very difficult to “manage” the booking process on the site, to choose your seats, and so on.
In short, for a very small £1,300, I proceeded with the booking on D-15 of the departure date.
Check-in
As I suspected, it was impossible to check-in online. I’m booked on an Aeromexico flight operated by Air Europa, and although I could check my booking on the Air Europa website a few days before departure, I was unable to do so as soon as the check-in threshold opened. So it’ll be done at the airport.
I arrive at Gatwick about 2h30 before flight departure. The Air Europa counters are already open and I head for them.
I use the SkyPriority queue that will be made available to me.
The agent seems a little confused, as she asks me for my PCR tests. But you don’t need one to go to Mexico. She still asks me for my vaccine. So be it. I didn’t argue more than that.
I inherit seat 02D for the London-Madrid segment operated by Air Europa, and I’m not really asked for my opinion.
All flights are compacted into a single boarding pass.
I’ll try again, without success, to get my boarding passes in PDF after this step, but nothing will help.
Ground experience
The security inspection is located very close to the Air Europa counters. I haven’t tried using Fast Track, but it seems to be open only on separate payment.
However, crowds are very limited and I’ll be there in a jiffy.
At Gatwick, no lounges are open in the afternoon during the pandemic! So I’ll wait for my flight in one of the hub’s cafés.
Boarding
The clock is ticking and I hadn’t noticed: I’m not close to my boarding gate.
The latter is located in one of the newest areas of the North Terminal, the only one currently open.
Although the “Gate Closed” sign is scary, boarding has not yet begun.
Priority passengers are called after pre-boarding for families with babies, and I’ll be the second on board.
On the other hand, no priority lane signs. Is it that difficult? Cutting the whole line is quite humiliating.
Cabin and welcome
No surprises here: this is the classic Air Europa cabin with its blue skai seats.
In the Business cabin, the middle seat is neutralized and a special headrest is fitted.
Once boarding was complete, I was offered a welcome drink… a rare treat on intra-European flights!
I accept with pleasure.
Note that the cleaning was not done properly on this flight, since a glass is present in my seat pocket!
I’ll mention this to the flight attendant, who will be extremely embarrassed and apologize profusely throughout the flight.
Service and catering
Service starts as soon as the seatbelt sign is switched off.
An aperitif is served, and I choose Cava, a fine quality bottle that will accompany me throughout the meal.
A meal tray is then brought to me. The hummus will be good, but in very small quantities.
The chicken fillet will be of good quality, the quinoa will be a little too much.
The strawberry yogurt will be excellent!
The flight attendant offers me several refills, which I decline, then a coffee, which I accept. Excellent service, really.
Arrival and disembarkation
We arrive early in Madrid, and will be parked at a remote stand, like all aircraft from outside the Schengen area, for a unified sanitary control.
I then continue towards the Connections circuit… Only to find the door closed! Indeed, the security checkpoint is closed and I have to wait a good 20 minutes, along with other passengers, for someone to arrive… Never seen that before, except in Riyadh (cf. Corresponding review). I then proceed to the lounge.
Bottom line
A very good flight in itself, but the experience on the ground at Gatwick could really be improved.
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