Aeromexico (and Continental on the side)

Yesterday I undertook a day trip to Houston, TX on business (sort of). I flew on Aeromexico.

Trouble began with the short notice. My first thought was to look up flights on United (which used to be called Continental before the merger). On the plus side they ahd more flights and options, on the downside they were incredibly expensive. At noon Monday, they quoted a round trip price of $700. By 3 pm when the plans were finalized, it stood at $1,200. I paid about $300 less than that for airfare and a room for 12 nights in Vegas! Unbelievable.

So I took Aeromexico. i wasn't paying. But neither was I authorizing payment... Long story short. I arrived at Houston at noon, having left at 9:30 AM, but the return fligth wasn't until 9 PM....

Anyway, Aeromexico is not a low cost carrier, so I expected a better experience than my alst few flights. If only it were that simple. You see, there are divisions within the company. one such is called "Aeromexico Connect." Formerly it was called "Aerolitoral." It's a subsidiary/division set up, originally, to handle feeder fligths from smaller cities to big hubs. Originally. It has since then morphed into Aeromexico's "low cost" arm, meaning its non-highway-robbery arm. It operates small, regional-type jets, but on more routes than a regional airline would. IN short, among other things it operates the Mexico City-Houston route, among many others.

Now, for a low cost-type carrier, it's really expensive. Call my flight about $650 roundtrip. Even allowing for the fact that it's summer vacation season, that's really high. On the other hand see the prices charged by ConUnited.

There were some highlights:

1) I flew in an Embraer EMB-190. Call it a slimmer, shorter version of a Boeing 737 and you'd be close. Of course this one was amde in Brazil rather than Seattle. But it's interesting. it's about as long as the smallest B-737, but with a narrower fuselage and shorter wingspan. It has engines on the wings, like the 737 and A-320/319/321, plus winglets on the wingtips like the 737, therefore the ressemblance. Seating is two per side on coach, 2 and 1 in first class. There are two lavatories, but one is reserved for first class.

2) Immigration was fast and easy. The agent hardly even bothered with questions.

Watch out for the next post for the lowlights...

Quote: Nareed

Anyway, Aeromexico is not a low cost carrier, so I expected a better experience than my alst few flights.

Actually, at least in the US, the low cost carriers - like Jet Blue or Virgin - are the ones, providing the best experience.

Interesting. I don't think I've ever been in an Embraer that wasn't a regional jet (i.e., 2 by 1 seating arrangement, ~50 seats, no first class). They're a Brazilian manufacturer, right?

Quote: teddys

Interesting. I don't think I've ever been in an Embraer that wasn't a regional jet (i.e., 2 by 1 seating arrangement, ~50 seats, no first class).

That would be the ERJ-some number. It looks like a DC-9/MD-80/B-717 left in the drier for too long :)

Quote:

They're a Brazilian manufacturer, right?

Yes. According to Aeromexico's in-flight magazine, the EMB-190 carries 99 passengers. That puts it in the class vacated by Boeing and Airbus of the former B-727 and DC-9 small jets. I don't know what the European equivalent was.

Quote: Nareed

That would be the ERJ-some number. It looks like a DC-9/MD-80/B-717 left in the drier for too long :)

The ERJ145 is that size (2+1, single cabin), the 170 is 1+2 in first (6 total seats) & 2+2 in economy. The 190 is larger, with the same configuration as the 170, but more total seats.

Now for the downsides....

You'd think a ~2:30 flight on a full service airline would include a meal. It kind of does. Kind of. They handed out what's known locally as a "box lunch." Lunch in Mexico means a substantial snack, rather than a meal. In this case it was a sandwich with one slice each of a lunch meat, cheese, tomato and lettuce, a small bag of chips, and a candy bar. You also get a cup of a soft drink, juice, water or coffee.

But for the bag of chips, that's the same kind of snack you get on a "first class" bus trip. Except the bus line gives you the full soft drink can, or the full bottle of water. On the other hand, the plane has a tray while the bus doesn't. Make of it what you will.

The plane had no video nor any audio channels available (mayb it does in first class). This is no biggie for me, but again the bus does have it. lately ETN even has free WiFi and individual screens with a choice of videos on trips longer than 4 hours, so....

The plane itself was rather nice. The seats are comfortable enough, and they recline quite a bit. Leg room is scant, but I snagged a seat on the exit row over the wing on the flight back, which has a LOT of leg room.

The engines seem smaller, mostly because they should be smaller, and as far as I could tell they have no trust-reversers at all. I need to look them up to amke sure but a) the plane didn't go to full power on touch down and b) I saw no thrust-reversers pop out on either landing. However, the plane did not seem tot ake up too much runway to slow down, so maybe it just doesn't need any (they do use up fuel). And these small jets tend to have lower landing speeds, seeing as they are lighter and all.

Takeoff was rather smooth, but the climb out seemed to take a long time. At that I felt we weren't flying as high as on a 737 or a an A-320, but it's ahrd to tell. That's something else I should look up.

About Houston, I can't say I cared much for it. Some more on that later.

Quote: teddys

Interesting. I don't think I've ever been in an Embraer that wasn't a regional jet (i.e., 2 by 1 seating arrangement, ~50 seats, no first class). They're a Brazilian manufacturer, right?

There 50 passenger regional jet is the backbone of their sales. They have made about 900 of them in the last 23 years; they are still manufacturing them, and most are still flying.

Since the year 2004 the two latest models (delivered over 500 jets) have been
The 190 has 98-113 seats (JetBlue was launch customer)
The 195 has 108-124 seats

Standard ranges of the model 190 (1800 nautical miles), and model 195 (1400 nm) are much shorter than the Boeing 737, but longer range versions are available.

So far only JetBlue and Frontier Airlines (Colorado) are the only US Airlines to operate the larger Embraer jets, but USAirways has 32 on order.

Quote: Nareed

Takeoff was rather smooth, but the climb out seemed to take a long time. At that I felt we weren't flying as high as on a 737 or a an A-320, but it's ahrd to tell. That's something else I should look up.

These jets have pretty much standardized on 39-41 thousand feet service ceiling (up from 35 for older jets). It should give you a smoother ride, but you spent a lot of time over mountains.

Another thing about Aeromexico. At the Mex City airport, they prefer that you check in at the automated kiosks, and then get to the counter to chek your luggage. I don't mind, but the airlines are supposed to check that passengers hold a valid passport and visa (when needed). Trust me, you don't want to arrive in the US without a valid visa.

Anyway, in Houston I took a cab from the airport to the city. It cost $70 (that's in US dollars). The trip was about 40-45 minutes with light traffic. It seems like a lot, to me, and I do mean a LOT. I'd anticiapted $30-$50. Finding a cab at the airport's a piece of cake. elsewhere, you pretty much need to call a cab. Don't they circulate looking for fares? I never saw an empty cab on the street. That seems odd for a city.

I finished with business at about 2:00 PM. After inquiring at a CVS pharmacy, they called a cab for me and I went to the nearest Barnes and Noble ($15 trip). Side note, we passed close to Reliant Stadium, home to big disappointments (or is that the Houston Texans? I never can tell). I spent close to 2:30 hours browsing the bookstore. At that, I might have taken longer if I'd thought to buy a bigger bag. As it was, as soon as I had 5 books, including 3 reduced price hardcovers, to fill my bag, I had to give up :(

So I got Niven's latest novel on the Fleet of Worlds setting, part of the Known Space setting, plus a Timothy Zahn Star Wars novel (I like him, not SW per se), a Golden Age SF anthology edited by Asimov, Waugh and Greenberg, a collection of H.G. Welles novels and stories (hey, it's a thick hardcover for $9.99!), and cook book about soup (I still need help getting some kinds of soups right)

After that I ate at Quizno's and eventually took another $70 cab to the airport. Given such prices, next time, if there's a next time, I think I'd be better off renting a car for the day. Even one equipped with a GPS navigation unit can't possibly cost more than $155, and it would ahve given me some flexibility (like a trunk to store a bigger bag, rather than having to schlepp the bag along with me).

So overall a good trip.

Quote: Nareed

After that I ate at Quizno's and eventually took another $70 cab to the airport. Given such prices, next time, if there's a next time, I think I'd be better off renting a car for the day. Even one equipped with a GPS navigation unit can't possibly cost more than $155, and it would ahve given me some flexibility (like a trunk to store a bigger bag, rather than having to schlepp the bag along with me).

A standard car (Chevy Impala) is $54/day + $30/day taxes and fees + $27/day Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) +$14 GPS locator. I usually get LDW when overseas.

Houston taxis are $2.20/mile + $4 initial, so a 30 mile trip will cost you $70. Las Vegas is $2.60, Boston is $2.80 and Honolulu is $3.20 . Many cities are charging extra tarrif for every time the car drops below a certain speed. These "time fares" can be surprisingly expensive and they are difficult to estimate.

If you go to London, the taxi charge is £2.50-£3.80 per mile, plus slow moving traffic charges. If you take taxis all day you will feel like you purchased a small car.

I believe taxi fares in Mexico city are closer to US$0.50/mile (plus pick up charge). American widows in Mexico usually find it less expensive to take taxis and buses every day.

Quote: pacomartin

A standard car (Chevy Impala) is $54/day + $30/day taxes and fees + $27/day Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) +$14 GPS locator. I usually get LDW when overseas.

It's still less than the $155 for the cabs. of course there's aprking to consider, perhaps. I dont' recall ever paying for parking in the US, BTW...

On the flipside, perhaps the corporate credit card covers car rental insurance.

Quote:

Houston taxis are $2.20/mile + $4 initial, so a 30 mile trip will cost you $70.

The second cab I took indicated $2.75 pickup, plus $0.20 per every 1/11th mile (I'm serious, that's what it said), or some number of seconds not moving. The distance/time fare is pretty standard evywhere, but I've no idea how the meters figure it out. Most likely th ecabbies have no idea, either. The first cab, BTW, did not state a rate, but it had a meter. I'm also incuding a tip for the cab driver in the $70.

Quote: Nareed

cab I took indicated $2.75 pickup, plus $0.20 per every 1/11th mile (I'm serious, that's what it said), or some number of seconds not moving. The distance/time fare is pretty standard evywhere, but I've no idea how the meters figure it out. Most likely th ecabbies have no idea, either. The first cab, BTW, did not state a rate, but it had a meter. I'm also incuding a tip for the cab driver in the $70.

The "number of seconds not moving" is the wait charge per hour calculated in 30 second increments. If you are "not moving" or "moving very slowly" it adds the time increment. In a big city that time charge can add up to a lot in heavy traffic. Obviously the computer calculates it instead of the driver. But the motivation is now to hit red lights, not try and get through them (they figure that out quickly).

Taxi fares are higher in Las Vegas, but the airport is much closer. Locals complain that LV taxi fares make it prohibitively expensive to take a taxi home (which could be 20 miles).

	Houston	Las Vegas
20 cents	1/11 mile	1/13 mile
Flag Pull (entry)	$2.75	$3.30
Airport	$2.75	$1.80
Wait charge per hour	$24.00	$30.00
Slow Motion	20 cents/30 seconds	25 cents/30 seconds
Late Night	$1 after 8 PM

London is £2.50/mile during the day, £3.05/mil from 8pm-10pm + weekends, £3.80/mile from 10pm-6am, PLUS they charge you for going slow, and after 6 miles the rate goes up £3.50/mile. Also remember £1=$1.50.

Basically, you have to be very posh to take a taxi. The majority of people never get out of the tube.

I've looked but can't find info on thrust reverses. I maintain it had none. Not that it matters.

Part of the fligth is over the Gulf of Mexico. When I fly over water I try to spot ships. I saw a few, this time, but I saw other thigns.

First, at some point near the coast there were a half dozen or so large ships, probably container ships, seemingly standing there. it's ahrd to say sometimes from high up if a slow-moving object is moving or not, but large ships, when moving, tend to leave a very large wake behind them. These did not.

While I was looking at them, I spotted a small airliner flying on a reciprocal route. That's really rare, even on busy routes.

Last, the Moon was way up showing a half-phase. The sky seems darker high up, and with so much of the atmosphere below you, the Moon looked a little bit sharper than seen from the ground. This is rather common, but it's always nice to see.

Quote: Nareed

I've looked but can't find info on thrust reverses. I maintain it had none.

There are several kinds of thrust reverse systems in use for turbofan jets. The figure below, borrowed from purdue.edu, illustrates three of them. The first two illustrate the air flow in red because it is primarily the air that has gone through the combustion chamber that is being diverted by the reversers. The third illustration shows the air in blue because it is the bypass "fan" air that is being reversed in direction.


The clamshell and bucket designs are quite visible in use, if you have a good view of the rear of the engine. The third configuration shown, the cold stream reversal design, may not be so noticeable. The next image (borrowed from Wiki) shows an Air Canada B-777 with that third kind of reverser deployed, visible as a gap in the nacelle.


Thrust reversal is used both to descelerate the craft upon landing and to move the craft backward when taxiing. It has been tried on some craft for deceleration in flight, but that is not commonly used. In-flight thrust reversal (unintentional) has resulted in several crashes.

Quote: Doc

There are several kinds of thrust reverse systems in use for turbofan jets.

Thanks! Those are cool pics!

But, as I also said, when engaging a thrust reverser, the engines are run to full power, or nearly so. This is very noticeable because planes descend largely by decreasing power and thrust (ergo the flaps to provide better lift, and also more drag to further slow the plane). So on touch down, the pilot revs up the engines and engages the reversers. That's why they use up fuel.

A smaller jet might be able to make do without because 1) it has a smaller mass to stop, 2) it may have a higher lift-to-weight ratio due to longer wings for its size and mass, meaning it can land at lower speeds, and 3) if it has longer wings for tis size, it also has longer speed brakes on the wings.

So all three taken together would suggest that lower speed + smaller mass = less need for braking measures.