This news has been expected for some time now. Emirates has finally announced plans to start flying to Mexico City from 9 December 2019. This is Emirates’ first destination in Central America.
The new route will operate via Barcelona. The stop is necessary due to the high altitude of Mexico City airport. It is not possible to fly direct to Dubai with any of the current aircraft in the Emirates fleet.
The launch of this new route will also see the number of daily flights between Dubai and Barcelona increase from two to three giving flyers more options between those two cities.
Dubai (DXB) to Mexico City (MEX) schedule
The flight time to Mexico City is long. The outbound flight is close to 23 hours while the return is a slightly more reasonable 20 hours.
I would be very tempted to break up a trip this long with a stop in Barcelona. In addition to the direct flight, passengers have the option of having a booking a longer connection or stopover in Barcelona.
One of the possible outbound connections is 22 hours overnight. That’s more than enough time for a nice meal in Barcelona and stroll down Las Ramblas.
This is a Fifth Freedom flight meaning Emirates will have pickup rights between the two cities. It will be possible to book tickets solely between Barcelona and Mexico City. Emirates now operates 16 fifth freedom routes that do not originate or end in Dubai.
While the trip is long in both directions Emirates will operate the new route with a refurbished two-class Boeing 777-200LR. These aircraft offers 38 Business Class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. While there is no onboard bar to keep passengers entertained there is a small social area to stretch your legs.
Using Skywards Miles to reach Mexico City
Skywards redemption tickets are now bookable online. Availability is looking pretty good in both Business and Economy. Dubai to Mexico City falls in the North American West Coast region for Skywards rewards. Redemption rates for return bookings are:
- Economy: 82,500 (Saver) 142,500 (Flex Plus)
- Business: 165,000 (Saver) 227,500 (Flex Plus)
It is also possible to redeem Skywards Miles for flights between Barcelona and Mexico City. Emirates is not consistent in how it prices up redemptions on its various Fifth freedom routes. This route appears to have been set towards the lower end of the possible spectrum.
- Economy: 50,000 (Saver)
- Business: 100,000 (Saver)
A new hub in Barcelona?
Mexico City is an excellent addition to the Emirates network. If this route is a success it would be great to see new destinations in Central and South American launched.
It will be interesting to see how Emirates presence at Barcelona develops. Some of the potential new destinations in South American have the same altitude challenge faced at Mexico City. Barcelona could be an excellent mini-hub for Emirates to service those airports.
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You can expect lots of information on Skywards, the loyalty programme of Emirates and flydubai as well as Etihad Guest. I will also be sharing thoughts on the best credit cards for points and miles earning in the UAE.
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