Jaunted

Tags: Airline News / Mexicana / Midwest Airlines / Boeing / → All Tags

Mexicana to Get Midwest's Boeing 717 Hand-Me-Downs

If you're planning to head south of the border on Mexicana later this year, don't be surprised if you find Best Buy receipts and Sbarro packaging stuck down in your seat cushion, as you might be hitching a ride on one of Midwest Airlines' former fleet. According to the Chicago Tribune, Boeing has just agreed to lease 25 fuel-efficient, twin-engine 717 aircraft to Mexicana and their LCC, ClickAir. Of these, 16 will be coming straight from flying the Midwest skies and therefore begin something like a prolonged vacation in Mexico.

The 104-passenger planes are no longer made by Boeing, although popular with travelers, and will thus be passed around probably a few more times before heading to the great scrap pile in the sky. Sadly, there's no word on whether or not the planes will be haunted by the ghost of defunct carriers past.

Related Stories
· Midwest Airlines' Boeing 717s to Go to Mexicana [Chicago Tribune]
· Despite Death Watch, Midwest Remains Zagat Favorite [Jaunted]
· Midwest Airlines Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: caribb]

Tags: Mexico Travel / Low Cost Carriers / LCCs / Mexicana / → All Tags

Mexican LCCs: Click on Click Mexicana

Click Mexicana, the low cost subsidiary of poor speller and airline Mexicana, is one of those budget airlines that definitely benefits from having a big brother.

Click's just got another round of positive exposure thanks to big bro Mexicana joining the oneworld alliance because passengers on Click Mexicana will also earn points for flights. Technically speaking, full benefits won't kick in until 2009, but the Mexicana and Click Mexicana flights have already been added to the network.

But Click is another Mexican LCC that could benefit from an English-language version of its website if it expects to grab a lot of international customers. Its destinations are all domestic with one exception: The airline also flies into Havana, Cuba. It's easy enough to grab a ticket... as long as you can speak Spanish and can click a mouse.

Related Stories:
· Click Mexicana [Official Site]
· Mexicana Joins OneWorld [Boarding.no]
· Mexicana Air Forgot to Use Spell Checker [Jaunted]

[Photo: Patxi64]

Tags: Mexicana / Airfare Sales / Travel Marketing / → All Tags

Mexicana Air Forgot to Use Spell Checker

We snapped this pic of a Mexicana Airlines commercial that aired on Friday night during the Los Angeles Clippers-Golden State Warriors basketball game on a DirecTV NBA channel.

Whoops, looks like someone forgot to use the spell checker. Now, we don't particularly like to make fun of spelling deficiencies--we've been known to misspell a word or two--but c'mon, it's a TV commercial. And to prove how bad the error was, we can't even remember what the special fares offered were.

Maybe they were for Mexicana's daily, one-hour-long internet-only sales that they call the Temtpation Temptation Hour?

Related Stories:
· Mexicana Airlines coverage [Jaunted]
· Airfare Sales [Jaunted]

Tags: Passports / Travel News / Mexicana / → All Tags

U.S. Passport Procrastinators Still Can't Beat The Backlog

Just in case you thought last week's news of passport rules easing would actually save passport procrastinators time at the airport, we are here to remind you that many travelers without a passport might run into other issues, due to long standing airline rules for entering Mexico, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean.

Some airlines, like Mexicana, are refusing to let passengers board flights without birth certificates or a naturalization document.

Mexico requires proof of U.S. citizenship with a passport, a birth certificate or a naturalization document.

Mexicana Airlines officials said that Mexico's entry requirement is clearly noted in the ticket information but that some passengers may have been confused by last Friday's announcement of the U.S. passport waiver, which only applies to leaving and entering the U.S.

This is not new news. For years airlines have required birth certificates, passports or naturalization documents on these flights, however, before we condemn these people as true traveling idiots, we offer this:

The problem is that "a lot of folks" turned in the original or a certified copy of their birth certificate when they applied for a passport, and now "it's stuck somewhere in Houston".

Ok, that seems like an acceptable excuse, it really does, but we just don't see the airlines giving in much on this one. Our advice? If you are part of the back logged passport crowd bring as many official identification documents as you possibly can (social security cards, drivers licenses, birth certificates (copies too), etc). Either that or just hop in your car and drive to Canada or Mexico this summer instead of flying--the highway border patrol will usually be a tad more lenient than the airport folks as far as entry for vacationers go.

Have a passport procrastinator story? Let us know in comments below, or send it here.

Related Stories:
· Passport Procrastinators Rejoice [Jaunted]
· Passports [Jaunted]
· Confusion over U.S. passport waiver grounds travelers [LA Times]

[Photo: Erica_Marshall]