Today is the day. The Cranky Network Awards are TONIGHT! So while I continue to run around like a chicken with my head cut-off, you enjoy a look at Mexicana, one strange airline. Again, I’ll be back to normal publishing next week.

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After rushing out from the bus gate off my Viva flight into Puerto Vallarta’s airport, through baggage claim, upstairs from ticketing, and through security… I had a little time to kill and took a deep breath. The only real downside to this inability to connect airside in PVR was that I had to throw my water bottle away at security. So, I went over to a store and bought another one in preparation for flying Mexicana and its brand-new Embraer E2.

• Introduction to Cranky’s Mexican Adventure
• Cross Border Express is Great, But It Can Be Tricky
• Viva Kicks the Trip Off the Right Way
• Mexicana is Weird, But the E2 is a Delight
• The Spectacular But Distant AIFA Airport
• Mexico City is More Than Worth the Visit
• Aeromexico Does It Right in the Air but Not on the Ground
• Señor Air Has the Best Name and an Experience to Match
• Los Cabos and La Paz Couldn’t Be More Different
• TAR Was a Wild Ride
• Volaris, the Purest ULCC

I’ve never used the domestic concourse at Puerto Vallarta before, but gates 1-6 look a whole lot different than the other concourse. This one is narrower and lacks a remotely acceptable number of seats. Also, only half the gates have jet bridges. The narrow area is packed with locals who appear used to this, but I wasn’t having it.

I walked around since the plane hadn’t even shown up yet, and that’s when I saw a lounge. Sure enough, I was able to use Priority Pass to get in there. I’ve never used that credit card benefit before, nor do I usually care to. The small space was jam-packed and I was lucky to find a seat. I had a drink and a medicore ham sandwich that actually hit the spot just fine.

Then I saw our sexy airplane arrive with that old-school logo and green tail. That’s when I left to go to the gate. My MXN 1248.54 (~$69.81) ticket price included a seat assignment by choice, and I had chosen 17D not actually thinking it through. I went up to the agent to ask if I could switch to an A seat, because I was thinking we’d have a better view on that side. He gave me a reprinted boarding pass where he crossed out 17D and wrote in 7D, which you may have surmised is not an A seat.

He said there were no A seats available, but I got the free move toward the front, so… ok?

I walked upstairs to go to the bathroom, and when I came back they were boarding. There were three agents standing there. One had printed out new boarding passes for everyone on the flight. He handed them the new pass and then they gave it to one of the next two agents about 5 feet away. Why? I was thinking maybe they use those boarding pass stubs to actually keep track of who is on the airplane? Or maybe this is just a government jobs program. Actually, I think we know Mexicana is a government jobs program.

When I walked back up, I heard them say they were boarding group D. I was in C, so I walked to the agent, but apparently C wasn’t boarding. B and D were boarding, but C was not. If you thought Southwest’s old boarding process was confusing, I’ve got a new winner.

When C was eventually called, I walked down the steamy, glass-lined jet bridge and walked onboard.

Mexicana 1443
January 12, 2026

This brand new airplane looked immaculate, as you’d hope.

It was my first time flying on an E2, though I had seen the inside before. It is very, very long. Fortunately, I didn’t have far to go, so I took my seat 7D and then watched as nobody sat next to me. I should note that 8A and a bunch of other As were also wide open the entire flight, but… whatever. Legroom was good, and they even put power onboard.

When the door closed, we were again pretty empty.

Announcements came in both Spanish and English, but it seemed pretty clear that English announcements were shorter and maybe leaving something out. We taxied out past the new PVR terminal which is under construction and then lined up for departure.

3, 2, 1… liftoff. We rocketed into the sky. Those E2s seem to have some really good power on them as we climbed fast to clear those mountains east of town with their slightly-threatening clouds perched on top.

These airplanes are also very quiet. Maybe these are just military pilots doing military things, but it was a great display of power. Within 13 minutes, we were already at 35,000 feet.

The flight attendants came through selling stuff, and I couldn’t help but notice the fun design on their uniforms. Yes, I asked before I took this photo, because that would have been rather awkward otherwise.

I didn’t buy anything, but the people in front of me must have spent at least 5 minutes trying to decide what to purchase. For some reason, the flight attendants just stood there politely waiting. It’s a good thing it was such a light load or they never would have been able to help everyone.

It’s a short hop to Mexico City at just over an hour, so we weren’t at cruise for long. As we started our descent, the flight attendants came through giving out coffee. I declined since I don’t like coffee, but the poor flight attendant thought I just didn’t want to pay. She told me it was free, but I still said no. This seemed like a strange perk considering she had to come back to collect shortly after handing the coffee out anyway.

We approached from the north, so I actually didn’t miss any kind of view of Mexico City being on the D side. Then again, it was mostly cloudy, so I really didn’t miss anything anyway. As we got close, the flight attendants came through and told me I had to take my headphones off. That’s a new one.

After flying in over farmland and some industrial-looking property for some time, we planted down on the runway at AIFA. It was a short taxi back to the terminal, but oh my is that airport a looker. They built quite a palace there, and we’ll talk about that in the next post.

Mexicana was fine, but the real star of the show was the Embraer E2.