What if I told you I found an airline that’s economical but will treat you like dirt? Would you fly them anyway? This weekend I went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico… Again. Although, I should mention, plane ticket prices are irrational at the moment. Spring Break is surely the cause of it. With a little research, I finagled my way to Puerto Vallarta using a multi-city itinerary. Considering the fact that cheap tickets are usually less than $300 round trip, there is no way I’m spending $1000 or more on this two and half hour flight. My flight back is on Volaris, an airline I’ve always been okay with (as a last resort.) However, this flight made me realize, I don’t want to fly Volaris again.

Lets Back Up a Bit

My partner, working in Austin Texas this week decided to meet me in Dallas Texas so we can fly down together. Therefore, I went from Los Angeles International (LAX) to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW.) From DFW to Puerto Vallarta (PVR.)

This is where it gets complicated. On the way back we opted for the cheapest flight we could find. A $200, one-way ticket on Volaris airlines from PVR to Tijuana Mexico (TIJ.) From TIJ, the plan is to walk across the Mexican/American border, rent a car in San Diego and drive back to Los Angeles. Seems feasible, right? A little more complicated to avoid paying a thousand dollars — But hey, at least it’s an adventure.

Volaris Airlines A321

As far as budget airlines go, $200 USD one-way isn’t exactly a bargain but it’s the cheapest at the moment. As far as budget airlines go EasyJet is fairly similar. However, I find EasyJet airlines a lot better.

This Story Actually Starts at PVR

The PVR international terminal is long and slender. It’s cramped. Getting in and out of your gate creates more chaos. This claustrophobic terminal has limited seats. It’s loud. Although, this isn’t a negative thing, many airports have bad acoustics and lots of people. It’s just something to keep in mind.

Upon arriving at the gate, people are in line, waiting to board. As more people get in line, the more this slender terminal gets clogged and cramped.

I’m confused because I thought we board by group number. Others are confused as well.

We paid a little extra for Premium seats, this means you get a bigger seat (also known as the exit row) and apparently you get to board first. The boarding pass says I am Group One. This is good but the long line forming in front of me is sending “we don’t care about group number” vibes.

A few people ask the gate agent about the boarding process. She tells us they don’t board by group number and therefore we need to stand in line with everyone else. People are upset. It bothers me since I paid for this. What’s the point of giving the airline extra money for nothing?

After a few complaints from others, the gate agent decides it’s best to board by group number. However, that line is not budging. How will she do this?

Eventually, she announces Group One and the line began to push forward. Since I wasn’t in line, I asked the gate agent if I can board, she agrees, which means I need to go under the rope. I get many dirty looks from passengers as I do this. I feel very rude doing it too. She also decides to turn away people in line who are not Group One members to organize the boarding process.

I get on the plane, sit at my exit row (in row 25.) It’s very spacious will lots of leg room. I can literally extend my legs as much as possible. These are the perks of paying just a little more, despite the previous chaos.

This Volaris flight a321 doesn’t have a first class. It’s one long tube of coach. It’s pretty neat. You can see the entire length of the plane from any seat. I found the maroon and purple shades of Volaris’s colors atmospheric.

Volaris Entertainment Services or Lack There Of…

One thing you should be aware of is the lack of, pretty much everything on Volaris. They do not have any TV screens. This is okay if you have your own entertainment devices. However, they also don’t have outlets. This means, once your entertainment device dies, you’re out of luck.

This is a problem because in the age of the internet, most people like downloading their boarding pass on their phone. I always try to print mine, just in case. However, I didn’t have the safety of a back-up printed boarding pass at the moment. I began to worry. I don’t want to be stuck in Tijuana, Mexico, the place with lots of border crossing “turmoil.” There’s also the fact that Donald Trump is threatening to close the border… Does this mean, I’ll be stuck in Mexico as a US citizen? Many questions ran through my mind, as it often does. Why is it we always think of the worse case scenario first?

The food and beverage is all for purchase. I didn’t get any food so I can’t comment on how good the food is. This includes water. Thirsty? Hope you got them Pesos ready!

The seats could use more cushion. They’re not terrible but I could feel some of the metal below the cushion after a couple of hours. Although, I was seated in a Premium seat, the width of the seat was great. I don’t know if all Volaris seats are this wide though.

The Flight Attendants on Volaris

via GIPHY

Let’s talk about the flight attendants. They’re not spectacular. In fact they do the bare minimum as well. I might be wrong, but perhaps they’re underpaid. Flight attendants have a tough job. I mean, there are many high maintenance customers. Crazy people who ask for the impossible and even clients who complain about every little thing make a day-to-day job like this hard. However, this does not excuse anyone from not doing a good job. Don’t like the job? Get a knew one!

This three hour flight is starting to feel like a six hour flight. At one point my partner goes to the restroom. After waiting in line he opens the restroom door to see a bag full of vomit on the sink. To be polite, he mentions it to the flight attendant. The flight attendant rudely responds with “thats not my issue.” Ok. Thats fine, but who’s issue is this? Is it the cleaning crew’s issue? If so, a simple “we’ll take care of it later, sir” is good enough. No need to be rude.

It gets worse. My partner, trying to be polite says “In that case, what should I do to help.”

“Clean it yourself. Not my problem.”

My partner proceeds to to do so (I would have left it there.) I cannot believe these flight attendants would say this. I know some don’t care if you’re an old lady, a polite gentlemen or a child. They will talk to you in any way. I wouldn’t bring my mother on this airline for fear of a rude flight attendant treating her like trash.

More importantly, I’m surprised people use any excuse to be rude. I get it, I also work in the travel industry. People can be annoying as hell. I’m always polite. Even when the customer is rude, I pretend it doesn’t bother me and continue speaking as if they’re not rude. I suppose having a professional attitude is something I always strive for. Volaris, you can learn from this.

I’m pretty shocked at quality of service of this airline. It makes me wonder how many other people encountered the rude flight attendants on this flight.

At the end of the day, I don’t mind paying for food or drinks. I can handle not having power outlets, even though it’s not ideal. The two things that threw me over the edge is the chaos upon boarding and the rude flight attendants. Considering this was the cheapest flight at the time, I may consider never paying for another not-so-cheap Volaris flight again.

Have you ever flown Volaris? How was your experience? Maybe this was a fluke and it’s not usually like this. I would love your input!

We land in Tijuana shortly after. I couldn’t wait to get off this flight.

Let Me Break It Down For You:

The reasons I will never fly Volaris again is…

It’s not really a bargain as far as bargain flights go. I paid $200 one way.

It does not have TV screens.

There are no electrical outlets to power your device in case you want to entertain yourself.

Water is not free. In fact, nothing is free. You don’t even get a cookie or nuts.

The flight attendants do the bare minimum. In fact they’re rude and unprofessional.

To top it off, they were extremely rude to my partner. I would not bring my mother on a flight where she gets treated rudely.

If Volaris improves their act, I will consider them in the future. However, for now, this airline is not one I am willing to consider again.