CRAMPED: Volaris A321neo review - the WORST legroom ever?
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- Опубликовано: 25 июн 2024
- Volaris has the MOST CRAMPED A321neo in the world, I'm fairly sure. If you know of an airline that puts more than 230 seats in one...let me know!
This really was a soulless and bone-shattering experience. At just 5 feet 8 inches, I can tolerate budget economy better than most. Flying cheaply means accepting service might be a bit weak and legroom won't be great...but this takes it to a new level!
0:00 Introduction and SJD Airport
0:49 VIP Lounge
1:42 Planespotting
2:21 Arrival of our aircraft
3:09 Boarding
5:20 Taxi and takeoff
6:41 The food situation
6:59 Laughably bad seat design
7:34 No BEER emergency
8:04 Fare talk
9:30 Volaris recorded announcement
10:05 Approach and landing
10:33 Conclusion and thanks for watching!
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Date of Travel: 20 SEP 2021
Airline: Volaris
Livery: Standard Volaris PIXEL livery
Route: SJD-MEX
Aircraft: Airbus A321neo
Flight Number: Y4 783
Miles: 731
Airborne time: 1h40m
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As I’m originally from Mexico but living in the United States, Volaris became the most inexpensive form of travel for my family of 5 to visit family or go on holiday in Mexico. It’s been a couple years since I’ve flown on Volaris, but despite its poor legroom, no IFE/Wifi, etc …, at the end of the day, it’s a budget airline. You get what you pay for. For my family of 5, there was no way we’d spend hundreds more to fly Aeromexico. But, if you’re flying alone or simply paying for your own fare, I would suggest avoiding Volaris, and Vivaaerobus for the reasons mentioned in the video. I’ve not flown on Aeromexico yet, nor Interjet which is also a Mexican budget airline, but hopefully that will change soon. Thanks for uploading this report Paul! Great stuff as always.
Interjet? Damn vato. Hate to break it to you but they're gone. Took all the covid canceled flight money with them too.
@@MickyAvStickyHands oh damn, I actually did not know that. I’ve been living under a rock haha. I know even before covid they were having issues with their Russian Sukhoi superjets, and I guess covid just came in just finished them. I always thought those russian jets would be bad long term smh.
@@juanmaurogarzagarza3215 Volaris is the embodiment of evil. Cheap is one thing, deceptive business practices are another.
@Juan, I'm only going to say this once; Mexico needs to get its passenger rail service back, and pronto. Flying around in super-cramped airliners run by cheap penny ante operators like Volaris _isn't_ the way to go, and it would be much better for you and your family (or anybody else, American or Mexican) to take a non-cramped, great legroom train to Mexico-even if it's slow-rather than take a budget airline with cramped legroom due to it over-stuffing the interior of said plane(s) just to get more passengers and their money.
“They squeeze 230 seats onto an A321 neo”
easyJet: ‘Hold my Beer’ 😂
Easyjet: those are tiny numbers son watch this
300
Damn. 235 seats on the easyJet A321neos. Frontier and Wizz Air neos are going to have 240 seats once delivered to them.
@@kacperkrakowski The 240-seats will eventually be on Volaris aircraft if they get the seats similar to Frontier and Wizz Air. Not sure about Jetsmart (Chile). All owned by Indigo Partners.
The best part of flying Volaris is deplaning after the flight.
Thank you for setting a huge focus on the actual flying with your great shots of the airport and nature and as well with your interesting facts. That really sets you apart!!
Volaris used to be decent about 18 years ago. They had roomier seats, baggage included, and free snack service. Now, Volaris along with VivaAerobus has replaced many long distance bus routes in parts of Mexico. Aeroméxico is the best option for flights within México.
Low-cost airlines outside of Europe and North America would make me extremely nervous. I'm pretty damn sure the cost-cutting extends to the maintenance, training and crew selection. The deliberately confusing booking systems are probably also full of traps, like "Oh you got a check-in bag? That'll be an extra $6000 please".
Fantastic video as always!😸
These low-buget airlines have turned into the Greyhound buses of the air. It's your money, so it all comes down to just how much torture you can withstanding.
When I flew out of Luton for the first time in the early 70s the domestic check-in was an actual tent!
Great honest review.....as you said, no drama. I just did some reviews on my channel of Egypt Air, which I had heard a lot of bad about...all the flights turned out to be good. Now that was a surprise. Thanks, good content. I subscribed.
Paul I’m glad you did this trip for us
It was interesting as always
I am certain there is a regulation somewhere against turning an aircraft into a sardine can
I will never understand why one would ever willingly go back of the bus
ooo this is very rare!! i never thought id see you reviewing volaris
Thanks for the video 👍
I love your videos they are beautiful and amazing also I really like your choice of music😍🥰
Great vlog as always! W6 has 239 on their A321N. When BU got their 767-200 the config was Y242. We thought that was alot! They had a 2-3-2 config. BY had a 274 or 276 with a config of 2-4-2. good luck with that to BKK or MIA. Mamma Mia!
And that Britannia 767 used to fly to Australia and New Zealand, cheapest way to Oz from the UK and sometimes 499 return deals that was sometimes half the price of the regular carriers at the time. You got what you paid for but they offered free food and drinks with the meal and was like what todays carriers offer. Airtours 763 also did it for a few years in the 90s.
Great contents! Thanks Paul! As I know, Cebu pacific airline has exactly same seats' flight in Philippines.
Thanks for the video, good to know !
Hi Paul! Thank you for the video. I believe Volaris flies from Seattle to Guadalajara, which I think qualifies as longer end of the routes? Nonstop, over 5 hours. Seems like a nightmare to fly that long of a time with these seats!
Mexico City to Chicago-O’Hare, Guadalajara to New York-JFK are in Volaris’ network. Anyone flying with Volaris on these routes better hope you’re on a ceo and not a neo.
Always great to see how low cost airlines operate in other countries. I keep wondering is it possible to add even more seats to these aircraft in the future with further design refinement. Low cost airlines will always be pushing the manufacturers to maximise the number of seats for max profit! ✈️
Interesting review, Paul. I've flown SIN to KUL with Air Asia and being 187cm I don't usually have that many issues with leg room, but by heck I did with them. I'd rather pay the premium and fly with SIA or Malaysian Airlines.
Superb footage 👍👍👍👍👍💖💖💖💖☀️☀️☀️😀😀😀
Volaris is a great airline but you need to consider that the Low Cost service it´s really a nightmare if you´re flying long distance or when you have luggage and carry on to check in.
Great video!
Makes the coach seats on a Delta 757 seem commodious by comparison. Yikes!
I think I'd spend a little extra and take Aero Mexico instead.
Keep up the good work. :)
Areo Mexico is pretty bad it’s more luxury but no direct flights also just buy the Volaris premium seats with more legroom for like 25 more dollars it’ll be worth
i want to go to delta lol but some best or worst airlines are good for me
Amazing ❤️❤️❤️
Just had a friend fly for the first time using Volaris from L.A. direct Oaxaca, MX. A nearly perfect 4 hr flight where he said they charged for bottled water and the peanuts. I thought he was joking, and laughed, but no, he said he was serious. He laughed saying, yeah, I thought I would have to insert some coins to use the restroom, but he said that was so far still free.
I’m flying for the first time to Mexico and Volaris just Ridiculous they charge for your seats bags and all your firmed mention this is insane Wish they could be like the American Airlines plus the staff is very rude as well .. that’s disappointing hope it goes well for me and my family
There is three toilets on the A321/A320 jets but very well hidden. As you enter the rear of the aircraft the second toilet has a crew seat on it so not easy to spot!
Oddly the worst pitch I've had is on one of the BA LGW old 777 that they crammed more big thick seats into. My knees were touching the seat in front and I'm barely 5ft 4! 10 hours was absolute hell.
Ah yes those were pretty bad...only ten hours in one of those. Ouch!
Hey, I believe the Pegasus A321 have 238 seats!!
Keep up the videos 👍🏼✈️
The secret to volaris is you need to get the front or exit rows. They have way more leg room and actually recline. They do fly some fairly long flights in the 5-6 hr range.
They are my only real choice for a route I fly, but I will not fly on days when aisle or window seat are not available in row 1 or the exists.
Also, if you have a carry on, you really, really want early boarding because the bins are a fucking shit show.
They go to Chicago and that is no short flight from central Mexico
Tip: do an early check in and be as nice as you can to the check in counter guys and you'll have a great chance of getting an upgrade. By upgrade I mean front seats with extra legroom or exit row seats at no extra charge. It has worked for me every single time. (I guess people sometimes tend to be a little dismissive)
the overhead bins are a shit show on EVERY budget airline, so many people trying their hardest to avoid the check bag fees… heck, I was on Delta from SLC to JFK once and it looked like people packed their entire house and were trying to cram it into the overhead! (Thankfully I just had a small duffle that could fit under the seat if the bin was jammed to the brim.)
They have a Guadalajara-JFK flight and that’s long.
@@Micg51it’s about 4 hours tho
Paul, you're 5'8" and you were uncomfortable. I'm 5'11" and would have to be pried out of my seat with a crowbar. I'll stick with Aeromexico next time I fly to Cabo!
I'm 6'4, so I wonder if I'd be able to fit in the seat to begin with.
My dads 6’7 so good luck to him
Really good review. I live in Chicago and my family lives in México in the capital of Morelia, located in the state of Michoacán. Volaris is the only airline that flies direct to Morelia from Chicago. I won’t lie, they are not so budget in certain moments because a flight during Christmas break is easily over 900 bucks if you get it with almost a year ahead of time and it can reach almost whomping 1700 bucks as the date nears. I can fly economy at a much cheaper price during the same season to Madrid, Spain. So, these budget airlines are a yes and a no, depending where you go.
I live in chicago as well . My family is using volaris to mexico this summer . Is it any good ? Is the service any great ?
Giving a new meaning to airBUS!
I flew Volaris a couple of years ago MEX-PVR return. The seat pitch was okay on that aircraft, ( an A320-200) like yourself , a short flight so no big deal. I probably realised after booking , that I should have gone Aero Mexico, as the baggage and seat selection made it slightly more in price.
But as we were attending a wedding, needed to be there at a certain time the night before and Aero Mexico's flights were not good for the connection on the way to PVR.
The biggest problem I had with them was check in at MEX, was a confusing mess, with Self check in booths, that were not working. Only 2 staff at the desks, that had to manually check in everybody on our flight and several others. Just as we got to the counter, checked in, the self checkin booths were fixed. An hour and a half wasted. Thankfully they did hold the flight due to the issue.
great video
Hi there Paul! Volaris used to be fine several years ago. But now, after two or three rather poor experiences, I hope I never ever have to fly with them again. Good to see a fair and realistic review of this shitty LCC.
Last week I flew ARN - LHR in business and enjoyed the same seat pitch. My knees were firmly pressed against the seat in front the entire flight.
????? With Volaris??? WHAT???
Wizz Air actually has 240 seats so their’s is the most crammed A321neo, and somehow their legroom isn’t terrible
Ah! I think they have new Recaro seats don't they? Perhaps that gives them better seat pitch.
@@Paul_Lucas And they do not have door #2. They have overwingexit instead
@@Paul_Lucas I believe so, I’m not sure. But either way Wizzair did it a lot better than Volaris, especially since Wizz did the tray table correctly
@@theplanesguy I will have to check it out for myself 😆
Errr I’m not what you deem acceptable leg room but whizz air is a shocker.
Yikes!
Great video, very informative. Thanks for the ‘…no bueno’ FYI 🤗
Interesting Paul. Flying QRO to MEX then to COZ in several months. Volaris is one of the few options.
4:33 crew to busy taking selfies
Wow,that looks pretty grim Paul!
I was on a Tuifly flight a few days ago and still have sore spots on my knees from being wedged in their seat for 5 hours. They might actually be worse than Volaris, with 31 rows of (big and old) seats in a 737-800. I'm 5ft11, and anyone taller wouldn't actually be able to sit down properly due to the lack of legroom. This actually doesn't look too bad in comparison.
Might give that a miss if I’m ever there. I’m large, and have long legs. Don’t think I would fit… or if I did, I’d suffer from severe cramp by the end of the flight.
Thanks as always,! See you in the next video
Hearing your description of the seats on this A321 makes me wonder how the A321 can fit 240 seats.
Comfortably adjusted
Great review. Most Volaris flights I've taken haven't been full so no problem with tight seating. $50 US from SJD to TIJ including a checked bag. That makes me a fan. Prefer domestic terminal at SJD less hype and cheaper food prices. The international terminal shakes you down from start to finish and upon arrival the transportation guys are all over you like a cheap suit!
I flew on a volaris a320 in the summer. Honestly I didn’t think it was that bad. Yes, the cabin was quite cramped but that’s to be expected with any low-cost airline. The flight went really smoothly and I had no problems. Seems like they’re going in the wrong direction with the neos though.
I have flown them in India and they were pretty good!
Finally, I really impartial flight Review about Volaris. No Volaris flights for me
If you ever get to St Augustine FL, I would be honored to buy Drinks/Dinner!
was wondering saw someone using face shield for travel is that the norm now? haven't seen it in domestic in Malaysia
The biggest problem with Aeromexico is that it appears they have put an emphasis of having most of their services run through mexico city with a handful of other cities receving some service domestically. If you want to fly to any of the cities outside of Mexico city, Guadalajara or Monterrey, you would have to fly with volaris or viva aerobus. the budget airlines have shrinked aeromexico's domestic share dramatically over the last decade. I remember whey i used to fly the route Tijuana-San Jose del Cabo with Aeromexico connect. That route is long gone now.
When I use to work with Mexicana de Aviacion in 2006-2009 these were the configuration, man they pack people here worse that sardines
A318 -120 seats
A319- 130 seats
A320- 150 seats
Good old easyJet manage to shoe-horn 235 seats into an A321neo. They’re dark grey and the wall linings are slightly grey. Very claustrophobic, especially seats 40A and F, windows seats without benefit of a window. Unbolt your legs before attempting to sit down and don’t, under any circumstances, try to get to the toilets.
I always hope we get the original A320s because they always have more legroom
Great report as usual. I would like to reply to your reference to the horse statue at the Denver airport. It is a symbol for the Denver Broncos, the local National Football league team.
Yes and Blucifer is part of the big "conspiracy" myth at Denver Airport!
Reminds me the 240seat A321neo of Spring Airlines!
I flew Volaris from Tijuana to Cancun last Friday (overnight) on an older A320. You know the kind where it feels like you are barely able to get in the air? That seat did recline but the route featured a lot of turbulence and the plane was a bit of a rattle trap. Yesterday, I flew the route in reverse and it was on a newer A321 Neo. The plane took off like a rocket but I was surprised to learn that the seat didn't recline. I splurged on the "premium" seat so I had a bit more leg room but the seat padding left a lot to be desired and at almost 5 hours, it was rather unpleasant.
I wouldn't fit in those seats. 6ft 2in 235lbs and long legs. I would probably fly first class or business class on another airline.
Thank you for sharing😀😀
Indigo in India was really good as a low cost airline until I flew a few of them before the pandemic when I was in India. They were late/ the planes were dirty and no service at all. Unusual for Indigo
Hi Paul great video, do you know your aircraft despite flying for a Mexican airline was registered in the US?
Yes, it has an N- registration. Foreign-registered aircraft are pretty common, at least in Europe, for regulatory purposes.
28" is pretty decent pitch with thin seats. I have encountered much worse (less) on busses.
6:21 WOW!
Crew: Yay, let's take selfies instead of do our jobs!
i had similar experience with table digging into me on Vuelling. Thats got to me my worst ever flight for seat comfort
Hey! Los Cabos is my main airport!
Actually the aircraft has 3 Lavatories in total, 1 in the front, 2 in the rear (one is behind the cabin attendant seat, which you can see at 4:31)
Best just to buy the cheapest ticket and add a checked bag. Volaris is better than VivaAerobus, because they are generally a bit more reliable and also your personal item generally won't be weighed or checked at check-in or the gate. AeroMexico is still more expensive than Volaris on most routes.
Is just an unappealing choice, but in MX there are routes just served by those cramped A321N. It made me cherish the old 757's middle seat
I too had a horrid experience, I was in the first row and purchased all the seats to not share because of covid. Once I was sat down, I noticed they resold my tickets because people were sitting down in my seats. I explained to the flight attendant who was the alleged head steward who was extremely condensing and arrogant for No reason. Be glad yours was just the size of your seat.
Mexico and Costa Rica you can enter without tests or quarantine regardless of vaccination status.
The worst I've experienced is Cebu Pacific. At 6'3" it was agony the first time.. Fortunately early in the flight the stewardess put me in the emergency exit. She told me to always ask for rows 12 or 14, I flew them many times and always got the exit. The funny part was that while I could stretch out my 4'10" girlfriend was sitting with her feet not touching the floor.
Maybe they're counting on Asian passengers being smaller-sized & thus not minding less seat pitch as much, which is also probably how it & AirAsiaX manage to fit a 3-3-3 across seat config on their A330s
Careful, Paul - you'll be giving Easy Jet ideas.
EasyJet already has their A321neos at 235 seats. Wizz Air and Frontier will have theirs at 240.
I think Vueling is the worst leg room i've had on a plane and looks about on par with Volaris for that.
One possible reason Volaris has cramped seating is that their seats are not slimline seating like Frontier or Spirit. Not sure if that means anything.
Can't wait for you to visit the new airport in Mexico city
Not new and inconveniently too far away from the city.
This is what I called Maximizing the capacity of aircraft.
Frontier and Wizz Air will have 240 recaro seats on theirs although I hear that recaro is a good brand. Spirit will have 235 seats on their A321neos but only because they want to keep the Big Front Seat option available.
What. A. Dump.
On a humorous note, I paid $37 base fare last Christmas for a domestic US flight! My pet cost $99 and he had to sit on the floor in a carrier. (The non-stop flight made sense, and I just paid for extra leg room and my carry-on and went and saw my family after three years...)
Money well spent but on the two occasions I got a scowl and a "tsk!" from two people in the airport (my pet was in his carrier 100% (one hundred percent - airport, airplane, airport, and not making a single meow) all the time ) I told them his fare was more than theirs AND he had to sit on the floor...
That shut 'em up.
PS - good flights and we both had a ball seeing the fams!
PPS - TSA were OK. I was prepared.
Welcome to my 6' 5" world !!!
I definitely prefer a Aeromexico over this airline. Even in economy the seats had more legroom. And, they actually recline. So I would definitely prefer to spend more and get better service.
Aeroméxico is still my favourite Mexican airline but I usually fly Volaris due to practicality (direct flights), but when I find a flight at almost the same price I definitely fly with Aeroméxico. Sometimes I've found Premier Class tickets at Economy (Turista) price.
I have flown them from JFK to MEX and return. 5.5 hours on a A320 with 0 entertainment was torture.
Volaris is an airline that is designed to take passengers from point a to point b safely and cheaply with no frills and the bare basics of comfort, it would be silly to expect a lot of legroom
Great, honest review Paul. That livery on the tail! It’s awful! Looks like a pixelated cover-up! 😂
i flew the same route last week and it was horrendous
I remember I had the worst experience with Volaris. Back in 2017, I was 10 back then, (now 15) I flew Volaris flight from Guadalajara to Mexico City. The first flight, it was alright. Until, Me and my mother had a flight to catch to Chicago from Mexico City, but they wouldn’t let us enter. They said they need like Mexican Passports to enter, or something. Idk I just had a bad experience with Volaris and never flying with them again. It’s based of my own opinion.
Something similar with me. They will lie to you or make up some excuse if they're overbooked.
As long as there are no reclining seats its fine for a couple of hours
I don't know about British English but it's called the hold in all English isn't it?Only variation might be cargo hold, freight hold
Frontier might be the worst I've experienced. They even spec'd their seats to have no tray table and minimal padding so they could be made thinner just so they could fit one more row in. Literally felt like flying sitting on a lawn chair.
Out of curiosity, do you know why the flaps are extended above 30 degrees C?
To prevent some bleed alarm going off in the cockpit I believe.
@@Paul_Lucas interesting. Thanks!
The bleed ducts are located in the wing right behind the slats. When it is very hot outside combined with the hot bleed air in the ducting, this location could become too hot. Leaving the Slats extended gives a little bit of cooling or lets say ventilation in this area. And as flaps are extended in combination with slats they are extended as well. Greetings Michael
my experience with this aircraft is the best but i am scared when it takes off
Worst ever legroom I had was on EC-KMI A320 Vueling Airlines, From Lyon to Rome. Don’t know the inches, but it was v bad, also had reclining seats as well
In January, 2020 I took my last vacation before COVID which was a trip to Dublin, Ireland. Flew on British Airways from Nashville, TN to Heathrow, then Heathrow to Dublin. Was on an A321neo from Heathrow to Dublin and was astonished to find no legroom at my seat. I am 6'1" tall and weighed about 220 lbs at that point in time. Luckily I had selected an aisle seat and was able to have my feet resting in the aisle. I was shocked that British Airways would run a plane with literally no legroom for an average sized male adult. I now know that in the future I will avoid ever flying in an A321neo aircraft.
Their short haul is trying to compete with the likes of EasyJet and Ryanair these days, essentially just turning short haul into another budget airline. People aren’t willing to fork out an extra hundred pounds each just for a couple inches more leg room on a 2/3 hour flight across Europe. And in your case especially it’s what an hour and a bit over to Dublin? Leg room isn’t a concern for that it’s how many people can they get a fare from
@@heapyhoo2225 Yes, the flight was just a bit over an hour. My main concern is having aisle seat passengers with their feet taking up space in the aisle. I would definitely see this as a safety issue should there be some sort of emercency situation that requires the aisles to be kept clear.
2 Lavs for 230 people??? Yikes.
And what happens if one (or both) lavs fail? Welcome to Whizz (or should that be) Dump Airways. Don't even wanna think about that possibility.😬😬😬
My Favourite budget airline is probably IndiGo or Spicejet (Indian Budget Airlines)
Frontier has the A321neo and theirs has 240 seats!
Wanting champagne with beer money
not that it matters but I think the two words labeled inaudible in the announcement were "comfortably adjusted". For some reason I couldn't continue the video before I solved that mystery through repeated listening
You have very good hearing!
@@Paul_Lucas and you have very good presentation.
After binging all kinds of travel channels in 2020 yours is the only one I stuck with
That airline sounds horrific - I’m 6ft 2, sounds like I’d have to bend completely in two!
Going loco down in acapulco
If you can get there on a neo
I Believe Wizz Air also put 230 seats on their A321s
It’s a shame you departed from the terminal 1, the terminal 2 is much better and bigger, I’m from Los Cabos btw