On Monday evening I headed to the Consulate General of Mexico in NYC for a Viva Aerobus media event.
I was excited to be invited to the event for a couple of reasons. First of all, getting to visit a consulate in the city sounded pretty interesting in itself and second, I was happy to learn about a new flight which Viva Aerobus just launched.
The purpose of the event was for Viva Aerobus to celebrate their arrival at JFK Airport from Mexico City. Their new daily route will go from MEX to JFK. This was of interest to me since I’ve been wanting to visit Mexico City for quite some time. Another airline option for this route is definitely appealing!
For those of you unfamiliar with Viva Aerobus, here’s some details. The airline is Mexico’s only true ultra low cost carrier and has been around for 12 years. I can’t say that I head heard of them prior to getting the event invite. They offer flights around Mexico and to a short list of airports in the US.
The event started at 6:00pm. Appetizers were passed around throughout and there was also wine and frozen margaritas available. Considering that this was a school night, I wasn’t exactly in a drinking mood.
My brother tagged along to the event so we killed some time taking photos.
We took turns at the podium where the focus of the event would eventually take place.
Then we spotted this social media- friendly picture frame. I think I was the first to use it. Soon after, it made its way around the crowd!
After a brief introduction, the Consul General of Mexico to NY, Diego Gomez Pickering made a short speech. He mentioned that the route would help improve relations between Mexico and the United States.
Other speeches were also made by some other bigwigs but I was most interesting in hearing what the CEO of Viva Aerobus, Juan Carlos Zuazua had to say.
Mr. Zuazua mentioned how Viva Aerobus arrived in NYC for the first time ever the previous day. The airline brings low priced flights (starting at $100) and a young fleet, making a short visit to Mexico City (or NYC) possible.
He was actually pretty funny. According to him, if you want to have real guacamole and tequila, you need to fly to Mexico City.
After the speeches ended, I had the opportunity to chat with Mr. Zuazua for a couple of minutes. I have to say that it’s definitely cool to say that I was chatting with the CEO of an airline!
Mr. Zuazua told me how great Mexico City was and how there was so much to do within an hours drive. When I asked about the food, his face lit up and he couldn’t say enough about how great it is.
He also asked if I was on social media and immediately followed me on Twitter as we were chatting. (I’d say that this conversation went quite a bit better than the time I met Richard Branson.)
Final Thoughts:
Overall, the Viva Aerobus Media Event was a fun time. I learned a lot about the airline and might have to look into the new daily flight (JFK-MEX) which starts at just $100. I’ve wanted to visit Mexico City for a while and now there’s another good option for a way to get there.
