9 reviews
Welcome to this report which is the first leg of a one-way flight from SJO to CUN operated by Volaris Costa Rica Q6, which is a subsidiary of Volaris Mexico Y4. The second leg will be operated by Y4; therefore, I’d be able to show you the slight differences between them.
According to the information online, Volaris has two subsidiaries: Q6 which is based in Costa Rica, and N3 based in El Salvador. The Costa Rican branch operates to 9 destinations out of SJO with a fleet of 5 aircraft. They operate regular flights to cities in USA, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia and Peru.
The Salvadoran subsidiary operates to 14 destinations with a fleet of 3 aircraft that fly to cities on USA, Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.
This time, I had to fly to CUN and I found a very good itinerary that would allow me to spend a night in GUA to have a nice dinner before heading to CUN the following morning. SJO has some interesting triangular routes operated by AV and Q6 to destinations in the USA. For instance, Q6 4092 operates from SJO to GUA and then LAX. In addition, AV operates other flights from SJO to GUA and then JFK (AV652) and IAD (AV654) simultaneously. Therefore, from 16:00 to 17:00 you can choose between 3 or 2 different flights to GUA depending on the day.
There other triangular routes worth mentioning including AV 647 SJO – UIO – EZE, CM 391 PTY – SJO – GUA etc.
Check in was a breeze. The immigration and security process were quick as well and soon enough I was airside. After security, there’s a ‘mandatory’ duty-free visit, however, I found SJO’s duty-free rather creative and specialized on local products. Therefore, the experience is enjoyable.
Shopping wise, there are several interesting products ranging from the usual liqueur, chocolates, clothes etc. and some unique items as well. Particularly, there’s a shop that sells authentic local products from Nicoya, which is considered a blue zone for the longevity of its inhabitants. Nicoya belongs to Guanacaste province which is located in the northwestern part of the country and is full of folkloric towns including Santa Cruz, Liberia and Nicoya. It also has breathtaking active volcanoes such Rincón de la Vieja, Miravalles, and Orosi. The coast is showered by amazing beaches like Tamarindo, Nosara, Samara etc. No doubt why life expectancy is so high there. Those sights combined with healthy food, accessible medical services and nice weather makes it a decent place to visit, live or retire.
SJO is nicely decorated with some wildlife themes that enhances the pre-departure experience.
Food and drink options are vastly available at SJO. There’s a food court, a pub featuring the local beer ‘Imperial’, coffee places and some franchises such as California Pizza Chicken. This selection is highly recommendable for an airport where most airlines offer snacks or Buy on Board. Prices might be slightly high tough.
Air traffic was slightly scarce. Just some UA, P5 and NK. AV and the European ones arrive later. Therefore, the airport is fairly full of people waiting for their aircraft to arrive.
Meanwhile, land traffic was as chaotic as usual. Tip: If you visit Costa Rica, please consider that there are significant ongoing road refurbishment works especially in the Central Region aka. GAM. Therefore, allow some extra time for transportation.
Gates 12, 13 and 14 in SJO mean remote position. Therefore, we had to take a bus for some minutes to the remote area of the airport. That is a nice treat during a sunny day. The only downside was the slow process that included asking every single passenger if their final destination was GUA or LAX. Interestingly, when landing at GUA everyone should leave the aircraft. Personally, I fail to see the practicality of using remote stands for triangular flights. However, it was something nice for an aviation enthusiast. I have been quite that most of my recent flights have included some remote stand experience.
As you can see, the aircraft is relatively new with a low-cost configuration. For a flight from SJO to GUA is fair enough. However, I would think it twice to go all the way up to LAX on it. Padding is very limited which is one of the main differences with Y4 A320 as you will see in my next report. I remember flying Y4 in Mexico in the past and the seat were fine with nice padding decent space, very similar to the previous B6 A320’s configuration.
Nowadays, AV uses the same Recaro seat on most of their narrow body fleet. That means that people end up flying to South and North America on those seats…
Before take-off, we saw CM HP 9922-CMP getting ready for her grounding after the incident with a fellow AS 737 Max9.
In addition, we can see the transformation of former HP-2010DAE which suffered an incident in 2022 and now serves as a training facility for SJO’s rescue units. https://www.flightglobal.com/safety/dhl-757-200sf-destroyed-after-skidding-off-runway/148204.article
The departure time was ideal for an amazing take-off experiences including a nice sunset and some wonderful views of the mountains, volcanoes, lakes, and the coastline of Central America.
Here we can clearly see a volcano with some activity. It is probably located in Nicaragua.
Legroom seems fine for this short hop. The only issue would be the lack of padding of the seat. However, this is becoming the new norm…
Here are a couple pictures of the seat pocket content which serve as a quick introduction to the inflight entertainment selection…
W/C was nicely clean and tidy. As usual on this high-density single isle aircraft, it is small and modern.
As a low-cost, Q6 has prepared an interesting BoB menu to keep you entertained during your flight. Interestingly, everything seems to be catered in Mexico. As far as I saw, only a few people bought a cup of coffee. Probably, on the GUA – LAX leg the offering became more popular as the flights takes around 5 hours and arrives at midnight. However, I’m not nearly prepared to experience it yet…
Now, low-cost jokes aside, here are some pictures of the breathtaking descent and approach. Landing in GUA at dusk, and surrounded by volcanoes is just fascinating
Upon landing, we were greeted with the amazing news that we won the race against AV!! As I said before, there were 3 different flights to choose from and we got first!!
The only downside of the afternoon was seeing another CM Max getting ready to be grounded for a while.
At the time, Customs was a bit chaotic because of a new system that requires everyone to go online, using their phone data or a painfully slow Wi-Fi to complete a very long form and obtain a QR code that needs to be shown right after passing immigration. Therefore, if you go to GUA, please be prepared for it. In addition, remember to allow some extra time for departing as it has to be done again. I saw several people in distress for it; an even a mother with 2 children crying for not being able to do it. Not the best farewell that people can get but well… Hope it gets improved soon.
Anyway, let’s call it a night for now. Thank you for reading.
Overall, a nice flight. Low-cost experience but natural “inflight” entertainment was fantastic. In addition, Guatemalan cuisine made it for the lack of catering. As it is a very short flight at a very convenient time of the day, I would recommend you all to take it and explore Central America.
Thank you all for your attention!!!
4 Comments
Overall seems like a good experience and the cabin does look nice and new. Beautiful views on landing.
Thanks for sharing!
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