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Departure Airport: Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD/KORD) 
Arrival Airport: La Aurora International Airport (GUA/MGGT) 
Aircraft: American Airlines 737 MAX 8
Flight Time: 3 hours, 57 minutes
Server: Expert
Today, American Airlines announced 7 new routes out of Chicago, including a thrice weekly service to Guatemala City. Though the route technically doesn’t begin until November, I decided to fly it as if this was the inaugural. Sorry, realism police.
I got to O’hare nice and early for my flight, around 9:00 AM. Normally, I wouldn’t get to the airport this early, not even for an international flight, but this was a special flight - the inaugural service to Guatemala City with American! Being in First Class, I got an expedited bag drop experience. TSA PreCheck was busy, but efficient. I was glad I wasn’t flying next week, when the Real ID requirements kick in - that’s going to be a mess for at least a month. By the time I got to my gate, the festivities were well underway. There were decorations all over gate area, and a representative from the country’s embassy was giving a speech. After a round of applause, someone from the airport authority began to talk. Frankly, I found his speech quite dull, so decided to go in search of snacks. There was no shortage of those! There were cupcakes in the colors of the Guatemalan and American flags, as well as some Tamales de elote (sweet corn tamales) and mole de platano, a Guatemalan staple dessert. The food was amazing, and the gate was abuzz with activity. Before we knew it, a group off officials cut the ribbon to the jet bridge. Cheers ensued, and the boarding process commenced.
The cabin crew was extremely friendly and welcoming as we boarded. I took my seat in First Class on the right side, with a great engine view. Boarding took a little longer than usual, but the door was sealed soon enough and the captain gave his welcome aboard announcement. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard American Airlines Flight 1589, with this inaugural service down to Guatemala City. We’re just finishing up a few things here, should be pushing back in the next few minutes. It’ll be a short taxi out to the runway, once we’re in the air, expecting about 4 hours in flight. We should have a pretty smooth ride, some bumps on the climb with the winds, maybe again on the approach through the mountains. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this inaugural 4 hour flight down to Guatemala.”
The flight attendants offered a pre departure beverage to the first class passengers as we taxied out for takeoff. I went with orange juice, which was served in a lovely champagne glass. As advertised, the ride to the runway was short, and before long, we were rocketing off into the blue skies.
We climbed up to 38,000 feet initially, reaching our top of climb near Paducah, Kentucky. A few Guatemalan officials joined us on the flight, and one of them made a short PA announcement at this point, talking about the importance of this connection between the two cities, and all the economic and tourism ties it would bring. After the speech, the lunch service began. To my disappointment, it was just the standard international meal, nothing Central America themed as I would have hoped. My appetizer was a really good avocado and beet poke bowl, followed up by a spinach and ricotta pasta. This was served with bread, and desert was a choice between chocolate and vanilla Häagen-Dazs ice cream. The food was pretty good, 7.5/10.
As we cruised past the southernmost reaches of Louisiana and out over the Gulf of Mexico, I connected to American’s WiFi, which was free for me in First Class. It was speedy, and handled streaming The Office (@Anthony_Gulluscio summon) onto my phone well.
An hour or so later, crossing over the Yucatan afforded us amazing views of the white sandy beaches and the city of Mérida.
We started our initial descent down to 30,000 feet over the extreme Southern part of Mexico’s Chiapas state, home to the well known Reserva de la Biósfera Montes Azules, which we’re flying over at the moment.
No pre arrival drink service was offered, which was due to the anticipated turbulence. They did, however, pass out Guatemalan customs forms. The WiFi cut off at this point for some reason, but we had great views of the mountains to make up for it.
Welcome to Guatemala City! The butter smooth landing was met with a round of applause from the passengers as heavy brakes were applied. Unfortunately, because Guatemala suffers from drought conditions, there was no customary water cannon salute. “On behalf of American Airlines and this Chicago based flight crew, we would like to be the first to welcome you to Guatemala City, where the local time is 3:58 PM and the temperature is 89 degrees Fahrenheit, that’s 31 in Celsius. Please remain seated with your seat belts fasted until we reach the gate and the captain turns off the fasten seatbelt sign. Take this time to look around your seat area for any items you may have stowed. Please use caution opening the overhead bins, as items may have shifted in flight. As we deplane, please follow the representative into the terminal with your passport in hand. This will help expedite the immigrations process. Once again, welcome to Guatemala.”
As we deplaned, I got one final look at our jet, which would head back up to Chicago in a couple of hours. Definitely a fun experience on this inaugural flight!
Takeoff Video
Landing Video
