CortezBlue
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Anyone use the new TJ airport bridge? Did you fly Volaris?
Curious if anyone has tried the new bridge. Thinking of make a trip down to Cabo and even though we live in Fenix, it is WAAAAAAAAAAAY cheaper to fly
out of TJ.
Also, has anyone experienced Volaris and what your thoughts were about the airline.
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”
- Albert Einstein
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Santiago
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Follow George's trip from San Diego to Mazatlan using the bridge and Volaris here.
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danaeb
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I'll use the bridge for the first in a couple of weeks.
I've flown Volaris from TJ-La Paz since Aero California was shut down in 2008. I go four times a year, and I've never had a bad experience. Well,
except when they stopped serving free liquor...
PS - just a note on the Volaris website. Be careful when you're booking. There are a lot of add-on options (early seat assignment, excess baggage,
first boarding, etc.) that you have to pay attention to.
[Edited on 1-11-2016 by danaeb]
Experience enables you to recognize a mistake every time you repeat it.
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BajaNomad
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Thread Moved
1-10-2016 at 07:39 PM |
MitchMan
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Been flying Volaris round trip TJ to/from La paz ever since they had that route. My opinion is that Volaris is a good airline, all things considered.
I still cross at Otay Mesa on foot (not the bridge) and take a $12 USD taxi to the TJ airport...cheaper than paying $18 USD to cross the bridge.
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danaeb
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The online portal for tickets crossborderexpress.com shows all tickets (adult, child, or senior) at $12.00.
Experience enables you to recognize a mistake every time you repeat it.
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Bugman
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I have not used the bridge yet but I did fly Volaris from TJ to Oaxaca in May of last year. I had no problems at all and would do it again. It is a
no frills airline and you do need to pay attention to some of the add ons when booking but still way cheaper than any ticket I could find that
originated from within the USA. Note that on my flight the seat back had no pockets for your stuff and you are limited to a very small carry-on
unless you cough up a few extra bucks. 
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bajalinda
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Heck - Volaris doesn't even offer free water let alone free liquor!
The La Paz/TJ flight itself is good. The website is a pain - I second what everyone says about being aware and cautious with the add-ons.
I haven't used the new bridge crossing yet, but our holiday visitors all used it and all had raving reviews - said it was easy as could be.
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danaeb
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If you have the flexibility to book well in advance, Volaris has great deals. Since I travel frequently to La Paz, I watch for the deals and book up
to 6 months in advance. If you create an online account, you'll get emails alerting you. In the last couple of years, I haven't paid more than $100US
round trip TJ-LP.
Experience enables you to recognize a mistake every time you repeat it.
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El Jefe
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My wife and her friend with her medium sized dog and lots of luggage will be crossing the bridge Monday. They wanted me to drop them off at the curb
at the TJ airport but I convinced them the bridge would be awesome and then I wouldn't have to cross in the car and wait in the line coming back etc.
We shall see. If they have a bad experience I will certainly hear about it. But I will make sure she gives me a full report either way and I will post
it here.
I rode down there on my motorcycle the other day to suss it out from this side. Looks to be a very nice facility. They had lots of luggage carts
available and I was told they have porters, although I did not see one. I was also told there is a "short distance" that has to be navigated without
help since the porters from the US side cannot enter the Mexican side. So the gals will have to get someone else to help on the other side. The
"short" schlepage is my only worry.
I was surprised at how many cars were parked in their lot. Looks like business is booming. Long term parking rates are 10 bucks a day according to
their web site, more like 16 a day short term. If the 10 a day holds true it would be a good alternative to Delta Parking.
No b-tchin\' in the Baja.
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gallesram
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We just used the bridge on Friday (1/15) on our flight from TJ to Mexico City. It was great; saved time going to TJ and I can only imagine how much
time it will save coming back. A few observations:
(1) the long term parking lot was totally full; it isn't nearly as big as the short-term lot, which was largely empty. We didn't want to pay $16/day
for 10 days so we parked on the street (which a lot of people do). Hopefully we'll have a car to come back to. (2) there were tons of Uber drivers
and taxis lined up on the street leading to the terminal; so if you wanted to get from the terminal to someplace else it would be easy to do. (3) the
actual bridge crossing itself didn't seem that long to me; felt like being in any airport and just going from one terminal to another. I would guess
it's the equivalent of probably walking the length of 5 or 6 gates in any airport. There is an elevator as well as escalators so if you have a lot
of luggage it's no problem. (4) unlike the foot crossing at Otay, the immigration booth on the TJ side of the bridge requires that you have a tourist
card. There is a bank right there and they do take credit cards if you're short on cash. I would have been screwed if the machine wasn't working
because I had very little cash on me (I use the ATM in the TJ airport which is on the other side of immigration). My companion already had his
tourist card from another trip and it had a few months left on it; they accepted that and waived him through. That tells me that it's good for
multiple entries because we had clearly just come from the US and they accepted it even though it had been issued several months ago.
One more thing to mention: we flew Interjet this time and it was superior to Volaris; much more legroom, seemingly bigger planes (maybe because
they're white inside) and happier flight attendants. Free drinks too; including beer. I saw brandy on the cart so I think they have hard options
too, all free. Volaris now charges for everything. Since we got a comparable fare to Volaris, it was definitely a better experience.
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