I've travelled to Mexico many times and I'm starting to feel the itch again but I think finding a cheap way there has become more difficult since my last trip 3 years ago.
I have some problems with US customs and immigration which makes getting a transit visa a serious pain so I cannot take any flight which stops on US soil, even to refuel. So all the obvious routes via Hawaii and California are out.
Another restriction is that I want a one-year ticket. It's much easier to find deals on two-week trips than long trips. Booking a few months in advance is not a problem however. Neither is having to travel within a small time window when the price is best.
The last few trips I've flown JAL via Tokyo and Vancouver and was very happy with the airline. I don't mind the long flights and I know how to turn a stop over into a feature of the trip.
But it seems JAL has cancelled this route since they've been haemorrhaging money and needed to make some cutbacks!
I've looked for other options but the airline comparison sites don't make it easy to add in the "avoid USA" parameter. I've looked at going via Canada, Santiago, Buenos Aires, and even London. But all these options work out about double my usual price of about $2,000! (AUD or USD are about the same right now)
I always expected it to be easier to get a cheap one year ticket to Vancouver and then a cheap one year ticket from there to Mexico City. But for some reason this doesn't seem to be cheap even though you can get two week tickets from Van to Mex for a couple hundred bucks.
Is there still any route I can take from Australia to Mexico, avoiding USA, for $2000 or less, for a one year ticket?