YVR airport > Mexico City > Zihua = Customs Once

My experience last October was very similar to yours. I didn’t have any check baggage (see below), but when I got to the AM check in desk the attendant said the flight was very full and put my carry on into checked luggage. I didn’t see it again until I arrived at ZIH.

I booked through WestJet. My travel started on Vancouver Island with a WestJet partner airline, Pacific Coastal flight to YVR. I was planning to take one checked piece, but I didn’t have any confidence in the information WS gave me about the cost.

WS said that I would pay only one checked baggage fee, when I boarded on the Island. I would get all of my boarding passes when I started and my baggage would be tagged through to ZIH. Yay!

Pacific Coastal said they would only ticket me as far as YVR. I would pay their checked luggage fee. I would have to exit the secure area at YVR, then get my further ticketing and boarding passes from AM, check any luggage with AM, and pay AM.

That didn’t sound very cost-effective.