--- title: This Mexican Airline Has a Hot Take on the Border Debate description: Aeroméxico set out to prove that there isn't such a big difference between Mexicans and Americans, giving flight discounts in the process. canonical: https://time.com/5506012/aeromexico-dna-discount/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-17T18:48:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:57:00.977Z og:title: Mexican Airline Is Trolls U.S. on the Border Debate og:description: Aeroméxico set out to prove that Americans shouldn't dismiss Mexico out of hand og:url: https://time.com/5506012/aeromexico-dna-discount/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6286308f294a7d3/6989437f4ee26226d6313d6b/aeromexico-plane.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: AeroMexico Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on final approach og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Mexican Airline Is Trolls U.S. on the Border Debate twitter:description: Aeroméxico set out to prove that Americans shouldn't dismiss Mexico out of hand twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6286308f294a7d3/6989437f4ee26226d6313d6b/aeromexico-plane.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mexican Airline Trolls Americans With Ad About Debate Over the Wall  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 17, 2019 6:48 PM UTC  AeroMexico Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on final approach at Amsterdam Schiphol airport. AeroMexico Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on final approach at Amsterdam Schiphol airport.SOPA Images—LightRocket via Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 17, 2019 6:48 PM UTC [Aeroméxico](http://time.com/5166659/how-to-travel-the-world/), Mexico’s large airline, is taking on the [border debate](http://time.com/5494523/border-wall-struggles/) in their own way: by trying to convince Americans to visit Mexico. “Mexico’s first destination is America. But America’s first destination is not Mexico,” the company explains in a spoofy new ad. Their solution? Get Americans who wouldn’t normally think of Mexico for their next trip to reconsider the option, by proving that they have Mexican roots — and giving them discounts for their “heritage.” In the ad, Aeroméxico representatives speak to Americans who call Mexico “not their cup of tea,” despite liking things like tequila and burritos. But after performing [DNA tests](http://time.com/5492642/dna-test-results-family-secret-biological-father/) on the subjects, perspectives shifted. (Mexicans have been emigrating north for centuries.) Perspectives shifted even more after Aeroméxico told the participants they could get discounts on flights to Mexico that matched their “Mexican DNA percent.” “The more Mexican they are, the more discount they get,” the ad goes. (So someone with 15% Mexican DNA, for instance, could get a 15% discounted flight.) And as it turns out, everyone likes a discount, even those who were quick to [dismiss Mexico as a destination](http://time.com/5496048/president-trump-address-border/) at first. The kicker: as Aeroméxico puts it, “There are no borders within us.” > [](https://twitter.com/ksieff/status/1085933954446905351) > [](https://twitter.com/nycsouthpaw/status/1085962935535587329) > [](https://twitter.com/davidluhnow/status/1085936287977226241) > [](https://twitter.com/disolis/status/1085951712425361416) This Mexican Airline Has a Hot Take on the Border Debate ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5506012/aeromexico-dna-discount/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5506012/aeromexico-dna-discount/"},"headline":"Mexican Airline Trolls Americans With Ad About Debate Over the Wall","datePublished":"2019-01-17T18:48:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:57:00.977Z","description":"\"There are no borders within us\"","url":"https://time.com/5506012/aeromexico-dna-discount/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Travel","Mexico"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6286308f294a7d3/6989437f4ee26226d6313d6b/aeromexico-plane.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6286308f294a7d3/6989437f4ee26226d6313d6b/aeromexico-plane.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"AeroMexico Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on final approach","caption":"AeroMexico Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on final approach","creditText":"SOPA Images—LightRocket via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5506012/aeromexico-dna-discount/","name":"Mexican Airline Trolls Americans With Ad About Debate Over the Wall"}}]}] ```