N923JB "It's Mint To Be", one of JetBlue's Airbus A321 aircraft used for Mint flights

Mint is a Business Class airline product offered by JetBlue on some flights between the West Coast and the East Coast of the contiguous United States, seasonally on some flights between the United States and Caribbean destinations, as well to London Heathrow and London Gatwick in the United Kingdom, Charles de Gaulle Airport in France and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands. The service is operated with a fleet of Airbus A321 aircraft in a premium configuration, with lie-flat seats in business class.

History

JetBlue first announced its intention to introduce premium seats on some of its transcontinental flights in March 2013.[1] The company officially announced its Mint premium class product on September 30, 2013; the aforementioned service was to be available on flights between New York and San Francisco and New York and Los Angeles, with fares for Mint-class seats starting at US$599 each way.[2] Dave Barger, JetBlue CEO at the time, said that the move was necessary for the airline to better compete with its competitors,[3] which were operating lie-flat seats in transcontinental markets, leaving JetBlue with an all-economy class cabin.[4] The routes were to be operated with new Airbus A321 aircraft and feature Wi-Fi connectivity. JetBlue's daily round-trip flights between New York and Los Angeles were to feature the service by the fourth quarter of 2014, and all five daily round-trip flights between New York and San Francisco by early 2015. The first Mint flight, from New York–JFK to Los Angeles, was to begin on June 15, 2014.[3]

On March 15, 2015, JetBlue announced seasonal expansion of its Mint service to Caribbean routes, with service from JFK Airport to Aruba and Barbados. The service was to operate once daily per destination during the winter holiday season, and once weekly per destination for the rest of the winter season.[5] JetBlue announced expansion of its Mint service to Boston in June 2015, with year-round service from Boston to Los Angeles and San Francisco,[6] and seasonal Saturday-only service from Boston to Barbados.[7] Flights from Boston to San Francisco began on March 24, 2016,[8] and flights from Boston to Los Angeles were to begin on October 20, 2016.[9]

On April 12, 2016, JetBlue announced an expansion of its Mint service. More routes utilizing the Mint configuration were to be launched to Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, San Diego and Seattle, with service beginning during 2017 and 2018.[10] The announcement was made almost immediately after Alaska Air Group announced its intention to acquire Virgin America and merge it with Alaska Airlines. Either Alaska or Virgin operated in 4 out of 7 of JetBlue's newly announced markets.[4]

In February 2021, JetBlue announced a redesigned Mint business class.[11] The redesigned suites appear on A321 NEO’s and LR’s. In the first row, there is a bigger suite with space for up to two people and travelers get extra benefits. The first row is $299 extra than the rest of the cabin.

Service

The Mint sub fleet consists of A321 aircraft with 159 seats,[12] including 16 flat-bed Mint seats. The Mint seat is a version of the Thompson Aero Vantage business class seat, with extra storage and dual 120 V + USB power outlets at every seat.[13][14] 4 of the 16 Mint seats are mini-suites, which include a sliding door for privacy.[13] The seats have a width of up to 22.3 inches (57 cm) and can convert to a flat bed of up to 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) in length. Pairs of non-suite Mint seats alternate with single mini-suite seats.[15] The seats use air cushioning, allowing passengers to adjust the firmness of the seats.[14][15] Economy class on Mint A321 aircraft uses B/E Aerospace Pinnacle slimline[16] seats, with a seat pitch of 33 inches (84 cm) in the main cabin and up to 37 inches (94 cm) in the "Even More Space" extra legroom product.[13] There are two power outlets per row of economy-class seats.[16]

A 15.6-inch (40 cm) video screen provides Live TV 4.0, SiriusXM Radio, and some films as in-flight entertainment.[15] The TV system provides about 100 DirecTV channels.[14] On flights outside the coverage range of satellite TV, TV channels and radio are not provided.[17] In-flight Wi-Fi is provided via a Ka-band satellite system.[13]

Passengers receive in-flight meal service.[13][14] Amenity kits are provided by Hayward & Hopper, a cosmetics company based in New York.[18]

Routes

As of September 2023, JetBlue Mint has routes to cities in the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands.[19][20][21]

References

  1. ↑ "JetBlue to add premium seats on some flights". Associated Press. March 20, 2013. Archived from the original on March 24, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  2. ↑ Clampet, Jason (September 30, 2013). "JetBlue's New 'Mint' Class Promises Premium Seats for Less". Skift. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Jones, Charisse (September 30, 2013). "JetBlue launches premium brand called Mint". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "jetBlue's Mint a great example of innovation; next phase now tests its premium model more widely". CAPA – Centre for Aviation. May 15, 2016. Archived from the original on June 18, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  5. ↑ Rosenbloom, Stephanie (March 15, 2015). "JetBlue Mint to Travel to Caribbean in High-Flying Style". In Transit. The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  6. ↑ Luna, Taryn (June 23, 2015). "JetBlue adding first-class cabin on some flights". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  7. ↑ "JetBlue Commences Mint Service in Boston". Travel & Leisure Close-Up. March 30, 2016. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  8. ↑ Goodison, Donna (March 24, 2016). "JetBlue's Mint offers taste of luxury". Boston Herald. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  9. ↑ "JetBlue Further Updates A321 MINT Boston – Los Angeles Planned Launch in 16Q4". Airline Route. April 5, 2016. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  10. ↑ "With New Mint Routes, JetBlue Will Expand Its Refreshing Take on Premium Travel From East to West" (Press release). JetBlue. April 12, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  11. ↑ Puckett, Jessica. "JetBlue's New Mint Business-Class Suite Is Like a Studio Apartment in the Sky". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  12. ↑ "JetBlue | Our planes". JetBlue Airways. Archived from the original on June 21, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Miller, Seth (June 10, 2014). "JetBlue goes 2.0 as low-cost carrier unveils Mint premium product". Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Rabinowitz, Jason (June 15, 2014). "Flight Review: JetBlue Mint "Suite" Inaugural". Airways Magazine. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 Flynn, David (June 6, 2014). "Review: JetBlue's new Mint business class seats and suites". Australian Business Traveller. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  16. 1 2 Rabinowitz, Jason. "JetBlue "New Core" A321 Flight Review". Airways Magazine. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  17. ↑ Marcus, Lilit (November 9, 2015). "Three Meals in Four Hours: The Luxe Life of JetBlue's Mint Class". Condé Nast Traveler. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Mintroducing: Hayward and Hopper – Out of the Blue". blog.jetblue.com.
  19. ↑ "Mint". JetBlue. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  20. ↑ "JetBlue "Welkoms" Amsterdam Service with Flights from New York Starting Today". news.jetblue.com. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  21. ↑ "JetBlue Adds Amsterdam Service from Boston Starting Today". news.jetblue.com. Retrieved October 9, 2023.

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