JetBlue is known for its excellent Mint business class product. On the carrier’s new Airbus A321neos and A321LRs, the airline has a business class product with direct aisle access from every seat, plus privacy doors.
Well, at least that has been the case up until now. Soon the airline will be locking the doors at individual seats on some jets, in order to save money…
In this post:
JetBlue A321neo Mint doors will be locked
Airlines are heavily regulated when it comes to safety. When airlines introduce new seating arrangements, they need permission from regulators, to ensure that all safety requirements are being met, including evacuation times, accessibility, etc.
That brings us to this situation. JetBlue’s Mint business class seats with doors are causing some issues with regulators. Or more accurately, JetBlue is trying to staff flights at absolute minimums, and that causes a problem with doors.
This issue involves JetBlue’s fleet of eight Airbus A321neos, which are used both for transatlantic and transcontinental flights. These are separate from the carrier’s 11 Airbus A321LRs, which are explicitly intended for transatlantic flights.
JetBlue’s A321neos with Mint feature a total of 160 seats, including 16 Mint business class seats. Under normal circumstances, the FAA requires airlines to have at least one flight attendant per 50 seats, meaning there would need to be at least four flight attendants on this aircraft.
However, the FAA has determined that an extra flight attendant is needed on these kinds of planes with doors, to account for the increased workload of ensuring that the individual doors are properly locked for taxi, takeoff, and landing. In the case of JetBlue’s A321neos with 160 seats, this means that the airline needs five flight attendants, rather than four flight attendants.
Back in March 2024, when JetBlue received this directive from the FAA, the airline decided to increase staffing on the A321neo, to be able to continue to use those doors. However, as reported by Seth Miller, the airline is now backtracking.
As of mid-August 2024, JetBlue plans to decrease staffing on A321neos to four flight attendants once again. This means that the airline will have to disable the doors at business class seats. Let me emphasize that this won’t apply to the A321LRs. Those planes have sufficient staffing, as they have under 150 seats.
What can we really make of this situation?
It goes without saying that this situation is kind of embarrassing across the board. JetBlue has invested in a great new business class product, and now passengers won’t be able to use one of the key features that has been marketed with this seat, which is a door.
I can see JetBlue’s perspective here. The airline is trying to return to profitability. Is it worth having an extra flight attendant just to ensure that doors can be used at business class seats? That would be a huge investment in a small number of travelers, and I think most spreadsheet jockeys would struggle with that.
Now, some might say that the FAA’s policy is ridiculous, and this is unnecessary bureaucracy. While I understand that perspective, I think it’s worth emphasizing that JetBlue was aware of the risk of this requirement all along.
JetBlue’s “classic” Mint business class product had an exemption whereby the airline didn’t need an extra flight attendant, as there were only four seats that had doors. However, it was clear all along that if there were more doors at seats, an exemption probably wouldn’t be granted.
That’s exactly what happened, so now the airline is stuck dealing with this reality. It’s not really the FAA’s fault that JetBlue was hoping it could get away with that. As a matter of fact, when Airbus received approval for the new Airbus Cabin Flex (ACF) layout, the FAA was explicit about the need for an extra flight attendant if there were this number of seats with doors:
The FAA does not agree with the petitioner’s proposal because the workload that will be required to ensure the proposed 16 or 24 suite doors are in the correct position for taxi, take-off, and landing is considered significant and would not necessitate an additional evaluation… Because this is a critical safety element to reduce the likelihood that a door could be left closed for takeoff and landing, the FAA will require an additional crewmember in order to grant this exemption.
So as much as one wonders whether this is really necessary, JetBlue really has no one to blame here…
Bottom line
In the coming weeks, JetBlue will deactivate the doors at Mint business class seats on Airbus A321neos. This is because the FAA requires airlines to have an extra flight attendant above minimums to ensure these doors are properly locked for critical phases of flight, given the increased workload.
JetBlue has temporarily increased staffing on A321neos to accommodate this, but is no longer wanting to do that, given that the airline wants to return to profitability. As a result, the airline has made the decision to just deactivate these doors, so that it can cut one flight attendant from these aircraft.
What do you make of this JetBlue Mint door situation?
I am glad others are posting how they don’t really like doors. For me, especially in business class, they are just not necessary. I have opened doors on the Mint seats after the FAs have closed them as well. I can understand having a door on a big private Emirates or Singapore first class suite or something, but otherwise just get rid of the doors
Quite a dumb requirement. Why is one whole flight attendant required for the 2 minutes it takes to check that the doors are all open for taxi and for landing?
They should take all the doors off if they are a problem
I recently used one of these flights with the doors. Honestly, the way the seat is set up and the views into the aisle, a door is unnecessary. The only time it was closed is when I fell asleep and the FA closed it for me. I do not see this as a big loss at all. The seats are incredibly private, with or without the door that only comes up a few feet.
...I recently used one of these flights with the doors. Honestly, the way the seat is set up and the views into the aisle, a door is unnecessary. The only time it was closed is when I fell asleep and the FA closed it for me. I do not see this as a big loss at all. The seats are incredibly private, with or without the door that only comes up a few feet.
HOWEVER, I do think an extra FA is helpful. With just two, I honestly did not feel the level of service or attention for business class was on par with other airlines. It was great, it just felt less attention than other business class products. But the door can go! I promise you will not miss it.
Why not just raise the price? If they need an extra FA for the flight, just spread the cost of that FA across all the seats. That should realistically be a negligible increase. Anyone paying for mint isn't going to all of a sudden stop flying if the seats go up $50 or any other tiny amount.
Sorry, Ben. I enjoy your posts, but a door? Really?
Like others have commented, I don’t care for doors in premium cabins. I feel claustrophobic enough when flying in premium “cubicles” and most airlines have designed their seats and dividers to provide enough privacy without them. I also find them to be a safety hazard in the event of an emergency.
I find seat/bed comfort and premium ground services (which you rarely cover) to be far more important.
Add me to the people who have never understood the big deal about doors.
I never understood the big deal about the doors.
Typical U.S. over reaction and theater (like most of the TSA rules, the barricades when a pilot has to use the rest rooms, the US obsession with putting on the seat belt light at the slightest bump, etc. etc. etc).
Having the doors or no doors wont matter when JetBlue plane goes down, the flight attendants, whether 4 or 5, wont be worrying about the business class door passengers....
Another over reaction, over regulation and...
Typical U.S. over reaction and theater (like most of the TSA rules, the barricades when a pilot has to use the rest rooms, the US obsession with putting on the seat belt light at the slightest bump, etc. etc. etc).
Having the doors or no doors wont matter when JetBlue plane goes down, the flight attendants, whether 4 or 5, wont be worrying about the business class door passengers....
Another over reaction, over regulation and race to the bottom for the US.... we can't do anything, anymore.....
Ah yes there’s always one who thinks they know better, and you sound as if you qualify as “that” person.
I've never once seen, read about, or even heard rumor of, a premium passenger whose choice of carrier or pledged-spend was contingent upon the seat having doors.
I just don't understand the door thing, as it seems to do nothing but add weight and complexity (like what we're seeing here) in exchange for no additional revenue.
You obviously don’t fly Qatar. The uproar when there’s an aircraft swap to a non QSuite aircraft is loud and clear.
I wonder if there’s a technological solution that could reduce the workload enough to satisfy the FAA long term. Locks and status sensors integrated into the cabin management system could help
FAs quickly identify which (if any) doors are open and make sure they stay open for take off and landing.
these exists.
I have seen widebody suites that have locks which the FAs engage and disengage and also lights visible from the aisle even for non-suites (without doors) that show if the seat is upright and seatbelt fastened
Whether there are separate rules for those seats, I do not know.
FAA requires 1 FA per 50 seats —> A321neo has 160 seats, thus 3.2 FA are needed which is rounded up to 4.0 FA: shouldn’t those 0.8 FA be sufficient to lock and unlock doors?
the requirements are based on whole numbers.... 1 FA per ANY PART of 50 passenger seats (not occupied but installed).
160 seats requires 4 FAs. 1 more for "door checking" makes 5.
The question is why B6 thought they could get by with 4 given previous FAA directives - which other airlines seem to understand - and how this will impact other airlines premium narrowbody staffing most of which will have suites w/ doors because that is what customers say they want.
To me, the door is a gimmick unless it goes higher than 5', otherwise, passers-by can still look into your space. JetBlue's doors are short so people can see you when you're sitting upright. Not much privacy, if you ask me.
Consistency in product & service is what David Neeleman founded the airline on 24 years ago. It's sad to see recent leadership fumble away what was once a great airline. Hopefully Robin Hayes doesn't do the same at Airbus...
Yep - and wasn't the original rationale for B6's larger legroom vs competitors because they could save on the flight attendant staffing vs comparable LCC/ULCCs? Where are the differentiators for B6 now... all I see is skyrocketing costs, dreadful performance, and a failed attempt to grow/M&A itself into a legacy airline (with none of the economies of scale or revenue premiums)
Being JetBlue, they'll probably do something stupid like give everyone $50-100 vouchers or refunds for the door not working and spend more money than it would have cost for the extra crew member.
Sorry, but I don’t blame Jet Blue. No one loves Business/First more than me but I never understood the need for doors on the suites. I can see how they could be a problem in an emergency, do passengers really need them ?
Same here. What do you need doors for?
Who cares cabout these doors... I really would preffer airlines focus on other aspects of the hard product.
I don’t believe the doors provide much additional privacy in this configuration. With the angle of the seats, you can’t see much of the person across the aisle open or closed. A person standing in the aisle can also see into your suite regardless of if the door is open or closed.
Ben will probably never fly JetBlue again because the stupid door is disabled, he has a obsession with these doors
@ Todd -- Looking at your commenting history, five of your last six comments on the blog have been about how I'm "obsessed" with doors. One wonders who is the one who is obsessed with a concept...
Boom! Headshot.
ROAST!!!
Don't be a bully. If you don't like him, please unsubscribe. Perhaps you can come up with your own travel news and updates???
Once again, the notion that narrowbody premium aircraft for longhaul operations will be cost-competitive is being tossed out the window.
B6 and every other US airline that flies over 8 hours has to staff with 3 pilots.
With the FA staffing requirement if doors are present, the A321 has to have a premium seat count that is comparable to widebodies when the evidence is abundant that premium configurations don't result in a higher percentage of...
Once again, the notion that narrowbody premium aircraft for longhaul operations will be cost-competitive is being tossed out the window.
B6 and every other US airline that flies over 8 hours has to staff with 3 pilots.
With the FA staffing requirement if doors are present, the A321 has to have a premium seat count that is comparable to widebodies when the evidence is abundant that premium configurations don't result in a higher percentage of premium revenue compared to other airlines that use a more normal distribution of seats.
Or airlines can have a normal percentage of premium seats and then add extra FAs.
And remember that US airlines are handing out pay raises at a much faster rate than revenue is increasing. Labor costs are a higher percentage of airline costs than they have ever been - and they aren't coming down.
Narrowbody longhaul (over 8 hours) won't work and even below 8 hours will have much higher costs that must be offset by high revenue, which most airlines are not getting.
Good thing you're smarter than most airline execs...
Don’t forget with three pilots that will need a crew rest area, which may end up being one of those premium seats.
The number of people who think this overblown, overrated domestic First is the greatest thing since sliced bread is amazing. Of course, what do you expect from New Yorkets? They think their pizza is good.
You have a some kind of weird inferiority complex/obsession with New Yorkers. You comment the same garbage anytime JetBlue gets brought up. It’s actually very sad and pathetic.
Not an inferiority complex, because Chicago is inferior to no one, especially Noo Yawk.
DEEP DISH #1
This blog is no longer viewable on a phone. I do not mind some ads, but things are now out of hand, going to have to look into adblocker
Jet Blue now has a decision to make on what seat configuration they are putting on the A321 XLR's.
…or JetBlue could see it as an investment in passenger experience. 4 FAs for 160 passengers, including 16 in Mint seems pretty light. I get that that’s what the law requires, but doing the bare minimum is often not the best business (or life) strategy.
Even if you just count it as a cost for mine it's not that bad if you spread the cost across the seas. I can't imagine the marginal cost is more than 800 dollars (6 hours of flight at 50 an hour (might be high) plus 250 dollars for a hotel for the night only takes you to 550) and 800 works out at 50 dollars per mint seat. I think the marginal value to...
Even if you just count it as a cost for mine it's not that bad if you spread the cost across the seas. I can't imagine the marginal cost is more than 800 dollars (6 hours of flight at 50 an hour (might be high) plus 250 dollars for a hotel for the night only takes you to 550) and 800 works out at 50 dollars per mint seat. I think the marginal value to passengers of having the working door is more than 50 dollars + tax + a margin for profit. It's not like premium cabins are that price sensitive!
Ben, long time reader here (like 2006-2007). The ads have gotten bad, making it hard to scroll and read on a phone. Text jumps around, etc. Frustrating! Hope you can address soon.
That's what AdBlock is for, my friend :)
I’ve seen similar comments in the past and wondered why people find it so irritating. And then I realised this is a problem specific to those in the US. I’m European and live in the EU where we are treated like human beings and can’t be bombarded with ads or have our personal data stolen without our explicit permission. My sympathies to all those in the US with no consumer rights, personal privacy, etc… And...
I’ve seen similar comments in the past and wondered why people find it so irritating. And then I realised this is a problem specific to those in the US. I’m European and live in the EU where we are treated like human beings and can’t be bombarded with ads or have our personal data stolen without our explicit permission. My sympathies to all those in the US with no consumer rights, personal privacy, etc… And thank you for paying for this website so that I can access it for free.
I agree. I'm looking at a toilet paper add that locked my ability to scroll. Yes, I could use an ad blocker but I like seeing how the internet stalks me...
I usually access this on my laptop, and the ads are definitely annoying, but yesterday I was using my phone to pull up the sight and the ads made it completely unusable, it was atrocious! I think Ben is fantastic and provides an amazing blog, but I also think it's telling that he won't address this issue. It's been brought up repeatedly and crickets. He even replied to another comment on this thread AFTER you...
I usually access this on my laptop, and the ads are definitely annoying, but yesterday I was using my phone to pull up the sight and the ads made it completely unusable, it was atrocious! I think Ben is fantastic and provides an amazing blog, but I also think it's telling that he won't address this issue. It's been brought up repeatedly and crickets. He even replied to another comment on this thread AFTER you posted this, so he's seen this, and crickets. These ads are a choice, Ben isn't forced into it and this format, so the fact that he's choosing it, and choosing to not address any of the issues people are having around it is speaking volumes. We all want to use and support this site, and are trying to, but Ben has made a conscious decision to make the site actively hard to read, and that's going to come back to bite him.
@ RCB -- So I hear you, and that's all fair feedback (and I'm happy you enjoy the content). :-) I know it might not look like it from a reader's perspective, but I promise that I've been pushing for improvements here, and we've been blocking several advertisers who have been placing ads that are too disruptive.
As I'm sure you can understand, there needs to be a balance between readability and being able...
@ RCB -- So I hear you, and that's all fair feedback (and I'm happy you enjoy the content). :-) I know it might not look like it from a reader's perspective, but I promise that I've been pushing for improvements here, and we've been blocking several advertisers who have been placing ads that are too disruptive.
As I'm sure you can understand, there needs to be a balance between readability and being able to monetize the site, and sometimes there are definitely issues.
Data points help here. As I use the site on my phone right now I'm not having any real issues with ads, so I'm not sure if it's browser specific, location specific, or what. Any data points would be helpful, so we can get it fixed.
@ DiscoPapa -- Thanks for reading, and for the feedback. Obviously ads have become more of an issue lately, and I'm doing my best to find the right balance. We had some issues with ads that were taking over pages, and that's absolutely not supposed to happen, and we block them when we can. It's something we've been doing a lot of in recent weeks, and I thought it was getting better.
Could you provide...
@ DiscoPapa -- Thanks for reading, and for the feedback. Obviously ads have become more of an issue lately, and I'm doing my best to find the right balance. We had some issues with ads that were taking over pages, and that's absolutely not supposed to happen, and we block them when we can. It's something we've been doing a lot of in recent weeks, and I thought it was getting better.
Could you provide some more details about what exactly you're seeing, or send me a screenshot to [email protected]? We sometimes have issues with some ads getting through that aren't supposed to, and I definitely don't want it to impact the ability to read, or totally ruin the experience.