JetBlue Mint Is Expanding To Seattle & Las Vegas In 2018

They expanded Mint to Vegas. Starting in November from Kennedy. At least 2 flights a day. Might be all 3 or 4 though

Is Alaska the target -- in Seattle, at least -- or is Delta? Depending on the route, business customers in Boston are more likely to fly JetBlue than tourists seeking the rock-bottom lowest fares -- my company, for instance, contracts with them (and American, though that's mostly for codeshares to Europe and Asia and the shuttle to DCA) And I think there's a low-simmering rivalry there, as both carriers seem to be expanding like gangbusters out of Logan.

Finally on the schedule! Great to see so much competition and choice in Seattle. New lounges, Lots of transcon options and increasing int'l options. So many ways to avoid UA and AA.

Jet Blue also operates mint from Fort Launderale (FLL)- LAX and SFO. Out of FLL Mint is supper cheap as I often seen it for under $500. However FLL is a huge leaure and low cost market so I'm not sure if they would expand more to Mint. FLL is a big hub for Jet Blue but not nessassary a premium. Virgin also flies LAX-SFO and United flies a 737 to SFO seasonally. Other than that, the legacy carriers primarily just fly to there east coast hubs (along with Texas and Chicago) from FLL. Event on those flights, First is not as popular to purchase as I often see plenty of people ungraded at the gate. More premium is AAs hub from MIA sometimes. PBI to the North as similar routes where first is a bit more popular it than again its Palm Beach. Do you think there's a market for mint to expand to South Florida other then LAX-SFO or no given the low cost market?

@lucky They fly mint out of Ft Lauderdale as well to LAX and SFO.

Will be interesting to see how Delta responds. Delta very much wants to compete at BOS, but the Mint product is cheaper than DeltaOne and better.

@lucky Looks like Delta has already responded on some dates with $441 business/First one way pp fares. Competition is great

As a Seattle flyer, would I pay more for the Alaska flight over Jet Blue Mint? I think I'd consider trying Jet Blue home to Seattle, but the flight times SEA-BOS and SEA-NYC are either late evening or overnight, where Alaska and Delta have morning options. Schedule is much more important to me than the details of the airplane's interior. If I'm flying up front on Alaska I get a comfy chair, good food and some movies to stream. I'm happy with that!

I wonder though at what point will the max out with "premium service". May work great for NYC to Seattle but is the demand really there for NYC to Denver or Boston to Fort Lauderdale?

That said I still like delta 1 over mint.

I just booked Mint for LAX>FLL for a date nearly nine months from now, and it was only $449. Hope I have an opportunity to fly it before then, though.

@Alex what do you prefer about Delta One?

What JetBlue really needs to "fix" is the way Mint itineraries can be built. If I want to fly LAX-FLL and on to, say, SJU, you could previously not buy the fare as Mint when only one segment was Mint.

They've seemingly fixed this and you can now buy it as a single trip, but the pricing is either broken or ridiculous. Looking at some sample dates, the round trip flight cost ranged from $1,150 through FLL to $6,000 or so through JFK, when only the LAX-FLL/JFK segments are in Mint (ranging from $959 to $1359), and the onward SJU flights are in the neighborhood of $200 for a Blue fare. Something went wonky when they updated the schedule and system to allow this. I've never seen JetBlue attempt to charge fares anywhere near this high.

The Seattle transcon market is way underserved. Your only option with a flat bed is a $2,500 each-way Delta ticket (which still gets the anemic Delta domestic service), and usually you're looking at $1k just to fly on Alaska's glorified economy seats. Hell, JetBlue Mint is starting at the same price as a full fare (upgrade eligible) Alaska ticket for MVPs.

(Also agree with timtamtrak - JetBlue needs to start fixing some of these bugs with mixed cabin itineraries. Sometimes it'll be a steal (I've done MCO->JFK->SFO for almost the exact same price as JFK->SFO) , and sometimes you'll get a completely insane result.)

*Door??*

It's waist high! It offers zero privacy! the only practical value it has is as a do not disturb signal to the flight attendants (which could be accomplished more easily, and more safely with a simple light). All I can think of is how highly the douches who fly mint will view this additional barrier separating them from the unwashed masses (the non douche Mint fliers will laugh at the 'door' and not use it).

Am I missing something? Does it extend to the cabin ceiling?

Very excited to see more Mint expansion. I much prefer Mint over AA/DL/VA to LAX and SFO, as the service is consistently exceptional. Service can be hit-or-miss on the competitors.

Lucky - I think you forgot to mention that Mint is also operated on JFK-LAS and FLL-LAX/SFO (along with some seasonal Saturday flying from JFK to the Islands).

The competition is great for customers and Mint has made premium flying more attainable to the general public (and those who don't travel every week for work).

@Seattle Eric
Actually, there is a 'do not disturb' light, too.

can you book mint from FLL to LAS ? i have been trying to book this but doesn't seem like its coming up

With the VA gone and the merger with Alaska eliminated those nice first class seats in Virgin first class, I am glad that Mint is coming to Seattle market..hope that they operate Mint for shorter routes like VA used to. There are people who are willing to pay extra just to avoid that awful domestic first class (more like economy comfort) seats that current domestic carriers have, including Alaska Airline. I have no loyalty for local airline, especially if the seats and services are underwhelming.