JetBlue first introduced their Mint product in 2014, which was a big departure from their business model prior to that. Mint is JetBlue’s premium cabin, which is available on select A321 aircraft, which primarily operate transcon flights.
I’ve had a ton of respect for JetBlue from the day they launched, and just as they changed up the industry with their superior economy product, they’ve done the same to transcon business class.
JetBlue’s Mint cabin consists of a total of 16 seats, including three rows of seats in a 2-2 configuration, and two rows of seats in 1-1 configuration.
The single seats are called “Mint Suites,” and are available on a first come first serve basis. What makes them especially awesome is that they have doors. It’s crazy to think that the world’s first business class product with doors is on a US low cost carrier.
JetBlue Mint is also special because of the service. The flight attendants working Mint are consistently exceptional. Simply put, Mint is the best way to fly domestically, in my opinion.
The best part is that they’ve given the competition a run for their money not just in terms of the quality of their product, but also in terms of pricing. Even though JetBlue has the best product domestically, they’ve undercut the competition on pricing, so they’ve caused premium fares to go down in the markets they serve.
Back when Mint first launched, they offered this product exclusively between New York and Los Angeles/San Francisco, though in the meantime they’ve expanded Mint to so many more routes. All Mint routes are out of Boston and New York, and the airline has now put tickets on sale for their three newest Mint markets.
JetBlue will launch Mint flights to Las Vegas and Seattle in 2018. Specifically:
- JetBlue will introduce Mint 2x daily between Boston and Las Vegas as of January 4, 2018
- JetBlue will introduce Mint 2x daily between Boston and Seattle as of February 15, 2018
- JetBlue will introduce Mint 1x daily between New York and Seattle as of April 15, 2018
Personally I’m especially excited to see JetBlue Mint being introduced to SeaTac, my former home airport. As you’d expect, Mint pricing is excellent. JetBlue Mint fares out of Seattle start at $549 one-way.
As a point of comparison, Alaska’s current first class pricing between Seattle and Boston starts at $706.
I’ll be curious to see how Alaska responds in terms of pricing. Seattleites are fiercely loyal people in a way you don’t often see, and they’ll go great lengths to be loyal to their hometown airline. However, I’d assume loyalty only goes so far. Would anyone really pay for a mediocre domestic first class seat when you can instead get a flat bed with a door and superior service for less?
Are you excited to see JetBlue Mint expand to Seattle & Las Vegas?
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...
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.
can you book mint from FLL to LAS ? i have been trying to book this but doesn't seem like its coming up
@Seattle Eric
Actually, there is a 'do not disturb' light, too.
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...
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).
*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...
*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?
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...
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.)
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...
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.
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?
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.
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!
@lucky Looks like Delta has already responded on some dates with $441 business/First one way pp fares. Competition is great
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 They fly mint out of Ft Lauderdale as well to LAX and SFO.
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...
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?
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.
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.
They expanded Mint to Vegas. Starting in November from Kennedy. At least 2 flights a day. Might be all 3 or 4 though