I flew JetBlue Mint for the first time in early August, and instantly fell in love. From the Mint Suite, to the food, to the service, to the little touches, the experience was incredible. With all three US legacy carrier loyalty programs now being revenue based, I’m questioning my loyalty more than ever before, and am finding it worthwhile in many cases to just outright book what I want.
Well, yesterday morning I had my second flight in JetBlue Mint, from New York to San Francisco, and I was curious to see if this one would be as good as the last one.
Could the crew really compare to the one I had on my last Mint flight, which was incredible? Could the food on a breakfast flight be as good as the food on a dinner flight?
Well, the answer is “for the most part, yes.” After my second flight in JetBlue Mint I figured I’d share my overall impressions of the product based on this flight, in the form of a “5 things I love about Mint” post. Because I really really do love JetBlue Mint, in case you haven’t noticed.
In this post I’ll be leaving out the frills and sticking to the things I really value. So there will be no mention of a Birchbox or cookies before landing, for example, cool as they may be. Those are gimmicks, and aren’t the core of what makes JetBlue Mint special.
Amazing service
JetBlue’s Mint flight attendants are incredible. Okay, this crew wasn’t quite to the level of the one on my previous flight, as Agda was one of a kind. However, the two flight attendants taking care of me were top notch, and objectively among the best flight attendants I’ve had on a US airline.
Let me give just a few examples:
- I was offered a refill on my pre-departure beverage three times, including just moments before we pushed back
- Once I was settled into my suite, the flight attendant asked if it was okay if he unwrapped my pillow and blanket for me so that I didn’t have to do it
- The second we passed through 10,000 feet a flight attendant stopped by my suite and asked if he could close my door for me and get anything out of the overhead bin for me
Those are just a few examples, but the whole service was top notch.
Great caffeine!
I’m a bit coffee addicted, and JetBlue probably has the best drip coffee of any airline, thanks to their partnership with Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s one of the few airplane coffees I’ve had where I would have been happy if I were served it on the ground.
On top of that, they make fantastic cappuccinos, among the best of any airline I’ve flown.
Great, simple food
JetBlue’s Mint meal service isn’t some elaborate five course affair. As far as I’m concerned that’s great, because unlike on other airlines, the food is actually delicious.
Breakfast is generally the most underwhelming airplane meal out there, though this was the best airplane breakfasts I’ve had in a very long time. As usual, I could select my choice of three dishes. Here was the menu for my flight:
I had the frittata, french toast, and poached pear with yogurt and granola. All three dishes were fantastic. The only puzzling part of the breakfast was the roll they served with it.
Then later on in the flight I was offered fresh fruit and sorbet, along with a cappuccino.
It might not be a five course affair, but it was by far the best domestic airplane breakfast I’ve ever had.
Fast/free Wi-Fi
I wrote about this yesterday. JetBlue offers free Wi-Fi for all passengers, and has an option to pay $9 per hour for faster Wi-Fi. This was the fastest Wi-Fi I’ve ever had on a plane, which is something I really value.
The impact Mint has had on the market
Not only is JetBlue extremely innovative with the product they introduced, but they’ve had a huge impact on the market as a whole. They’ve caused competitors to significantly reduce their premium cabin transcon pricing. Years ago airlines didn’t offer ~$550-600 one-way transcon tickets in a flat bed product.
Nowadays thanks to JetBlue we’ve seen the other carriers in the market, including American, Delta, United, and Virgin America, largely match JetBlue’s pricing. So if you’re someone who likes discounted premium cabin tickets you should appreciate JetBlue, even if you’ve never flown them.
Bottom line
JetBlue Mint is fantastic, so kudos to the way in which they’ve changed the market. They have better service and tastier food than I’ve had on any other US airline, and on top of that they entered a market and brought down the prices.
Well done, JetBlue!
I flew them roundtrip LAX-JFK during labor day weekend, I had the same menu as you for the return!
Totally agree! Jet Blue mint was the best premium cabin in-flight experience I ever had. The service, food, privacy door and seat comfort was outstanding! And the prices are the lowest. I look forward to the expansion of the Mint experience between more cities!
I used to mainly fly Qantas between NYC and LA but for a while now I have tried others and Mint is EASILY the best ( and often the cheapest too by quite a margin).
I booked ahead several months when there was a choice of seating BOS-SFO but was confused by seating chart and didn't realize I could have selected the solo "suite " instead of having a seat next to someone else. At least I had the aisle seat.
Totally best service ever by the attendants on a domestic flight !!! Thank you Jet Blue.
B6 has a HUGE hole in their southern route system - specifically Texas to west coast & FLL/MCO. Not all people fly to BOS JFK SFO & LAX.
B6, share more "bluer than blue, blue moon, true blue to you...and whatever else your planes are named with your friends in Texas who are SUPER tired of the "service" by a certain carrier @ IAH that's HQ in ORD !
I'd love to fly you & try mint, but you don't fly where I do :-(
It's weird that they serve Dunkin drip, but their espresso drinks are Brooklyn Roasting Company.
Ditto what 'Another Steve' said up top – I forgot that the non-Mint flights have really limited food-for-purchase options so I ended up eating two boxes of crackers, cheese and meat for dinner when I was running late for a flight to Portland from JFK. The economy food options on Mint planes is much better.
Jet Blue is running a surprise bonus % upon purchase of miles. It may be targeted since I received via email but I got an offer for 40% bonus when purchasing. It goes up to 75% supposedly. Not bad though I doubt I will take advantage at 40%. With my existing balance this would be speculative purchasing which is usually ill advised. Would you or anyone disagree?
@Lucky - Let's make the 6 things with my addition:
The sixth thing I love about JetBlue Mint: The cabin doesn't smell like feet...
I finished a trip today that will get me Mosaic through the end 2017 (thanks to the post from Lucky back in June). I am looking forward to more Mint expansion and I agree with all of the positives Lucky pointed out. However there are a couple things that cause me lingering anxiety as a long time legacy carrier flyer:
1. Lounges. I am trying to get used to limited or no lounge access in...
I finished a trip today that will get me Mosaic through the end 2017 (thanks to the post from Lucky back in June). I am looking forward to more Mint expansion and I agree with all of the positives Lucky pointed out. However there are a couple things that cause me lingering anxiety as a long time legacy carrier flyer:
1. Lounges. I am trying to get used to limited or no lounge access in JetBlue terminals.
2. Limited network. Probably my biggest concern with JetBlue is the once or twice a year when there are irregular ops. If you are based on the west coast, the options to get you home in irregular ops are much more limited than they are with legacy carriers. Especially since they have so few north-south routes outside the Atlantic coast. It's basically the same risk that an east coast flyer would have relying on Alaska Airlines.
3. Non-Mint Food. If you fly a route that is not Mint service, like SEA-JFK or SEA-BOS, the food options are surprisingly limited for a 5.5 hour flight.
Other than the lounge issue, my concerns will all be alleviated as they continue expansion. I plan to keep flying with them and probably maintain Mosaic status. No more AA EXP for me, now it's JetBlue Mosaic, Delta Gold/Platinum and BA Silver (for OW Sapphire benefits).
I flew my folks out on mint last year. They still talk about the flight. They don't remember much about the vacation itself. But the flight, thats all they still talk about. :) Probably the best thing I ever did with money. I of course had to fly economy the rest of the year because those 2 tickets were not cheap. lol.
As for the photo, your cameras' light sensor is generally set for outdoor...
I flew my folks out on mint last year. They still talk about the flight. They don't remember much about the vacation itself. But the flight, thats all they still talk about. :) Probably the best thing I ever did with money. I of course had to fly economy the rest of the year because those 2 tickets were not cheap. lol.
As for the photo, your cameras' light sensor is generally set for outdoor lighting, incandescent indoor lights or florescent light etc. But its those 3 settings that generally causes a picture to be too blue or too green. Shooting with daylight sensor inside a room full of florescent light for example will make everyone's skin to look sickly green.
I was going to come on this thread and whine that you are a rich elite who spends too much on airfare... but $550 is a good deal for what you got. Kudos.
Mainly due to the glowing reviews by Lucky, I researched Jetblu's service to Lima, Peru....
I was disappointed in that 'Mint' service was not offered on this long distance flight..
Back to AA .............sad
Ben,
I'd be interested in hearing where you are on EXP this year and how it's influencing your purchasing decisions. Have you busted through the 200K MQM mark and so no more reason to fly AA; was it cost of the ticket; you're just not valuing the additional SWUs beyond 4 base; or B6 is just THAT good?
Two one way transcons in J are 'throwing away' 10K of perfectly good MQMs.
I haven't flown JetBlue in years (mostly because they don't fit my travel patterns), but this product looks great. I'd be suspicious about the coffee though. If Dunkin Donuts in flight coffee comes from the same supply chain as what they sell in grocery stores, then you're raving about a rebranded Folgers. It's the same company.
Also, I know that a few of my friends don't really appreciate the inventive and delicious food so I posted about JetBlue's "secret menu" called "Plane Fare". If you give them 48 hours' notice you can get a cheeseburger or mac and cheese instead of the Saxon + Parole menu.
Just flew JFK-SFO in Mint less than two weeks ago based on Lucky's glowing reviews and have to say I was blown away by the experience: Beautiful, clean aircraft, the most comfortable Seat I have ever flown on a Domestic Flight, Loved the RefreshMint Pre-Departure Cocktails, and the Tapas style dining excellent. As good as the Hard Product was, what really stood out was the incredibly friendly and excellent service from the two F/A's Thomas...
Just flew JFK-SFO in Mint less than two weeks ago based on Lucky's glowing reviews and have to say I was blown away by the experience: Beautiful, clean aircraft, the most comfortable Seat I have ever flown on a Domestic Flight, Loved the RefreshMint Pre-Departure Cocktails, and the Tapas style dining excellent. As good as the Hard Product was, what really stood out was the incredibly friendly and excellent service from the two F/A's Thomas and Erin. I flew AA First Class out on the Transcon and it was Superb, but Jet Blue was as good in it's own way at a fraction of the price of AA Transcon.
I cannot wait to try their Mint product on the BOS-LAX route in the end of the year!
Lucky as I see the breakfast or is more appealing than emirates first breakfast ! What makes it top noch is that it that original ,fresh and healthy !!!! Kudos to jet blue !
Hmmmmm. Very tempting... although current prices for the dates I'm looking at are $1200 RT for Mint vs $320 for economy. $880 is still a huge difference from economy. I'm buying a ticket for my mom, though, so it's tempting to splurge for one direction as a present... after all, without her, I wouldn't be here!
@Paul, I think it's the lighting in cabin (or camera filter maybe) that makes the last set of pictures look like blue.
Blue maybe JetBlue's color but it doesn't look so good on the fruit plate and cappuccino. #colorcorrection
JetBlue is a great airline though, hope they expand their routes soon.
If we could take the Illy's coffee from United, combine it with Delta's operating record, and Mint's in-flight experience, I wouldn't fly anything else! That said, I loved everything else you mentioned! I am looking forward to the expansion of their routes! http://www.jetblue.com/flying-on-jetblue/mint/ :D
I find the food part a great example of apple-esque 'worse is better' - why attempt an intricate meal service that is set to disappoint. Rather, keep it very simple, and over-deliver.
Yep, JetBlue Mint is incredible. I'd even say the service with some of the best Mint crews I've had rival some of the best -first class- crews I've experienced on Etihad, etc. Amazing.
I also love that they call it 'brunch' - appropriate for New York.
what did you pay for the ticket?
@ sheldoncooper -- $550 one-way.
I loved my last experience on JetBlue Mint, I really did. All your posts reminding me about it has me regretting Flying Delta One to Los Angeles for my next trip.