- Introduction: An Overdue Trip To Kyoto
- Review: JetBlue Mint Business Class A321 (MIA-LAX)
- Review: Four Seasons Los Angeles At Beverly Hills
- Review: Starlux Airlines Business Class Airbus A350 (LAX-TPE)
- Review: Starlux Airlines Lounge Taipei Airport (TPE)
- Review: Starlux Airlines Business Class Airbus A330neo (TPE-KIX)
- Review: Park Hyatt Kyoto, Japan
- Review: Ritz-Carlton Kyoto, Japan
- Review: Four Seasons Kyoto, Japan
- Review: Shisui Nara, Marriott Luxury Collection
- Impressions From Our Trip To Kyoto, Japan
- Review: Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge Kansai Osaka Airport (KIX)
- Review: Japan Airlines Business Class Boeing 787 (KIX-LAX)
- Review: American Airlines Business Class Boeing 787 (LAX-MIA)
To kick off our trip to Kyoto, we first flew from Miami to Los Angeles in JetBlue’s Airbus A321 Mint business class. Recently much of the focus at JetBlue has been on the carrier’s A321LR Mint business class, which is an all-new product. I was excited to once again check out JetBlue’s “classic” business class product, since this is the more common product anyway.
I’m happy to report that JetBlue’s Mint business class experience continues to be excellent, and the airline still has an edge. What an absolute treat the JetBlue Mint experience is on a domestic flight, as there’s no better way to fly coast-to-coast.
In this post:
How I booked our JetBlue Mint tickets
Ford and I both had JetBlue credits that were expiring soon (from previous tickets we had to cancel), so we booked standard revenue tickets. Specifically, we could book the following in business class for $619 per person:
9/26 B62986 Miami to Los Angeles departing 6:25AM arriving 9:17AM
That’s really great pricing for a flat bed product on a transcontinental flight. Not only was JetBlue charging less than American, but all of American’s flights that day were operated by aircraft without flat beds.
JetBlue A321 Mint boarding
We had checked in online the night before our flight, and as usual, made it to Miami Airport in no time, given the lack of traffic early in the morning. Our flight was scheduled to board at 5:40AM, 45 minutes before our 6:25AM departure (that seems like a really long boarding time for a narrow body jet, but…).
We arrived about an hour before departure, and went through the security checkpoint in Concourse E. Our flight would be departing from gate E22, which required taking the train. As much as I don’t love Concourse D in Miami, the other parts of the airport are even worse. 
One weak point of the JetBlue experience is that the airline doesn’t have lounges anywhere. However, since we were originating in Miami and could time our airport arrival correctly, that wasn’t an issue, as we arrived at the gate just minutes before boarding started.
Sure enough, boarding started exactly at 5:40AM, with those needing extra time being invited to board first, followed by Mint passengers and Mosaic members. I appreciate JetBlue’s simple boarding pass, compared to United, where it feels like a dozen groups are called ahead of first class.
JetBlue A321 Mint cabin & seats
At the forward door we were greeted by one of the friendly Mint flight attendants, and pointed toward our seats. JetBlue’s “classic” Airbus A321 Mint cabin consists of 16 seats, spread across five rows.
JetBlue chose a version of the Thompson Aero Vantage seat for its original Mint cabins, so seats are in a staggered configuration.
In the first, third, and fifth row, seats are in a 2-2 layout. These are perfectly nice seats, with a functional design. They even have quite a bit of privacy between the window and aisle seats, which is good if you’re traveling alone, but perhaps less good if you’re traveling with someone.
Ford ended up sitting in seat 5A, the window seat on the left in the last row. Before anyone thinks I abandoned him there, the cabin only had 10 of 16 seats occupied, and he had the entire fifth row to himself. That meant we could move between seats, and sit next to one another when we wanted to.
The star of the show in this configuration, though, are the four “throne” seats. These are located in rows two and four (I was seated in 4A), and are in a 1-1 layout. These staggered configurations are so efficient because the footwell for one seat is to the side of the seats in front. So since the rows around these throne seats have a pair of seats on each side, you end up getting quite a bit of extra space.
Each seat has a personal television, and in Mint the screens are 15″.
The throne seats have a huge counter on each side of the seat, where you can easily place things during the flight.
The right side of the seat had two sets of outlets, each of which had an AC power outlet plus a USB-A outlet.
To the right side of the seat was a storage compartment that could be closed, a reading light, and a water bottle holder.
There was also yet another outlet, with both AC and USB-A charging. Talk about a charging overkill!
The tray table extended out from the side of the storage compartment, and it was a single surface. This was at least easier to use than some of the other tray tables you’ll find in these Vantage seats, which require a degree to operate.
The armrest contained both the seat controls, as well as the entertainment controller (which I found unnecessary, since the entertainment was also touchscreen).
Also, I can’t forget the absolute coolest feature of these throne seats, which is that they have privacy doors. Just push the little button to the side of the seat, and the door will slide out. It’s quite remarkable how JetBlue was the first airline in the world to introduce doors on business class seats.
The overhead console had both a reading light and individual air nozzle.
JetBlue’s classic Mint product is holding up very nicely. The cabin was pretty well maintained, and I also noticed how the seats had been reupholstered compared to many years ago, and I found the padding to be much better.
If I had one criticism of the classic Mint cabin, it’s that I find the plastic dividers at each row to be kind of cheap-looking. I mean, I guess they’re supposed to add additional privacy to seats, or something, but they’re just kind of scratched up, and don’t feel very premium.
JetBlue’s Mint product is such a great experience, especially compared to what you’ll find on most airlines on domestic flights. It’s wild how for the past decade, JetBlue has charged the same for the standard Mint seats as for the “throne” seats, as they’ve just been available on a first come, first served basis. That’s expected to change soon, and I’m curious to see what pricing is like.
JetBlue Mint amenities
There was no shortage of amenities on this flight in JetBlue Mint. For one, there was Tuft & Needle bedding waiting at my seat, which was excellent. This included a plush pillow, plus a cozy but not overly warm blanket. When combined with the better padding on the JetBlue Mint seat (compared to years ago), it’s very easy to get comfortable.
There was also an amenity kit (or perhaps more accurately, a cardboard pouch) for each Mint passenger. This included a dental kit, eyeshades, earplugs, socks, a face wipe, an electrolyte drink mix, and lip balm. While the kit itself isn’t great, the contents are solid, especially for a daytime domestic flight.
There were also a pair of Master & Dynamic noise canceling headphones for each passenger, which are among the better headphones you’ll find on any airline.
Then there was a bottle of water for each business class passenger.
Last but not least, there was the menu and drink list.
During boarding, the friendly New York-based Mint flight attendants, Kieran and Sara, introduced themselves to each passenger, and asked if we had any questions about the seat. I don’t remember the last time I’ve received that kind of an introduction and rundown on any other US airline. JetBlue really is a step above. Pre-departure drinks of choice were also offered.
I asked for a cup of coffee. JetBlue serves Dunkin’ coffee, which I must say I prefer to the drip coffee served on other US airlines. I also like how the cup is served with a lid, which makes it easy to hold onto the drink during takeoff, if you want.
JetBlue Mint entertainment & Wi-Fi
JetBlue’s aircraft are known for having an impressive selection of entertainment. In Mint, each passenger has a 15″ personal touchscreen. Let’s start with the bad news — the screen is rather low resolution, and at this point definitely doesn’t feel cutting edge.
Fortunately the selection is otherwise quite good, with everything from DIRECTV, to SiriusXM, to a library of movies and TV shows. 
My favorite feature, of course, is the ability to monitor the progress of the flight, even if JetBlue’s map feature is a bit outdated.
More exciting than the seat back entertainment (at least to me) is that JetBlue offers free Viasat Wi-Fi. You can log-in with just one click, and you don’t even have to be a member of the loyalty program to use this.
While Viasat Wi-Fi is the best major provider of inflight Wi-Fi, it’s not surprising that speeds are significantly slower than on airlines that charge for Wi-Fi, given the increased use of the system. It’s nice to have free Wi-Fi for just casually texting and browsing the web, but for those looking to get work done, the Wi-Fi speeds aren’t amazing.
JetBlue A321 departure from Miami
Boarding was really efficient, as the flight was only about half full. By 6:05AM (20 minutes ahead of departure) it was announced that boarding was complete, and the door was closed. At that point the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of 5hr16min.
The crew then began their manual safety demonstration. I’ve always found it strange how JetBlue does manual safety demonstrations, even though the airline has seat back televisions on all of its aircraft. Is this a money saving thing (in terms of the production cost of the video), or…?
By 6:10AM we began our pushback, and at 6:15AM we began our taxi. We had just a short 10 minute taxi to our departure runway, where we were cleared for takeoff at 6:25AM. That was our initial scheduled departure time, so it’s awesome when you takeoff at the time you were supposed to leave the gate.
We had a smooth climb out, but despite that, the seatbelt sign stayed on for around 30 minutes (as seems to be standard on US airlines).
JetBlue Mint breakfast service
Breakfast was served on this transcon flight. Even though breakfast is ordinarily the least exciting meal of the day (especially on an airplane), JetBlue still manages to make it good. You can find the JetBlue Mint breakfast menu below.
You can find the JetBlue Mint drink list below.
Just 10 minutes after takeoff, the crew came through the cabin to take meal orders. I love how JetBlue has espresso based drinks (including cappuccinos) in Mint, though unfortunately on this flight, the milk frother was broken, so I had to change my coffee selection up a bit.
About 35 minutes after takeoff I was brought my after takeoff drink, which was an iced coffee, and that was served with a butter croissant (which was really good — at least the couple of bites that I had, because it was huge).
JetBlue has a very consistent and untraditional dining concept. The menu typically has five different dishes to choose from, and you can select three of them. They’re then all served on a single tray (for lunch and dinner flights there are also desserts, served separately).
I selected the following three options:
- Greek yogurt with strawberries and walnuts
- Avocado toast with goat cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, and crostini
- Frittata with roasted potatoes, red peppers, herb and parmigiano salad
All three dishes were excellent, and I particularly liked the frittata. The avocado toast wasn’t exactly what I was expecting (it was more like crostinis with guacamole), but I still enjoyed it. This was leaps and bounds better than anything I’ve been served for breakfast on any other US airline.
After breakfast, I decided to have a cup of drip coffee. I loved the cup it was served in, plus the little container with the milk.
I enjoyed the sunrise view as we made progress toward Los Angeles, and interestingly we stayed completely over land with our routing.
JetBlue A321 Mint lavatory
At the front of the Airbus A321’s cabin was the Mint lavatory. It’s perhaps the thing that JetBlue puts the least thought into when it comes to the Mint experience, as there were no special amenities, or anything. At least it had significantly less traffic than the other lavatories, and therefore was presumably cleaner.
JetBlue A321 Mint business class bed
Before I even talk about bed comfort, I just have to briefly comment on something. I’m a morning person, so I got a full night of sleep prior to my flight, and got up at my usual time. Heck, we didn’t even set an alarm. So personally on a daytime flight like this, I want to be awake the entire time, enjoy the views, etc.
I seem to be in the minority, though, because the cabin was pitch black for the entire flight. I of course don’t want to be the one jerk who keeps his window open when all the other windows are closed, but I’m not a huge fan of how crews often try to encourage everyone to close their windows on a daytime flight. Sorry y’all ain’t morning people, but… 😉 
Anyway, on to the bed comfort. I found the bed to be very comfortable, especially thanks to the bedding and seat padding.
With these staggered configurations, each seat has a footwell you need to place your feet into when reclined, and the footwell in the throne seats is a bit tighter than in the other seats. So it definitely does feel snug in the fully reclined position, but it’s also important to remember this is a narrow body jet…
JetBlue Mint business class snacks
While the crew frequently checked to see if passengers wanted anything else to drink, a snack basket wasn’t ever passed around. However, immediately behind the Mint business class cabin was the snack bar, which has all kinds of packaged snacks that passengers can help themselves to. It’s just another way that the JetBlue experience in economy is a lot more pleasant than on other airlines.
In addition to that, shortly before landing, the crew passed out chocolate covered cashews to Mint passengers. I remember back in the day, JetBlue would pass out Milk Bar treats prior to landing, but I guess that has been cut.
JetBlue Mint service
The service in JetBlue Mint was great, as always. The crews in Mint really seem like they enjoy their jobs, and they actually provide attentive and consistent service. I don’t know why other US airlines can’t offer the same elevated service level in premium cabins that JetBlue offers.
JetBlue A321 arrival in Los Angeles
At around 8AM Los Angeles time, the captain announced that we would soon start our descent, and would be landing in around 40 minutes. Sure enough, we started our descent around 10 minutes later. The views approaching LAX are consistently mesmerizing…
The seatbelt sign was turned on around 8:25AM. From there we just had an additional 15 minutes of flying, and touched down at LAX on runway 25L at 8:40AM.
From there we had a rather lengthy taxi to our arrival gate at Terminal 5, where we arrived at 8:55AM, over 20 minutes ahead of schedule.
Bottom line
JetBlue Mint continues to be an amazing way to travel across the country. JetBlue’s business class product offers comfortable seats (especially if you can snag a throne seat), extensive entertainment, free Wi-Fi, legitimately tasty food and drinks, and friendly service. Honestly, what more could you ask for on a domestic flight? It just amazes me how no other US airline can offer this level of service consistently.
What’s your take on the JetBlue Mint experience?
For that price, extremely impressive.
Extremely comprehensive but you do waffle in your reviews.Could be alot shorter with a bit more thought .
Personally I'd disagree. His reviews have been more or less this thorough for years and it seems to work out well for him. Most of us appreciate being taken along for the ride.
I do not understand why so many US airline passengers think that daytime flights are adult nap time. I personally do not care what other passengers think and leave the windows up, because I like the light and want to look outside. I even sleep sometimes with the blind open
I don't get all the adoration given to JetBlue, at all. We just flew JetBlue Mint from SEA to JFK on Oct 29. We booked for a redeye, last minute Mint tickets from SEA to JFK on Oct 28. When we got to the gate, the plane was there, but the boarding was delayed for 45 min, then another 45 min, then another 45 min. We could see it in Flightradar24 that it is a...
I don't get all the adoration given to JetBlue, at all. We just flew JetBlue Mint from SEA to JFK on Oct 29. We booked for a redeye, last minute Mint tickets from SEA to JFK on Oct 28. When we got to the gate, the plane was there, but the boarding was delayed for 45 min, then another 45 min, then another 45 min. We could see it in Flightradar24 that it is a rolling delay. Then by about 2am-ish on Oct 29, we were invited to board. The first officer announced through PA that there is a switch issue with the engine and everything was fine. All that was needed was the paperwork.
An hour later, the same officer announced that no news is good news - we were still on the ground, and paperwork did take a long time. Then at close to 4am, we were told that we had to deplane and flight was cancelled. No meal vouchers were offered, no hotel were offered even though per DOT rules, JetBlue is at least responsible for the meal voucher.
While we waited in line with the gate agent to rebook, we managed to snag the last 2 seats on their next flight to JFK that day (Oct 29 afternoon). So we booked ourselves on a nearby Hyatt just to crash. We paid our own Uber which we will claim from JetBlue later.
Then on Oct 29 we arrived, and the flight got another rolling delay for 2 hours. This one is ATC-induced by JFK, so not dinging them for it. But yet, we had to ask for a meal voucher, rather than them pro-actively offered it.
While onboard, the seats are old, worn and dirty. We just flew on China Airlines lie flat A321, which is admittedly newer but way cleaner than JetBlue's. We also just flew on an older A330 from EVA with BAE Diamond seats. Older plane than JetBlue, but way cleaner. The IFE is old, with terrible resolution, and clear plastic panels above the seats do not belong there - as Ben pointed out. We were not offered any ANC head phones, at all.
Food was good, but that was about the only redeeming qualities. Air Canada transcon, if we want to compare North America transcon, is way better than JetBlue Mint. We flew with AC transcon on YVR-YYC, and YVR-YUL legs, and they are miles ahead of JetBlue Mint.
I wake up early each morning as I like to get a start on the day before the nearby world awakens. If I am on an early flight, I do like to get work done before boarding and use the opportunity to catch a few extra hours sleep. On long flights I appreciate the crew trying to the shades down when it's appropriate. The main issue is that an open shade creates ambient light so...
I wake up early each morning as I like to get a start on the day before the nearby world awakens. If I am on an early flight, I do like to get work done before boarding and use the opportunity to catch a few extra hours sleep. On long flights I appreciate the crew trying to the shades down when it's appropriate. The main issue is that an open shade creates ambient light so is not just the passenger by the window who gets the light but the entire cabin, reading lights allow for the passenger to read or work whilst reducing the effect on other passengers. It's no different to a person using headphones on a train or other public transport whilst others broadcast whatever they are watching or listening to all his/her neighbours.
Nice review. I've only flown Mint twice (JFK-SJO and return). On both, there was no PDB offered. Once in the air, they'd take your drink order, then do meals. If you wanted two alcoholic drinks they would not bring them both. One at a time. And in both flights neither was proactive. Once meal was done, they all disappeared. I had the Throne seat, so that was very nice. Unfortunately the Viasat WiFi doesn't allow...
Nice review. I've only flown Mint twice (JFK-SJO and return). On both, there was no PDB offered. Once in the air, they'd take your drink order, then do meals. If you wanted two alcoholic drinks they would not bring them both. One at a time. And in both flights neither was proactive. Once meal was done, they all disappeared. I had the Throne seat, so that was very nice. Unfortunately the Viasat WiFi doesn't allow T-mobile wifi texting to work (even on iPhone). But I find this to be a limitation of Viasat, to be honest.
JetBlue does not have TVs on all aircraft.
Which ones don't?
I flew this plane in J from NYC-CDG. I didn't like it. They were out of salad which was one of 3 things they offered, and the entire meal consisted of 2 tapas. Then they gave my dessert to someone else and when I asked where it was they told me they were out. The entertainment is horrible and it forces you to watch endless commercials. You order food on a screen and mine didn't...
I flew this plane in J from NYC-CDG. I didn't like it. They were out of salad which was one of 3 things they offered, and the entire meal consisted of 2 tapas. Then they gave my dessert to someone else and when I asked where it was they told me they were out. The entertainment is horrible and it forces you to watch endless commercials. You order food on a screen and mine didn't work. The J cabin is pretty big and it looked like there was one FA working, fortunately I was in 2A and got "fed" (my 2 tapas) early. For the price it wasn't bad but the food situation was no bueno.
If you flew JFK-CDG I can assure you, that while it was on an A321, it was not this one as their long haul flights are operated by the A321neos. While I agree that the newer seats still have issues with the endless commercials just to watch the entertainment, it definitely is disappointing to hear about your food situation.
It was not really a daytime flight. If the flight landed at 9AM pacific time then because people got up so early they wanted to catch up on some sleep and the time change before a full day in West coast. Also, it does not seem like they were offering anything different than other lie flat bed airlines; however, at least they did not try to serve eggs on the plane...
Frittata is made from. . . eggs
6am departure makes this a horrible option. The fact the flight was half full explains that.
There seems to be a reason that all AA flights are full because of the many scheduling options.
I have never been disappointed in probably 6 or so flights I have taken over the years.Of course, the attendants make the difference but it is a solid product.
Airlines that still do manual safety demonstrations in general feel that it helps with the customer experience - hopefully engaging them and becoming more personal
Ugh, dark cabins on day flights drive me crazy. If you want to sleep, wear the eye mask. The sun is up. It's daytime. You should be awake.
It was a 6:25am departure. That means many got up before 4am. Would make sense to catch up on sleep on the flight.
There’s also a time difference considering it was still 4am on the west coast. Therefore if customers put themselves on Pacific time, many would likely have been at the airport since midnight.
Concourse E (and the satellite) at MIA is the absolute worst. Dated appearance, worst food options of any terminal, and most of all inconvenient. No admirals club, and no baggage claim, so you walk 10-15 mins to D for that.
Find it crazy that BA (and to lesser extent IB) use the satellite. Imagine paying for BA F and walking from check-in at E to the Flagship in D then back to E for...
Concourse E (and the satellite) at MIA is the absolute worst. Dated appearance, worst food options of any terminal, and most of all inconvenient. No admirals club, and no baggage claim, so you walk 10-15 mins to D for that.
Find it crazy that BA (and to lesser extent IB) use the satellite. Imagine paying for BA F and walking from check-in at E to the Flagship in D then back to E for the train to the satellite? It’s nuts. Plus it’s a 10-15 min walk to immigration in D on the arrivals end. It’s the worst Int’l concourse at the airport
Don't sleep on Terminal F! Literally straight out of the 80's and not much (if any) improvement in offerings over Terminal E. Tends to be more crowded to boot!
Have you yet flown these mint flights when the price wasn’t this low? Flights to and from JFK are rarely below $1000. I agree they are nice but perhaps not the same value at $1200-1500.
I have never seen B6 Mint that low either and I am based out of JFK too. My guess is it was an early flight and B6 is a major player in the MIA market (so lacks pricing power compared to AA).
At least at FLL, my first and only experience on Mint was only $499 one way to LAX. To get that price just required a little bit of studying the timing on when to book by looking at Google Flights. Then again, the JFK-LAX/SFO markets are a heck of a different beast compared to FLL.
So I'm a shades down flyer to reduce glare on the IFE screen and being domiciled in Australia (not Austria) I'm usually out of whack with the destination time zone and needing to sleep for a portion of the flight. Yes, I always have my own earplugs and eyeshade. Also, in the Equatorial flight zones the heat on the sunny side can be unbearable.
That's what aisle seats are for. Window seats are for people who wish to look out the window.
I believe JetBlue's earlier management teams had said that the manual safety demo was a choice because they thought passengers paid more attention to a manual demo, although the early generations of their IFE were even more basic and had very little pre-recorded content (since the focus was on live TV) so I wouldn't be surprised if there were some tech limitations at play too.
Despite all these their stock is still at all time low in a decade. It explains "how no other US airline can offer this level of service consistently."
So if they offered worse service the stock price would go up? Interesting
Off Subject, but very interesting:
Transatlantic airplanes are flying at the ‘speed of sound’ right now. Here’s why
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/jet-stream-flights-speed-of-sound/index.html
Great review! I'm the opposite of a morning person and I still agree - daytime flights should be lights on, windows up. If I want to sleep (which, tbh, on a departure at this time, I would certainly grab a few more hours at the beginning of the flight), I'll use the eye mask. But the constant overbearing FA pressure to sleep on all flights regardless of timing is rather aggravating IMHO.
I'm with you @digital_notmad! Huge night owl here, but I want the shades open and lights up bright on daytime flights. I'm just as solar powered as morning people - possibly more so. Since I'm not a morning person, I need the sun to start the day! And these days, you get on a plane and all the shades are closed. I board as quick as I can so I can open the windows on...
I'm with you @digital_notmad! Huge night owl here, but I want the shades open and lights up bright on daytime flights. I'm just as solar powered as morning people - possibly more so. Since I'm not a morning person, I need the sun to start the day! And these days, you get on a plane and all the shades are closed. I board as quick as I can so I can open the windows on my row. Half the time my seatmate gets on and immediately closes the window.
Crews want the shades down so that people will sleep and pax want them down to watch movies and not have glare - especially since many movies are filmed with lots of dark scenes. Meanwhile, I frequently read on short flights. Recently I was reading a book in the middle of the afternoon on a plane and the person behind me complained about the glare from my light and wanted me to turn it off. Really? It's 3pm.
I had the exact same meal on a recent LAX to JFK Mint flight (except the fruit on my yogurt was apricot). The frittata was surprisingly delicious.