Since its founding in 1998, JetBlue has set itself apart from other affordable airlines by providing comfortable touches throughout the flight experience, from ample legroom to a self-serve pantry on many of its longer flights. While seat selection and carry-on bags are no longer included with the least-expensive Blue Basic fares, a robust rewards program and free in-flight wifi add value to the JetBlue experience.
The same is true with JetBlue Mint, the airline’s version of business class. The overall experience is similar to business class on airlines like American and Delta, and fares are generally lower than on comparable routes on those airlines. The trade-off, though, is fewer perks before the flight, and limited availability of Mint-ready routes.
Since June 2021, JetBlue has slowly been rolling out an improved Mint experience, with a revamped “Mint Suite” offering, as well as larger “Mint Studio” seats that have a second seating area and more storage. However, as of press, the suites and studios are only available on a select few domestic flights, and on JetBlue’s limited (but increasing) international offerings.
What to know about JetBlue Mint
There are three classes of Mint seats, and all are comparable to what you can expect from any legacy carrier’s international business class. All three offer lie-flat seating, large screens, amenity kits, free-flowing alcohol, and robust food and drink offerings from partnerships with boutique New York-based businesses.
JetBlue’s A321 planes are equipped with standard Mint seats, which alternate rows of two on either side of the aisle with single seats. In total, four of the rows have individual seats, and six of the rows have double seats, meaning passengers in window seats have no direct access to the aisle. Individual rows have privacy doors; double rows do not.
On A321neo and A321 LR planes, upgraded and revamped Mint Suite and Mint Studio seats are available. These include compartments for shoe and laptop storage, lighted vanity mirrors, larger entertainment screens, and adjustable mood lighting. All Mint Suite seats are individual seats with direct aisle access. The two Mint Studio seats per flight, which are only in the first row and for an upcharge, have more room, including a buddy seat and a second tray table.
All Mint fares include two checked bags, access to an Even More Speed security lane, and priority boarding. An in-flight meal and non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages are included. All Mint seats have dedicated bin space, a Tuft & Needle blanket and pillow, a wellness-oriented amenity kit, and headphones for in-flight use. All Mint seats are lie-flat seats with 6’8” of space, which have adjustable firmness and a massage function, and offer a 15” (or larger) screen.
Best routes for JetBlue Mint
The Mint Suites and Mint Studio seats available on A321neo and A321 LR flights offer a substantially upgraded experience from standard Mint. However, these seats are, on average, about double the price of standard Mint seats (which cost about triple a Blue Basic fare).
Mint Suite and Mint Studio are currently only available on domestic flights between Los Angeles and New York or Boston, and on international flights to London, and Central and South America.
Standard Mint service is available on long-haul domestic flights between West Coast cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas to destinations on the Eastern Seaboard like Boston, New York, and Miami. Generally, Mint seats are offered on five- and six-hour flights, but not many shorter routes than that. Mint service is available on all international flights to London, and Central and South America.
Real deals found by Going in JetBlue Mint
- NYC to London for $1,900 roundtrip
- Seattle to Boston for $918 roundtrip
- LA to NYC for $1,314 roundtrip
The JetBlue experience at the airport
Lounge
The biggest difference between JetBlue Mint and first class on other domestic airlines is lounge access. JetBlue does not operate any lounges, so Mint passengers have no separate waiting area unless they have access to other airport lounges like Priority Pass or American Express Centurion Lounge.
Check-in
JetBlue offers dedicated Mint/Mosaic check-in lines for its Mint passengers and frequent JetBlue fliers who have earned Mosaic status. The process is generally smooth and doesn’t require waiting for more than two or three other priority customers in front of you.
Mint tickets also come with Even More Speed, a for-purchase perk on lower class tickets, which gives you access to a priority TSA lane, although it is still a standard TSA lane. Even More Space does not include TSA PreCheck access for passengers who don’t have PreCheck status.
Baggage allowance
Each Mint fare includes two checked bags of up to 70lbs each, which are given priority tags and generally come out before standard checked bags at baggage claim. Passengers are also allowed one larger carry-on, and one smaller personal item.
The JetBlue Mint experience in the air
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Seats
- A321: These planes offer 16 standard Mint seats per flight, arranged in three rows of double seats per side, alternating with single suites, in a 2-1-2-1-2 pattern. There are 12 Mint seats in double rows, wherein window seats don’t have aisle access, and four single suites with privacy doors that close. These leather lie-flat seats have 6’8” of space, and are roomy and comfortable in both upright and seated positions. They have adjustable firmness and a massage function, which is especially nice on longer flights. They have a 15” screen, which is an easy-to-watch size. In the individual seats, in addition to the tray table that comes from the console, there is a large flat surface for extra tabletop space. The double seats don’t have that — and while there is a tray table, it’s so small that it can’t hold a cell phone and a food tray at the same time, and there is barely any extra storage on the shared center console between the seats. The tray table doesn’t extend as far as it could in the given space, which creates a cramped feel. When sharing the center console with a neighbor who’s a stranger, it can be awkward to navigate the small space. Storage under the double seats is awkward, too: there is no space for a bag if you have the leg support raised, so you need to put it underneath the leg support — but you can’t reach the bag to remove it if the seat is extended. It makes for an odd maneuvering, especially when seated next to a stranger whose personal space you’re trying to respect.
- A321neo: These planes offer 16 lie-flat seats, 14 of which are individual Mint Suite seats with privacy doors. The two front seats are Mint Studio space, available for an upcharge, with roomier suites and a secondary seating area. These leather lie-flat seats have 6’8” of space, and have adjustable firmness and a massage function. They have a 17.1” screen. Because they are all individual seats, there is significantly more space for personal belongings, and a more intuitive plan for storage. There are dedicated spots for shoe storage and a pull-out tray to store a laptop. On standard A321s, there is very little space to store anything during takeoff and landing, meaning your only option is to store your bag in the overhead bin and have a flight attendant help you.
- A321LR: These planes offer 24 lie-flat seats, 22 of which are individual Mint Suite seats with privacy doors. The two front seats are Mint Studio space, available for an upcharge, with roomier suites and a secondary seating area. These leather lie-flat seats have 6’8” of space, and have adjustable firmness and a massage function. They have a 17.1” screen. Because they are all individual seats, there is significantly more space for personal belongings, and a more intuitive plan for storage. There are dedicated spots for shoe storage and a pull-out tray to store a laptop. On standard A321s, there is very little space to store anything during takeoff and landing, meaning your only option is to store your bag in the overhead bin and have a flight attendant help you.
Benefits of flying Mint on JetBlue
JetBlue Mint customers are offered priority boarding, and are able to order beverage service as soon as they sit down. Once the plane reaches 10,000 feet, guests are offered a welcome snack.
Each seat comes with a cozy, lightweight Tuft & Needle blanket and a memory foam pillow that is a significant improvement in comfort and support from some other airline pillow offerings. Over-the-ear Master & Dynamic noise-isolating headphones are available by request, for in-flight use only, and do a solid job of cutting down on ambient noise. Snooze kits including socks, eye masks, earplugs, and wake-up toiletries are offered on longer flights. All Mint seats come with a take-home wellness kit curated by Wanderfuel, which comes with a rotating assortment of products that often include lip balm, face and hand cream, energizing mints, de-stressing spray, moisturizing eye gels, immune support lozenges, or pain-relieving body lotion.
The wellness kit is always a nice surprise: the products are truly wellness-oriented, are well-curated for in-flight and post-flight needs, and are generally varied in their selection — but I am predisposed to like them because I love a mini spa moment wherever I can have one. I’ve seen many people leave them behind, usually men. The parting gift is Hu Chocolate-Covered Hunks, which are chocolate and vanilla-bean cashews.
Meals in JetBlue Mint
Since 2020, JetBlue has partnered with Delicious Hospitality for its Mint class food and beverage offerings. Delicious Hospitality is the restaurant group behind New York City restaurants like Charlie Bird and Legacy Records. Previously, the group’s Pasquale Jones was featured, but since summer 2022, the group’s Legacy Records restaurant has been providing the menus. Mint meals are a selection of small plates: guests choose three plates from a selection of five chilled and hot plates.
The menus change every two months, and are different depending on the route. The Westbound Breakfast menu for October/November 2022 included: chilled poached pears with tarragon; salted yogurt with raspberry jam; avocado toast; banana bread pudding with creme anglaise; and a poached egg with lobster over fried rice. The Westbound Lunch/Dinner menu for October/November 2022 included: a wedge salad with lemon buttermilk dressing; burrata and crostini; shrimp with roasted cherry tomatoes; chicken cacciatore with rosemary breadcrumbs; and lamb shoulder with tomato conserva. Dessert was vanilla gelato with vanilla shortbread. In-flight menus can be previewed here.
The food options through Delicious Hospitality trend toward sophisticated offerings that can be limiting. On the October/November 2022 breakfast offerings, only two had any protein—one a savory, salty yogurt (which was tasty if slightly unusual) and one featuring lobster and a poached egg. While the lobster was tender—it can get rubbery when reheated—it had a strong briny flavor, and was accompanied by an overcooked poached egg and fried rice that was dry and hard. My third selection, avocado toast, was a premixed paste without any real flavor, topped by radishes, beets and onions.
The lunch/dinner menu for February/March 2023 on Eastbound North American flights had a significant improvement in offerings. For cold dishes, there was a baby gem salad with pickled pears, parmesan and tarragon vinaigrette; and a farro salad with charred snap peas, English peas, pistachio and parmesan. For hot dishes: lasagna with kale, spinach, ricotta and pomodoro sauce; chicken milanese with arugula, cherry tomato and mozzarella; and lamb shoulder with baby carrots, harissa and jusThe farro, especially, was nicely balanced between the sweet peas and salty cheese, and had a pleasant textural combination between the grains and the vegetables. The lasagna was hard on the edges, but had a good flavor inside. For dessert, there was vanilla gelato with strawberry jam and devil’s food cake crumble.
Also on the menu is a scannable code that links to a Legacy Records playlist you can listen to in-flight.
Alcohol
The Legacy Records beverage program is beautifully curated, and changes every two months. Mint flights include complimentary beverages, including espresso drinks, wine, beer, zero-proof mocktails, and alcoholic cocktails.
The October-November 2022 menu included a rotating selection of beers and five wines: a French champagne, an Italian and a French white, and an Italian and a California red. The selections overall were excellent, and a huge step up from economy class wine offerings. Each wine selection is accompanied by tasting notes and an easily digestible description, so even if you don’t know much about wine it’s easy to pinpoint the flavors you’re looking for. For the cocktails: a “mint condition” made with gin or vodka with ginger, lime, cucumber, and mint (the zero-proof cocktail was a seltzer-based variation on this); and an “al pastor margarita” with tequila, pineapple, chile and lime. Premium liquors include Tito’s vodka, Bombay Sapphire gin, Bulleit bourbon, among others.
The February-March 2023 menu featured a French sparkling wine, a Portuguese Muxagat Branco (labeled “light white”), an Italian Chardonnay (labeled “main white), a chilled Semifreddo from Oregon (labeled “light red”) and a French red (labeled “big red”).
JetBlue Mint vs economy
All JetBlue seats include built-in screens with movies, tv shows, music, and flight information; as well as USB ports and in-seat outlets. While coach seats have more legroom than on other domestic carriers, Mint seats have substantially more room and a much more intricate level of comfort customization. Coach seats include complimentary snacks and soft drinks, and have Eat Up boxes and alcohol available for purchase.
How to book JetBlue Mint
How much does it cost for a Mint ticket on JetBlue?
Cross country fares such as flights from Los Angeles to New York or Boston can cost up to $1,600 while flights to London can be $3,000-$4,000. At Going, we find our members deals with fares as low as $800 cross country and $2,200 to London.
How can you upgrade to Mint for free?
JetBlue doesn’t offer complimentary Mint upgrades to standard travelers or its Mosaic customers. Passengers who qualify for Mosaic+, a new offering for 2022, get four same-day Mint upgrades a year, and are automatically placed on a Mint waiting list for unsold seats. (The threshold for Mosaic+ is triple the qualifying points to achieve Mosaic.)
How much does it cost to upgrade to Mint on JetBlue?
Unlike many other carriers, JetBlue doesn’t offer discounts for last-minute upgrades. At the airport departures desk, the cost to upgrade to a Mint seat is the difference between the fare you already paid and the rack rate for Mint. Once at the gate, the cost may be slightly less for a Mint upgrade, if it’s available. There are no bidding programs for Mint seats.
How many miles to upgrade to JetBlue Mint?
JetBlue does not offer miles-based upgrades to Mint seats.
Summary
JetBlue’s additional legroom and comfortable seats make the carrier a pleasant flight experience in every spot. But if you can upgrade to Mint, do it. The comfort and ability to sleep—or to relax in style—easily justifies the cost.
