Flying Transcon: JetBlue Mint A321 BOS-SEA-BOS
plus a short JetBlue E190 segment, BOS-PHL

Background: The most unique premium product flying in the United States today is JetBlue Mint, a top product which includes flat-bed seats, some in a 1-1 suite configuration with individual doors, special tapas-style dining with a variety of small plates, in-flight entertainment, and even free WiFi...all offered at a better price than the competition. JetBlue Mint disrupted the premium travel market when it was introduced on the typical transcon routes JFK-LAX and JFK-SFO, and other carriers began matching JetBlue's discount fares. The product was a success, and JetBlue continues to expand the offering to additional routes, such as my flight on the BOS-SEA route, which occurred one year ago. I was very interested in trying out such a unique offering, and intentionally avoided researching the details in advance so I could go in sight-unseen and be surprised. In the end JetBlue Mint became my #1 favorite domestic flight, so I fit a second Mint flight into my upcoming travel plans. My second Mint flight was this month on the return route BOS-SEA. Please enjoy the reports, and I look forward to your comments.

BOS-SEA
JetBlue B6 597
Departure: 06:38 (actual 06:38)
Arrival: 09:51 (actual 10:16)
Actual Block Time: 6h38
Actual Flight Time: 6h3
Seat: 4F Mint
Airbus A321

I've flown on the JetBlue E190 on two separate flights, enjoyable short sub-1h flights between Philly and Boston. But now it's my first time flying their Mint Class, arguably the most interesting Business Class product flying domestically. I was very excited to try JetBlue Mint, and since I hadn't researched it in advance, I was looking forward to a completely new experience.

I got to BOS Terminal C very early, and the Mint check-in counter opened at around 03:30. I checked in at 04:00, naturally in-person with an agent. I enjoyed the interaction, where the agent addressed me by name, something uncommon during a check-in. I received a cardstock boarding pass. Precheck was not open so early in the morning, but I was invited to use the JetBlue Even More Speed security lane, where Precheck benefits were in place anyway. I headed to Gate C5, all the way at the end of the C Concourse, where each gate is marked as C and also E - C for domestic and E for international departures. I was sequence 001 and also the first person at the gate. I had a seat at the gate at 04:20. Boarding was set for 05:53, and departure for 06:38.

Sitting at the gate, I was quite tired, but keeping my excitement up for the flight. I then heard an unusual announcement: Today's flight isn't full, in fact it's a pretty light load, so gate-checking of carry-on bags will not be required on today's flight! And there were still Mint seats available: For more information on these seats see me at the desk.

Pre-boarding commenced on time, then the first boarding group for Mint or Mosaic. I walked through a very long series of halls and jetbridges to my waiting A321.

Seat 4F:








What a beautiful cabin, very modern and stylish. The odd rows 1/3/5 offer 2-2 flat-bed seats, and the even rows 2/4 offer 1-1 flat-bed seats in a suite configuration complete with door. My seat was 4F, a suite seat. First impression? Excellent, a beautiful seat and very spacious. My seat was stocked with a pillow and blanket, Hayward amenity kit, bottled water, and a Welcome to Mint note signed by the two Mint flight attendants, one of whom immediately arrived to welcome me aboard. Upon hearing it was my first time in Mint, she proceeded to explain all the features of the seat: the very large side table to my right near the windows, and another to my left near the aisle, complete with three electrical outlets and USB... the seat controls, including the full-flat bed function - and it's a massage chair! ... a wake-me light so as to ensure you're woken up for upcoming service... the IFE remote, or simply use the touchscreen... the operation of the tray table and suite door. And the presentation of the menu, where it was explained to pick three of five selections. A headset was provided, and then a pre-departure beverage was offered. I was encouraged to try a Bloody Mary or a mimosa - a mimosa it is. The seat had a much larger footwell than I had expected, a good size touchscreen, and a large storage compartment. It was a comfortable seat, very well-designed, and by far a leading seat operating regularly in the domestic US, competitive even to modern international Business Class! And so far, incredible service with the flight attendant spending several minutes with each passenger going over everything. The mimosa was quickly delivered and delicious, and even had a garnish. I was definitely feeling awake now, and really excited for this flight.

Mimosa:



Safety card:



Two of the three electrical outlets:



Third electrical outlet and water bottle storage:



Seat controls:



As announced at the gate, there were indeed available Mint seats. The load was only 11/16. Flight attendants proactively went to those people seated in the 2-2 seats to offer them the opportunity to move to the available 1-1 suites and have no seatmate; nobody accepted, but again, top-notch service.

Cabin overview:



A welcome message introduced the cabin crew and advised a 5h55 flight time. A manual safety demo followed, and we pushed back on time. Among the usual departure announcements, one stood out: the WiFi is complimentary!? And Amazon Prime members can sign-in to watch all the Prime programming. Now I don't really use inflight WiFi, but I was very impressed that it's free. And too bad I'm not a Prime member. I really didn't see any negatives so far in the JetBlue Mint experience. Some say JetBlue has poor IRROPS handling, but today we pushed exactly on time. In my suite seat with the great pre-departure service, I felt like I was beginning an intercontinental Business Class flight on a top airline, but I was just on a domestic LCC flight paying a lot less than other carriers' standard domestic offerings. Really incredible.

We had a quick taxi to takeoff at 06:51. It was a pretty quiet takeoff with pretty good speed. As we cleared 10,000 feet, the flight attendant stopped by to offer to get me something out of the overhead, and then to shut my door. I guess you might as well shut it if you have it. I reclined to relax mode under the blanket because it was nice and cold onboard. And I was charging my phone on one of my infinite power ports.

Relaxing, door closed:



Service began with hot towels. I examined the menu to put together my custom meal order. The five breakfast offerings were Fresh Fruit - watermelon, honeydew, pineapple, papaya; Acai Yoghurt Parfait - greek yoghurt, tropical fruit, chia seeds, granola; Grilled & Chilled Avocado - with warm scrambled eggs and pepita salsa; Plum Clafoutis - poached plums, crème fraîche, candied almonds; and Potato Roesti - poached egg, ham, cheddar, aji amarillo aioli, poblano feta salsa. I was invited to select three (the fresh fruit, avocado, and plum), plus a side of chicken sausage. And to drink, a mimosa again. The mimosa was served first, along with the welcome pastry, a warm cranberry twist - quite a tasty start. My first movie was Spinning Man, a recent thriller with Guy Pearce, Pierce Brosnan and Minnie Driver.

Mimosa and welcome pastry:



I took a restroom break, opening my suite door to go to one of the two nearby lavatories, either at the front or rear of the cabin. And I got to enjoy another feature I hadn't thought of until now: direct aisle access in the suites. After the lav I decided to leave the door open for meal service. The door did actually contribute quite a bit to the highly private feeling of the suite. Of course a 1-1 configuration is private as it is, but the door really takes it to a new level.

Breakfast was served with excellent presentation, and it was an incredible meal, with all three dishes excellent and delicious, and even the fruit perfectly ripe with perfect flavor. The avocado dish was definitely a top airplane meal for me ever. There was really no comparison to a typical domestic meal service.

Breakfast:



I finished the movie with under 3.5h to go, as we were re-entering US airspace from Canada into Minnesota. It was a good movie, but I had begun falling asleep. I decided to take a nap for an hour. I woke up as we were entering Montana. Fresh water bottles were delivered. Unfortunately we now had only 1.5h to go, which was not enough time for a second movie. Instead I began listening to Sirius XM 90s on 9, another unique feature of JetBlue, which conveniently could be played simultaneously while watching the moving map. In total the IFE on offer included streaming to your device, on-demand seatback IFE, Sirius XM radio, live DirecTV, and Amazon Prime streaming for members.

The snack basket was brought out next and and a new round of drinks was offered. I considered a new mimosa, because they had been really good, but decided to sample the JetBlue craft beers. A craft beer enthusiast, I always enjoy seeing which unique beer offerings are available on each airline. I began with Brooklyn Lager.

JetBlue Mint Craft Beer #1:



A pre-arrival hot towel came, and perhaps I'd want a new beer? I ordered the Sam Adams... Is the oktoberfest OK? That's perfect. I really like Brooklyn Lager, a unique onboard choice, but I love a seasonal beer on a plane! I also requested the special cookie I had seen on the menu, which of course had a good presentation, a cookie in a box!? I thoroughly enjoyed the Sam Adams Oktoberfest, perhaps not the world's best Oktoberfest beer, but still good, and the delicious cookie, a perfect pre-arrival snack.

JetBlue Mint Craft Beer #2:



Cookie Service:



As I finished the Oktoberfest, it seemed like the aircraft was starting to descend. My flight attendant arrived to ask if I'd like one more beer before landing. Nice, I have just enough time for the third and final craft beer, Lagunita 12th of Never Pale Ale. The other beers on offer were Bud Light, Heineken, and Angry Orchard Hard Cider. And it was time for the actual cookie service, because apparently they are given out pre-landing automatically, not only on-request like I had thought. No worries, I'll take a second cookie because the first one was so good!

JetBlue Mint Craft Beer #3:



Our progress:



The view from 4F:



Mint ad:



I finished my final beer just as final descent was being announced. We flew right over Bellevue and within view of downtown Seattle on a beautiful clear sunny day.

Bellevue, Washington:



Seattle, Washington:



We turned south, flew past SeaTac, made a U-turn, and landed to the north on 34L at 12:54. We had to hold short of 34C while no fewer than a dozen planes departed, whose liftoff point was right outside my window, making for great views. 34R was closed. We finally crossed the runway, only to find the terminal area blocked by the queue of departing aircraft. We joined that queue and finally got to gate B11 at 13:16, or 10:16 Pacific time. I was finally able to see that my A321 today had been N984JB, a young bird delivered to JetBlue in August, 2017. Here she is as she departed SeaTac after my flight:





And taking off out of SEA:



The JetBlue Mint experience reminded me a lot of Virgin America First Class - there was just something special about it. A stylish, modern cabin, unique meal presentation, and top-notch service. One of my top domestic flights was my Virgin America trip PHL-SFO-SEA. Of course Virgin America First Class is quickly being phased out in favor of a refreshed standard Alaska Airlines First Class. That means JetBlue Mint is now my new favorite domestic flight. There was quite simply nothing negative about it! The only suite seat in regular scheduled domestic service, incredible food with great presentation, the unique pick three of five small plates, a good beer selection, and really great service. And all the IFE including complimentary WiFi... It turns out I'll actually use it a little bit when it's free. JetBlue Mint is also now my second-longest flight for no miles, but in my view absolutely worth it, and overall, a really great experience.

SEA-BOS
JetBlue B6 598
Departure: 11:33 (actual 11:32)
Arrival: 19:55 (actual 19:44)
Actual Block Time: 5h12
Actual Flight Time: 4h52
Seat: 4A Mint
Airbus A321

I was happy to be flying my favorite domestic flight again, one year after my first time, on the reverse route. This time I would be connecting through Boston on to Philadelphia, with only a short 45-minute connection in Boston.

I arrived to the Seattle JetBlue check-in area and found no line, so I had an in-person check-in. Two lanes were available, full-service for Mint or Mosaic, or a self-check-in, self-tag bag dropoff counter. I was checked through Boston to Philly. The nearest security checkpoint did not offer Precheck, so I proceeded to Checkpoint 1. I was quickly airside into the A Gates area. I rode the train one stop to B Gates for my gate B15. I arrived at my gate by 09:30. According to the screen at the gate, boarding was set for 10:48, doors would close at 11:18, departure would come at 11:33, the flight time would be 5h22, and an 11-minute early arrival was projected at 19:44.

Pre-boarding began on-time with passengers with disabilities, followed by Mint passengers. I headed down to my waiting A321 and into the Mint cabin. Same as last year, I still found it to be a beautiful, contemporary cabin, with blue moodlighting. I love the alternating rows of 2-2, 1-1 seating, perfect for both trips where you'd like to sit beside a partner, and for trips by yourself where you'd prefer no seatmate and direct aisle access. My seat was solo seat 4A this time, across the aisle from my previous seat 4F. 4A is again a suite, complete with direct aisle access and a closing door. The seat was stocked with a pillow, blanket, amenity kit, bottled water and welcome note signed by the flight attendants, a really nice touch. The JetBlue Mint Suite is great, and I was already looking forward to the flight even more now that I was onboard. Settling in, I was once again impressed with the ample storage and the three power outlets, as well as the sheer amount of space.

Seat 4A:



The flight attendant started visiting passengers back-to-front. He introduced himself to me, and offered the menu along with a pre-departure RefreshMINT beverage (honey infused limeade, with or without vodka). A lunchtime flight this time, I was now able to try my first JetBlue Mint signature drink. I perused the new menu of lunch items this time, again tapas-style, choose three of five offerings. I found a slightly different beer list this time. Craft offerings were Sam Adams Oktoberfest and Lagunita's Pale Ale, with other beers Blue Moon, Stella Artois and Bud Light, plus Angry Orchard Hard Cider. I quite enjoyed the RefreshMINT, a very refreshing and special drink. I like when a signature cocktail is available.

RefreshMINT:



Boarding finished within less than 25 minutes. The load in Mint was 14/16, with the 1C aisle seat and the 5F window seat both free. The captain's welcome message advised a 4h48 flight time, introduced the cabin crew, and apologized that the live TV will not be working, but Internet and the rest of the IFE system will.

Cabin overview:



Mint Suite info:



A manual safety demo was performed, and then a video overview of the JetBlue experience was shown. We were second to takeoff from 16L, after a Delta A319. Our takeoff occurred from a stop at 11:45. I had pretty good pushback into the seat as we slowly got faster before liftoff. The IFE was displaying 5h2 to arrival, putting us on the ground at about 16:47, or 19:47 eastern time. The flight attendant stopped by shortly to offer to retrieve bags from the overhead compartment and then shut my door.

Service began with hot towels, and I took the opportunity to ask for headphones, which were delivered right after the hot towels were collected. Turning my attention back to the IFE, our arrival time had updated to be about 19:33. Either way, I was happy about an early arrival due to my short 45-minute connection onto the last flight of the night to Philly. As I viewed the flight information on the IFE, I still liked the ability to listen to XM radio at the same time. I started the movie Fargo as meal orders were taken. My custom meal order included Potato & Green Bean Salad - with baby gem, radish, egg, and crème fraîche dressing; Grilled Shrimp - with broccolini and tomato salsa; and Rosemary Chicken - with sweet potato mousse and brussels sprouts. The other two offerings were Grilled Corn Salad - with black beans, paprika mayo, cotija cheese and cilantro; and Ricotta Gnocchi - with eggplant, mozzarella, tomato sauce and basil. Also available was a Welcome Taste of caesar dip with crostini. To drink, I decided to order a Blue Moon, a beer I had not had in a very long time. For dessert, I was offered ice cream, fruit or both, so I asked for both.

Meal service began back-to-front, and the welcome taste was served with the Blue Moon. Brewed with white wheat and steel cut oats, Blue Moon features a crisp finish and the perfect combination of Valencia orange peel and a touch of coriander.

Welcome Taste:



The captain announced that we'd reached our cruising altitude of 35,000 feet and some smooth air, so he was turning off the seatbelt sign. He was expecting an arrival time into Boston of 19:30 local time.

My table was set with a placemat, and then lunch was served. I switched to Lagunita's Pale Ale and was served the 12th of Never Pale Ale. Lunch was very good; I really like the tapas-style small plates, plus there was even olive oil for the rolls - excellent.

Lunch:





Dessert was served immediately after the lunch tray was cleared, and my movie soon finished. We had 2.5h to go.

Dessert:



We were halfway across Minnesota as I started a National Geographic documentary on Apollo 11. Snacks were offered, and I requested the final craft beer, Sam Adams Oktoberfest. Unfortunately it wasn't available, so I went for Stella Artois instead.



With about twenty minutes left in the documentary, it was time for the nearing-the-end-of-the-flight cookie. It was tasty just like last time, and it was followed by a hot towel.

Cookie Service:



The documentary finished halfway across Massachusetts for our arrival into Boston. The captain announced that Boston was under beautiful weather with great visibility, 74 degrees with wind out of the south at 7 knots. We would be landing in 20 minutes, and parking at Gate C11.

Our progress:



Landing was on 22L at 19:37, and then we waited to cross the departure runway 22R while two JetBlue A321s and an Alaska B737 took off. We made it to Gate C11 at 19:44.

At the gate in BOS:



My aircraft today had been N985JT, in service since 2017.

This had been another high quality flight. I can't wait to fly JetBlue Mint again. Great seats, onboard service, and quite frankly, price, really make it a top product domestically. I would like to try to get friends or family to accompany me in the future to share my favorite domestic flight, in which case I can try the 2-2 seats for comparison, but otherwise I don't think I'll be able to pass up the 1-1 suites.

My JetBlue experience today wasn't over yet, I still had a short segment to PHL. I headed into Terminal C, and proceeded to the next concourse to my departure gate C26, arriving there by 19:54. Boarding was set for 20:05, doors would close at 20:25, departure would come at 20:40, the flight time would be 1h31, and an on-time arrival was projected at 22:11.

BOS-PHL
JetBlue B6 2859
Departure: 20:40 (actual 21:16)
Arrival: 22:11 (actual 22:32)
Actual Block Time: 1h16
Actual Flight Time: 0h56
Seat: 22D Core
Embraer E190

My flight today would be my third time flying JetBlue E190s between the cities of Boston and Philadelphia. I like the E190, comfortable for the short flight between these cities and with great large windows. Additionally JetBlue offers very good legroom and, surprisingly, individual screens, a great product for such a short segment. Today I was assigned seat 4A, my farthest-forward so far, with Boarding Group C. My aircraft was N193JB, an Embraer E190 in service since 2006.

At the gate in BOS:



An unusual announcement was made that there were several empty rows at the back of the plane, so see the agent if you'd like to switch to your own row. "Even More Space" seats were also available for purchase. The agent also said we were projecting an on-time departure, but noted that the crew would like to go early. I decided to switch from 4A to my own row in the back. The gate agent gave me a new boarding pass for 22D, including a better Boarding Group B. The screen said there were 20+ seats free, with 20 probably being the max it can display.

Pre-boarding began on time with passengers with disabilities. Next, JetBlue Mosaic elite members were invited to board. Then, Group A and Even More Space passengers. Then, people with car seats or strollers, or members of the military. Not many people had boarded by this point. It was then me and Group B. I walked down the jet bridge and all the way back to my new seat 22D, a window seat in 4th-to-last row. Settling in, I was surprised when nobody walked past me in row 22. Ahead of me it was mostly full, but it was a pretty light load overall.

Seats 22CD:







The usual welcome messages followed, including the message that the live TV was again not functioning. Our flight time was to be 1h4 at 28,000 feet, and the weather in Philly was light clouds and 79 degrees. We were ready for an early departure.

Legroom shot:



Safety card:



Cabin overview:



Pushback was at 20:26, and there was a manual safety demo. This short connection had been great! And how nice that the last flight of the night had not suffered from accumulating delays throughout the day. Our taxi seemed to start out jerky, but then after a delay we smoothly taxied to 22R. Upon arriving there, the captain announced that there had been issues with nose wheel steering, which now seemed corrected, but we were going back to the gate for maintenance to take a quick look. 25 minutes after pushback, we arrived back to the gate, this time gate C27. A maintenance delay, and after the short connection had worked so well! Better safe than sorry, and we were very early anyway.

After a short while the captain advised that a part needed to be replaced; fortunately the part was found to be in stock and was currently being replaced, so we'd be departing shortly. Within a few minutes the cabin door was closed and it was announced to prepare for departure.

Pushback came at 21:16. We had a smooth taxi this time, all the way back to 22R, where we took off after a Norwegian B787 and an Azores Airlines A321neo, a rare sighting, enroute to LIS via PDL. Our takeoff took us right past downtown Boston.

An announcement was made about service: complimentary soft drinks including freshly brewed Dunkin' coffee and Pepsi products were available, with beer, wine and liquor for sale using any major credit or debit card. Tonight's choice of snacks was chocolate chip cookies or Cheez-it's. Service was from front-to-back, and also back-to-front. I asked for the elusive Sam Adams Oktoberfest, but it was again not available. I think it was too early in the fall season for the Oktoberfest beer, even though the menus were already featuring it. I went with Sierra Mist instead. I appreciated this nice snack on this short flight.



After the snack service, I relaxed, listening to music. We flew down the coast, then flew west across the state of New Jersey. I thought we might get an unusual Runway 35 landing.

Our progress, courtesy JetBlue complimentary inflight WiFi and flight tracker:



In the end we lined up for a more conventional Runway 27R landing at 22:27. We parked at Gate E2 at 22:32.

This had been a nice, enjoyable flight. Unfortunately we didn't end up so extremely early as initially expected, but I was glad I had had my own row, making for a comfortable time on board. Best of all, this flight had gotten me on Mint without the need to trek to JFK. I certainly like JetBlue and look forward to flying them again.

Previous Flying Transcon trip reports:
Flying Transcon: United P.S. 757-200 JFK-SFO J
Flying Transcon: Virgin America A320 PHL-SFO F
Flying Transcon: Alaska Airlines B737-900ER SEA-PHL F
Flying Transcon: United P.S. Polaris 777-300ER EWR-SFO-EWR J

This is an excellent report and I really enjoyed it! JetBlue Mint always looks fantastic whenever I read anything about it and your pictures and the rest really show it off well. It's a great product indeed and looks like the service matches it too.

Nice work on trying all of the craft beer - that's something I like to do when there are several things I want to try. Great pictures and well written - thanks for taking the time to share this. I'm itching to try JetBlue Mint sometime! The seats are "the same" as the Aer Lingus seats in Business Class on their transatlantic fleet (A330, A321LR and 757) however JetBlue has the door which Aer Lingus don't have.

Thanks again!

Very nicely documented! I've flown Mint a few times now and am yet to be disappointed. Have my next Mint flights booked for March where on the JFK-LAX segment me, my wife and her parents are occupying all the suites! Should be a fun flight!

Very nice report. Rather oddly it reminded me of flying Jetblue LAX-BOS-IAD in 2010 and watching the Jetblue Stephen Slater drama unfold on their inflight Live TV.

Great report & pictures, thanks for sharing.

Mint does look a good product, must try it!

Thanks again.

Cheers

BA319-131

Mint looks awesome, would love to try it sometime. Thank you for sharing!

I'm glad you weren't driving after that first flight. Three beers...yeesh! Good review.

JetBlue just added a ton of frequency on the LAX-JFK route from January, and pricing on mint dropped like a stone again. Prices are consistently 700 bucks o/w.