JetBlue to add domestic first-class cabin, airline confirms

The rumors are true: JetBlue is moving forward with plans to add a domestic-style first-class cabin to its planes.

The New York-based carrier plans to debut domestic first-class seats by 2026, a spokesperson for the airline told TPG Wednesday.

CEO Joanna Geraghty first confirmed the plans in an interview with The Wall Street Journal Wednesday, citing plans for traditional domestic first-class-style recliners.

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The seats, JetBlue told TPG, will be arranged in a two-by-two configuration in the first two or three rows (depending on the aircraft type) of planes that don't currently offer a Mint cabin.

That word comes just about a month after JetBlue president Marty St. George acknowledged while speaking at an industry conference that the carrier was considering a new premium domestic cabin, as TPG reported Nov. 20.

"It's certainly something we've thought about," St. George said at the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas.

Now, the airline is confirming its plans to move forward with the new high-end seats — which, it says, will be priced at "affordable fare[s]."

Big changes underway at JetBlue

It's been a busy week for JetBlue. On Monday, TPG reported the carrier had slashed a handful of routes, continuing a yearlong network shake-up amid its push to return the carrier to profitability for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

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Then, on Tuesday, the airline announced it would expand its footprint in Europe in 2026, launching a new seasonal service from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Edinburgh Airport (EDI) and Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) — the latter of which will be an all-new European destination for the carrier.

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A premium push

All this comes as JetBlue is hoping to up its premium game. In September, the airline announced it would debut its first-ever airport lounges — at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and BOS — beginning in late 2025.

The airline has budgeted $400 million for premium product initiatives between 2025 and 2027 in hopes of winning over big-spending leisure travelers.

As part of that push, Wall Street analysts and industry insiders have speculated for months about whether JetBlue might choose to add a domestic-style first-class cabin to its planes.

Across the U.S. airline industry, carriers have moved quickly in recent months to boost their premium seating options as travelers have flocked to pay extra for more space. Most recently, Frontier Airlines last week revealed plans to begin adding first-class-style seats to its jets in 2025. Southwest Airlines previously announced its own extra-legroom seats.

Of course, JetBlue already offers a bona fide international business-class product with its newest-generation lie-flat Mint pods.

However, a new domestic-style first-class cabin will certainly fill a gap in its product offerings; JetBlue's planes that aren't equipped with Mint don't have a true premium cabin like its largest domestic competitors.

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More details to come

That will soon change for all of the aircraft in JetBlue's fleet that don't currently offer Mint.

Its Airbus A320 family of planes will feature three rows of domestic first seating, JetBlue said — for a total of 12 first-class seats. Its A220 aircraft will feature two rows of first class for a total of eight seats.

JetBlue plans to reveal more details about its first-class product closer to launch, the airline said Wednesday.

Still, just this confirmation that the airline is continuing to add new premium seating options is an enticing prospect for passengers who frequent JetBlue — or who are considering turning their attention to its TrueBlue loyalty program in the coming year.

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