JetBlue refreshes Mint biz with new meals, amenity kits, sleep gear and more
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Believe it or not, it's been more than six years since JetBlue began offering a premium cabin — the airline first launched lie-flat service between New York-JFK and Los Angeles in 2014.
Now, JetBlue Mint is getting a big update — the seats will remain unchanged, arranged in an alternating 2-2 and 1-1 layout, with the latter offering sliding doors for extra privacy. But the food, drinks, amenity kit, sleep gear, headphones and even the service flow are all getting a refresh.
The updates will begin to roll out tomorrow — Wednesday, Nov. 18 — and will be available on all domestic and Caribbean flights within the next six weeks. JetBlue is planning a complete overhaul of its Mint product ahead of the airline's transatlantic launch next year.
Food and beverage
First, let's dig into the food and drinks — definitely a highlight for many business-class travelers.
JetBlue has long offered passengers a choice of three tapas-style items, with a mix of hot and cold dishes. Fortunately, that fan-favorite format isn't going away.
As part of the airline's update, though, dishes will be developed by New York City-based Delicious Hospitality Group (DHG), the company behind NYC restaurants Charlie Bird, Legacy Records and Pasquale Jones.
In addition to the meals, DHG is curating the cocktail and wine lists, including cocktails intended to be "shaken on-board" — they can also be ordered without alcohol, if you prefer.
The wine list includes a mix of U.S. and international offerings, with five picks to choose from at launch.
Menus will vary slightly depending on the time of day and direction of travel. For example, below is the tea and coffee list for eastbound morning flights.
On morning eastbound flights, flyers can choose any three of the five items listed below.
Eastbound lunch and dinner flights include the same mix of drinks, with more time-appropriate meal offerings.
Redeye flights have an abbreviated menu, meanwhile, with a selection of snacks...
... and a mix of three small dishes.
JetBlue is working in a bit more flexibility, too — all Mint flyers won't need to eat at the same time. While the solution isn't quite on-demand dining, you'll be able to select a phase of flight for your meal, choosing to eat before landing instead of after takeoff, for example.
Menus will also include a link to a special curated Spotify playlist, playing into the restaurant-like environment the airline is trying to create onboard.
Amenity kit
JetBlue is also updating its amenity kits, made from recycled materials and developed in partnership with Wanderfuel. You'll get one of four different offerings, depending on the route or timing of your flight.
Travelers on morning flights will get the Awake kit, including items like a mint breath spray, collagen creamer and repair cream.
Mint customers on lunch and dinner flights will get a Flow kit, including various dietary supplements, a lip mask and recovery cream.
Redeye flyers get a Sleep kit, including a body wipe, recovery cream and restful mist.
Finally, on Caribbean flights, travelers receive a special Renewal kit, with anti-aging serum, SPF lotion and oxygen mist.
Sleep gear
The airline worked with Tuft & Needle on a variety of sleep-focused gear, available on all Mint flights.
Travelers will receive the following:
- Memory foam pillow
- Blanket with a built-in foot pocket
- Snooze kit with eye mask and earplugs
Headphones
Last but not least, the airline is also updating its audio gear, adding in JetBlue-exclusive MH40 over-ear headphones, offering noise reduction and an "aviation-inspired" design.
Flying JetBlue mint
Despite the top-notch product giving the airline an edge over some competitors, JetBlue continues to offer some of the most attractive business-class fares within North America.
Paid fares are consistently available for around $500 each way for transcon flights, or as little as $350 each way for flights to the Caribbean. As of this writing, you can book one-way flights between New York (JFK) and Aruba (AUA) for just $349, for example.
While award redemptions are tied to the cash fare, you won't get as much value for your TrueBlue points when redeeming for Mint as you will for economy bookings, so paid flights are generally the better option here.
Your best bet for redeeming points is likely to book through a credit card travel portal — the $350 flight above will require just 23,333 points if booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards, for example, if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Bottom line
With airlines around the world facing enormous losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it's rare to see carriers investing in improving the onboard product.
JetBlue has already committed to a new Mint product timed to coincide with the 2021 launch of its first transatlantic flights — until then, the carrier's current seats remain competitive for flights within the U.S., and this improved soft-product offering should help keep customers excited about flying Mint for the time being.
