Review: JetBlue Mint Business Class (LAX-EWR)

Background:

Life update, I am moving from sunny Southern California to New York City! On my quest to find a flight for my relocation, I ended up seeing a flight in JetBlue Mint Business Class. I had over $200 in credits expiring within a month from my travels last year, and with the $80 off AMEX offer, I decided to take the splurge and purchase a Mint ticket that was selling for $899.

Mint tickets are refundable to a travel credit as long as you cancel before the flights scheduled departure. This came in handy as I got COVID for the first time and needed to rearrange my travel plans. Thankfully, I was able to find about Mint ticket for the same price two weeks later, and rebooked.

Flight Details:

JetBlue Flight 1982
Los Angeles (LAX) to Newark (EWR)
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Plane Name: Mike India November Tango
Cabin: Mint
Seat: 4A (Throne Seat)

My Previous Experiences with JetBlue Mint Business Class:

Last year, I was able to sample both the new Mint Suites from Los Angeles to New York, and the original Mint product from Newark to San Diego. I enjoyed both of my flights, and the food was a definite plus. So, I was excited to try Mint again.

Booking JetBlue Mint Business Class + Choosing a Seat:

This time, I was flying on JetBlue’s original A321 Mint product, which is the majority of the current Mint routes/seats. Currently, you can only sample the new Mint Suites on select flights from Los Angeles to New York/Kennedy and on all flights to London.

The original Mint product features 16 total seats in the cabin. There are 12 lie-flat seats and four suites spread out over five rows. Rows 1, 3 and 5 have a 2-2 configuration and rows 2 and 4 contain suites with closing doors in a 1-1 configuration, which many people call the “Throne Seat”. What’s nice is that JetBlue doesn’t charge extra for the seats with closing doors, and if you book early, there is a better chance that someone hasn’t reserved it yet. These “throne” seats have additional storage, more elbow room, as well as added privacy.

Originally, I was booked in Row 5 since all the “Throne” seats were taken when I booked around two weeks before departure. I signed up for Expert Flyer and set up a seat alert to track if any of the “Throne” seats opened up. Lucky for me, I received an email a few days after booking that both 4A and 4F became available so I quickly made the switch to 4A. Horray!

At the Airport:

JetBlue departs from LAX Terminal 5, and after dropping off my bags at the Mint/Mosaic Desk and clearing the security checkpoint with TSA Precheck, I decided to walk to the AMEX Centurion Lounge for a visit. You can check out my review of the LAX Centurion Lounge here.

Unfortunately, JetBlue doesn’t have any lounge access (maybe they can expand their American Airlines partnership and get some lounge access for the transcons please?).

Boarding:

I boarded with the Mint and Mosaic passengers, and arrived at my seat, 4A. The seats looked like they were in good condition, as my specific aircraft had only been in service for less than 5 years.

I noticed as with my last Mint flight, that it didn’t fly full which is interesting to me. Of the boutique sized 16 passenger cabin, 3 seats were empty.

The Seat:

The JetBlue Mint “Throne Seat” features a lie-flat seat that is pretty long, and I had a lot of room leftover for my feet. There is also a door that can close for added privacy. The door is actually quite short and the flight attendants can still talk to you, but it provides the feeling of a nice enclosed space.

JetBlue states that the “Throne” Seat offers the longest fully lie-flat seat (6’8″) on a domestic premium flight.

The seat is a bit on the stiffer side, but still comfortable. There is a lot of elbow room which is nice.

There was a water bottle waiting at my seat which was nice. Also, the seat has plenty of charging ports. There was a side slider cubby that you could throw a lot of stuff into, but I did have some trouble closing the cubby. Some of the hardware needs a bit of updating.

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Also waiting at my seat was a comforter and a pillow provided by Tuft and Needle. It is of a pretty good quality, much better than the Saks Bedding provided by United Transcontinental Business on the same route. Additionally, a hipster amenity kit from Wanderfuel is provided. It contained very helpful contents such as honey lozenges for immune support, energy booster, socks, coconut oil wipe, face mist and lip balm. I though the contents were great, but I do wish the bag was nicer!

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In-Flight Entertainment System:

The IFE is a bit outdated, and due for a refresh with the resolution and system controls. The original Mint product features a 15 inch screen, versus the larger 17 inch screen on the new Mint Suites. There was DIRECTV, movies on demand, and SiriusXM radio, which is enough to keep you entertained.

Headphones were provided by Master and Dynamic, and they were decent.

Free Wi-Fi:

JetBlue offers Fly-Fi operated by Viasat, and provides the Wi-Fi for free which is great! I love it so much; all airlines need to do this eventually please. The Wi-Fi was pretty fast, but it did take some time to work in the beginning of the flight.

The Flight:

After getting settled, the flight attendant came to take drink orders for a welcome beverage (anything non-alcoholic or a mocktail).

They handed out headsets after boarding finished, and then took our lunch order. We pushed back from the gate about 10 minutes after scheduled departure. Within 5 minutes the captain announced we were #1 for departure, which is rare for me to hear when departing from LAX lol. They announced our flight time in the air to Newark would be 5 hours and 7 minutes.

JetBlue Mint food is from New York City-based Delicious Hospitality Group. Here is a copy of the menu from the flight.

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About 30 minutes later, I got some crunchy bread (which was amazing) and the Mint Condition Mocktail.

JetBlue operates Tapas Style, and you choose 3 of the 5 dishes. I chose the Fluke, Roasted Chicken and the Lamb Shoulder.

The roasted chicken was my favorite dish, as it was juicy and tasty. I would say the fluke fish was my least favorite, as it was a bit light and the oil was too overpowering. The lamb shoulder was decent, but more stew-like than I was anticipating. While not as great as my 2 Mint meals, it was still very good and was restaurant quality. JetBlue really excels with their food product!

For dessert, a vanilla gelato with chocolate sauce was given, and it was delicious! Perfect way to end the meal. I also ordered a cappuccino, and it is delightful.

Service was good overall, and the attendant kept coming through the cabin to ask if I needed anything else. I got a few snacks towards the end of the flight, and another cappuccino. I’m still bummed they don’t have Terra Blue Chips anymore; hopefully they will come back at some point.

I took a mini nap, and then we were already preparing for our initial descent. Time literally flew by! Our headphones were collected 30 minutes before landing, and they were more than happy to provide you with single use headsets to finish your show/movie.

And like my previous flights, the chocolate covered cashews were a little parting gift given before landing.

The Verdict:

Overall, I had a solid flight again in JetBlue Mint Business Class. The food was restaurant quality, the service was very attentive and the large seat provided a comfortable rest. While the IFE could use a refresh, the “Throne Seat” is a very nice way to fly from coast to coast.

 

Have you flown on JetBlue Mint Business Class before? How was your experience? Comment below!

 

Safe travels,

Ty

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Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!