There are six large airlines in the US selling a long-range international business class. Hawaiian Airlines flies a six-abreast lie-flat seat on its Airbus A330s for flights out of Honolulu, along with an excellent version of the Elevate Ascent on its Boeing 787s. Alaska Airlines is also flying Boeing 787s equipped with the same hard product as Hawaiian’s Dreamliners. Meanwhile, you have the intense rivalry between American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, each offering competitive long-haul business class seats.

JetBlue joins Alaska and Hawaiian as the other odd member of this group, in that it, too, offers a long-haul business class cabin, despite being far smaller than the three legacy carriers. However, whereas Hawaiian and Alaska don’t compete heavily with the “Big Three”, JetBlue has been taking the fight directly to the legacy carriers’ strongest markets: transcontinental and transatlantic services. But not only is JetBlue directly fighting the legacies with its business class, but it may be offering a better product as well.

Overview Of JetBlue Mint Business Class

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The J.D. Power 2025 North America Airline Satisfaction Study ranked JetBlue’s Mint class as the best first/business class cabin in the region. While this was a notable stamp of approval for the quirky Long Island City-based carrier, which later promoted it, several other rankings do not rank JetBlue Mint as the best in the region. However, this product is always near the top, if not at the top. In other words, JetBlue’s Mint business class is either the US’ best business class product or one of the best, depending on who you ask.

Mint is the name of JetBlue’s business class offering, comparable to American’s Flagship Business, Delta One, or United Polaris. It is not a domestic first class recliner seat (although JetBlue intends to introduce a “Mini Mint” or “Junior Mint” product in this space), but rather, a lie-flat seat. Mint was first announced in 2013 for service from New York-JFK to Los Angeles and San Francisco. The carrier would later expand Mint service to other domestic routes, the Caribbean, as well as Europe.

JetBlue initially installed Mint on the Airbus A321-200, and there are currently 35 A321-200s with the original Mint seats, based on the popular Thompson Vantage. Meanwhile, the carrier announced its second-generation of Mint seats in 2021, based on the Thompson VantageSOLO, to debut on the Airbus A321neo. There are 10 A321neos equipped with the current “Mint Suites”, along with 11 Airbus A321LRs that feature the same seats. In addition, the Airbus A321XLR will also feature Mint Suites.

What Makes The Original Mint Special?

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The original JetBlue Mint seats are more than a decade old, and while the Thompson Vantage is a good premium seat for a narrowbody aircraft, it’s hardly cutting-edge. Delta Air Lines, for instance, uses the same seats for DeltaOne on its Boeing 767-300ERs, and they’re widely considered to be outdated. In JetBlue Mint, however, there are some unique elements. For one, the Mint seats feature higher privacy partitions than on many other versions of the Thompson Vantage, and despite their relative age, the seats still feature competitively-sized screens.

However, the highlight of the Mint cabin is the four throne seats. The Thompson Vantage features a layout that alternates between four-abreast and two-abreast, creating two rows of single seats. These seats offer direct aisle access and no seatmate, along with a large counter area near the sidewall. Unique to JetBlue Mint, however, is that these four seats feature a sliding privacy door. JetBlue was the world’s very first airline to offer privacy doors in business class, despite being a US hybrid carrier flying narrowbody aircraft.

In addition, one has to consider the competition. On transcontinental routes, JetBlue is competing against the Boeing 757s of Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, along with American’s Airbus A321T’s. United and Delta both install the Collins Aerospace Diamond, a lie-flat product with a four-abreast layout. These seats do not offer a single-seat option and are also older than the Thompson Vantage, with less privacy. American Airlines offers the same seats for Flagship Business, while also offering a direct aisle access reverse herringbone seat for Flagship First. However, this product is priced higher than JetBlue Mint.

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Mint Suites On The A321neo and A321LR

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The second-generation Mint seats are based on the Thompson VantageSOLO. This is a lie-flat seat with direct aisle access and privacy doors for all passengers, configured in a two-abreast layout. The Thompson VantageSOLO is a herringbone product, meaning that the seats are angled towards the aisle. Prior generations of herringbone seats were known for being tight with virtually no privacy, while looking out of the window was extremely difficult. However, the Thompson VantageSOLO is significantly improved.

The physical design of the suite’s walls makes it easier to view out of the windows, and although JetBlue’s newest Mint seats feature sliding doors, the seat is still private even with the doors open. The VantageSOLO also features increased storage space compared to prior generations of herringbone seats. As a whole, the VantageSOLO is an extremely competitive seat, far superior to the Collins Diamond seat flown by Delta and United, while being comparable to American’s newest business class seat on the Airbus A321XLR.

The three legacy carriers also fly widebodies on their transcontinental services; however, these are less common than their narrowbodies. In addition, the Thompson VantageSOLO is a competitive seat against widebody business class seats. JetBlue still offers lie-flat seating with direct aisle access and privacy doors, just as expected from the legacy carriers’ twin-aisle aircraft. While the plane itself is smaller, this has little material impact on the onboard experience.

Mint Over The Atlantic

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JetBlue Mint offers a superior onboard experience against the narrowbodies flown by American, Delta, and United across the US. However, JetBlue now sells Mint across the Atlantic, with its Airbus A321LR routes to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh, Barcelona, Madrid, and Milan. These are true long-haul routes, and JetBlue is the only carrier flying a narrow body on several of these routes.

However, as previously mentioned, JetBlue Mint is a compelling product even against widebody seats, as it features excellent privacy, a long bed, a large screen, and direct aisle access. While the seat is optimized for a narrowbody, this doesn’t detract from its quality. United doesn’t offer privacy doors on any of its aircraft yet, while American offers them on a small number of aircraft. The latest generation of DeltaOne Suites, too, is only available on Airbus A350s that mainly operate transpacific routes, along with the Airbus A330-900. The Airbus A330-200, A330-300, and Boeing 767 come with older seats.

JetBlue also offers the Mint Studio, a front-row business class plus product. JetBlue was the first US airline to offer it, although American now sells a comparable product on its latest Boeing 787s. These seats come with a larger screen and a large buddy seat adjacent to the main seat. Until American began selling Flagship Preferred on its newest 787s, these were undeniably the best seats offered by a US airline, and they still remain competitive. In addition, Mint Studio is available on a wider selection of routes currently.

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The Soft Product In Mint

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Regarding an airline’s onboard experience, “hard product” typically refers to physical hardware mounted on an aircraft, mainly the seats. “Soft product” refers to the variable aspects of a flight, such as catering or service. Regarding soft product, JetBlue stands out. The carrier offers free Wi-Fi to all passengers without requiring TrueBlue membership, and it has offered this service for over a decade. In addition, JetBlue offers a solid in-flight entertainment selection.

JetBlue’s catering for Mint is widely regarded as being the best of any US carrier, with a wide variety of fresh options, along with an extensive drink and a choice of either a latte or a cappuccino. Meanwhile, although service can vary from flight to flight, JetBlue is known for having friendly, attentive staff who take pride in the product being offered. Service on other US carriers, meanwhile, is known to be hugely variable, making for an extremely inconsistent experience overall.

JetBlue’s Mint business class is a quirky offering, as the relatively small airline flies narrowbody airliners mainly to business hubs. In addition, with the carrier’s current financial struggles, it’s made some cuts to its onboard experience, such as cutting a flight attendant from transatlantic routes, thereby requiring the privacy doors to be locked open. Despite this, however, the seat and service remain excellent, with the carrier offering one of the best, and perhaps more importantly, one of the most consistent experiences for any premium cabin in the US.