JetBlue Keeps Mint Premium Travel Experience Fresh
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APEX Insight: The rising success of JetBlue’s Mint service, which will expand to include Fort Lauderdale in March 2017, springs from the airline’s determination to go beyond the basics of business class and offer a personalized experience to its guests. From the increasingly off-the-beaten-track wine collection to the ever-changing tapas menu curated by New York’s Saxon + Parole executive chef Brad Farmerie, JetBlue Mint concentrates on creating top-notch tastes.
Ever since JetBlue launched its Mint premium class in June 2014, the airline has been actively dedicated to keeping the experience interesting for its business-class passengers. It’s gone so well that the airline recently announced an expansion of its purchase agreement with Airbus to bring additional A321 aircraft into its fleet, most of them equipped with Mint. “Mint has surpassed our expectations at every customer and financial measure,” said Robin Hayes, JetBlue’s president and CEO. “We have only scratched the surface of what Mint can do to disrupt the valuable coast-to-coast market.”
“We have only scratched the surface of what Mint can do to disrupt the valuable coast-to-coast market.” €” Robin Hayes, JetBlue
Mint began as a dedicated service on JetBlue’s Airbus A321 flights between New York’s JFK Airport and Los Angeles’ LAX but has since expanded to routes from San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas, Seattle, Boston and several Caribbean destinations. In July, JetBlue announced what it calls “a monumental expansion” of Mint, adding flights between Fort Lauderdale and Los Angeles as of March 20, 2017, and with Fort Lauderdale-San Francisco flights also launching later next year. Other cities planned for transcontinental Mint service in 2017 include Las Vegas, San Diego and Seattle.
Mint’s rising success springs from JetBlue’s determination to go beyond the basics of business class – with 16 extra-long lie-flat beds, 22.3-inch wide seats and four private suites (each with a closable door) – and to focus on offering a personalized experience to its guests. From greeting Mint passengers with a signature vodka cocktail mixed with honey-infused limeade and mint to the ever-changing tapas menu curated by New York’s Saxon + Parole executive chef Brad Farmerie, JetBlue concentrates on creating top-notch tastes. That’s why it’s devoted to constantly surprising its wine-loving travelers with a regularly changing lineup of some of America’s best boutique wines.
Curated by wine expert and author Jon Bonné, the off-the-beaten-track wines offered on Mint flights change seasonally, with a new batch cropping up on board four times a year. “I try to find the next thing, before it is actually the next thing,” Bonné explains. “And I want to give people a choice on board, and perhaps a wine experience that they have never had before. Something new to discover while they are in the air.” As of July 2016, the new collection of wines on board is even more varied than it has been for the past two years, as Bonné has gone beyond California-centric offerings for the first time and included the 2015 Macari Rosé sourced from the North Fork of Long Island in New York. The inaugural offering of JetBlue’s “onboard guest selection series” joins perennial California favorite Roederer Estate Brut Champagne from Anderson Valley as well as newcomers to Mint from the Golden State including Matthiasson 2015 Linda Vista Chardonnay, Wind Gap 2015 Soif Red and Turley 2014 Juvenile Zinfandel.