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Our review of a JetBlue Mint Suite on the A321Neo is from a couple of recent transcon flights between San Francisco SFO and Boston BOS. We've flown the old JetBlue Mint at least ten times, but this is the first time we've had a chance to try the newer JetBlue Mint Suite product.
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JetBlue Mint Suite Cabin and Seat
JetBlue's A321neo cabin has Mint Suites in a 1-1 configuration, with two Mint Studios in row 1 and fourteen Mint Suites in rows 2-8. We booked our flights rather last minute, so most seats were already taken on both our outbound and return, but we managed seats 2A, 3A and 4A on the outbound, and seats 3A, 4F, and 8A on the return.
Each Mint Suite seat has similar dimensions to the old JetBlue Mint seats: 22 inches wide, with the ability to recline into a fully flat bed 80 inches (6 feet, 8 inches) long.
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A plus is that the seat's head is by the window and your feet are by the aisle, since the cabin configuration is herringbone (instead of the reverse herringbone configuration used in Cathay Pacific Business Class, EVA Business Class, etc.). That gives a bit more privacy than the front facing seats in the old JetBlue Mint.
That said, if, like us, you were used to nabbing one of the four Mint suites with privacy doors in the old JetBlue Mint, you may find the new Mint Suite less private. A significant drawback is that, since August 2024, JetBlue has locked the privacy doors in place such that these really aren't true suites, since the doors can't be closed. That's because in 2024 the FAA started mandating an extra crew member on aircraft that have suites with closing doors, in order to double check that all suite doors are open and locked in place for take-off and landing. JetBlue, which has been in cost-cutting mode, opted to staff at the absolute minimum and not add that additional crew member, which meant disabling the Mint Suite doors.
But back to other aspects of the JetBlue Mint Suite, which is unquestionably better than the regular non-suite seats that are in a 2-2 configuration in old Mint. Each Mint Suite has direct aisle access and is more private compared to those regular non-suite seats in old Mint. If you're on the left-hand side in an “A” seat, you have counter space on your right, or if you're in an “F” seat, it's on your left. There's a power outlet above the counter to charge your device.
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A second power outlet is located near the water bottle holder on the other side of the seat. There was Saratoga bottled water already in the holder upon embarkation.
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Seat controls include convenient presets for lounge and flat bed positions.
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In-flight entertainment (IFE) has received an upgrade, with a 17-inch screen (the Mint Studios have a 22-inch screen), touchscreen controls, and easy-to-browse movie photos, descriptions, and previews.
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Headphones are by Thinksound. On our Eastbound flight, these were handed out by the flight crew after we boarded, whereas on the Westbound flight, they were already in cases at each seat. Something to note is that all headphones are collected before landing, and cheap wire earbuds are handed out if you don't have your own.
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Underneath the IFE screen is a drawer for small item storage (just don't forget anything there). There's also storage space for a purse or small backpack underneath the ottoman.
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I liked the idea of the shoe storage compartment, but the execution left quite a bit to be desired. It was tricky to fit both of my sneakers in it, so I can only imagine how awkward it would be trying to shove both shoes into it if I was a tall guy. And it's only possible to easily get the shoes in and out if the seat is in the fully upright position, not if it's in lounge or bed position.
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JetBlue Mint Suite Menu and Food
Menus (but no amenity kits) were already at each seat. I was disappointed to not be offered a pre-flight drink on the SFO-BOS flight and wondered if that had also been a casualty of cost-cutting, although on our return flight from Boston, we were offered a choice of water, champagne, or orange juice, so it seems it was a service inconsistency.
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Here's the menu for our Eastbound SFO-BOS flight (for our Westbound menu, see our JetBlue Mint video review below).
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And here are the cocktail and wine menus:
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On my Eastbound flight, I chose the “Mint (Under One) Condition” mocktail which was fine, but there was no fresh mint, the way there used to be with the welcome beverage years ago in old JetBlue Mint. I also found the Tantos pasta puff pretty cheap. If it was a snack in Economy class, fine, but personally, I want something more natural and less of a processed food in business class. Even so, this was a better showing than the return flight from Boston, where, although I was served a pre-flight drink, there was no pre-meal snack or drink, and the water I requested for the meal never arrived.
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For the three small plates, since this was an afternoon flight and the meal would be lunch and dinner for me, I chose the most filling dishes. Big mistake. One of them was practically inedible. Usually JetBlue Mint is very good on the food front, and this was borne out on our return Westbound flight. But on this SFO-BOS flight, while the Baked Rigatoni was my favorite (even though fairly plain) and the Chicken Milanese was crispy and quite good, especially with a squeeze of the accompanying fresh lemon, the Lamb Shoulder was a disaster.
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Was the caterer new to the airline industry? Did Delicious Hospitality Group or its Chef/Owner Ryan Hardy not consider how roast (rather than braised or stewed) meats tend to fare when reheated on airlines? Had whoever prepared this never cooked lamb before? Whatever the cause, the end result was the toughest lamb I've ever encountered. I thought I might break the tray table with the amount or pressure I applied, trying to cut it with the useless airline knife.
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Thank goodness for the generous serving of vanilla gelato with chocolate sauce for dessert. It was mostly melted when it was served to me, but helped fill me up after the inedible lamb dish.
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After dessert, I requested and received some good peppermint tea, the tea bags made by Smith Tea, out of Portland.
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JetBlue Mint Suite Flat Bed
The seat reclines to a full flat bed, with the ottoman forming the end of it.
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Tuft & Needle provides the pillow and blanket, which can also snap to form a sleep shawl if that's your thing.
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The flat bed was the most comfortable position of the seat, which otherwise I didn't find very comfortable, even in lounge position, although it was always too firm for my taste. If I was taking an overnight flight, I'd definitely bring my own inflatable mattress pad for comfort.
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Here's our JetBlue Mint Suite A321neo video review:
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The Verdict
Overall I found the JetBlue Mint Suite a downgrade from old JetBlue Mint Suite, for a few reasons. Normally we've booked JetBlue Mint well in advance and have always secured the private suites, of which there are four, in the old layout. These have more personal space (at no extra cost, unlike the JetBlue Mint Studios) and also have suite doors that close. That makes them more private than the current JetBlue Mint Suites on the A321neo, since JetBlue has opted for the cost-cutting move of disabling the Suite doors, so as to not have to staff an additional crew member.
While the new JetBlue Mint Suites are supposed to be more comfortable, I found them to be the opposite, and less well padded than the old JetBlue Mint Suites. Even in the lounge position, my back began to hurt after a couple hours, and it was hard to get comfortable unless I put the seat in flat bed mode, which wasn't practical for the entire duration of a day-time flight.
There's no question the IFE is an upgrade compared to the old JetBlue Mint, although that wasn't as big a deal to me as it may be for most, since I spent most of the time working or reading a book.
Finally, while this could occur on any flight, there were service inconsistencies/downgrades, such as no pre-flight drink on our outbound SFO-BOS flight, no pre-meal drink or snack on my BOS-SFO flight, and no amenity kit on either flight.
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