After flying the Airbus A321LR from London to Boston on JetBlue in Mint business class, I had my first chance to try the A321LD from Boston to Los Angeles.
JetBlue A321LD Mint Business Class Review
The flight went something like this: I boarded. We took off. I ate dinner. I slept. We landed in LA. Perfect flight, right? The end. No, let me try to add some additional details.
Boarding began at 3:15pm, 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure. Our aircraft for the trip to LAX was “a NEO Mintality” (each JetBlue aircraft has its own name).
JetBlue 187
Boston (BOS) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Saturday, September 17
Depart: 3:45 PM
Arrive: 01:40 PM
Duration: 6hr, 17min
Distance: 2,611 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A321neo LD
Seat: 7F (“Mint” Business Class)
I was late to the boarding process but did not encounter a long line on the jetbridge.
JetBlue A321LD Business Class Seat
The A321LD features the same business class seat as the A321LR, but there are only 16 seats instead of 24.
Via aeroLOPA, the Mint business class suites are “inward facing herringbone mini-suites designed by Acumen and based on the Thompson Aero Vantage Solo platform and offer direct aisle access with retractable privacy doors, retractable tray table, static cocktail table, and a retractable 17-inch HD touchscreen display. Each suite converts to a 77-inch long fully-flat bed.”
I still prefer reverse herringbone over herringbone so that I can look out the window more easily, but I slept like a baby during the flight…it is a well-padded and very comfortable seat. The seats are also easy to adjust and two power ports are within reach.
As always (sadly), the wireless charging port did not work, at least wtih my iPhone (and I even took the case off just to make sure). However, with a USB-A and USB-C charger nearby, it was easy to keep my wireless devices charged.
The Tuft & Needle bedding is superb and I again spent most of the flgiht sleeping. Each Mint Suite has a single air nozzle overhead, which greatly aided in my sleep by keeping the area around me cool (not that the cabin was ever that hot).
Food + Drink
Menus were personally distributed on this flight rather than waiting on the seat, which I like because it provides a more personalized welcome to the flight. Today’s transcontinental choices to Los Angeles looked remarkably similar to the dinner I had a few months back traveling from JFK to London.
About 25 minutes after takeoff, service began with a choice of beverage and some crunchy cheese sticks. A Mint Condition always hits the spot.
I was asked what I wanted for dinner and for dessert at the same time but soon found out why: everything was served on one tray.
My choices included an arugula salad with Parmigiano and lemon vinegarette, cavatelli with eggplant and Pomodoro sauce, and a flat iron steak with mushrooms, cipollini onions, and breadcrumbs. For dessert, there was no choice, just vanilla gelato with strawberry jam and devil’s food cake crumble (it made me stop and realize that angel food is white and devil’s food is black…).
I think JetBlue would do well to serve meals in courses, with a salad or soup first, then the main dishes, then dessert, but it worked out fine here. In fact, it worked quite well because the ice cream was hard when served but had melted to the perfect consistency by the time I got to it.
Furthermore, I’m like the French when it comes to salad and like to eat it after my main courses rather than before. The flat iron steak and the cavatelli were simply delicious…it is amazing how JetBlue, at least when it comes to catering, is on a whole different level than its American counterparts.
I concluded the meal with a cappucino, another JetBlue distinctive.
Stuffed, I leaned back and went to sleep. Prior to landing, a flight attendant offered chocolate-covered cashews, which is a great treat (though I brought it home for my wife this time).
JetBlue has a cool “pantry” onboard this aircraft where all passengers can help themselves to snacks and drinks during the flight. It’s located just behind business class in the front of economy class.
IFE + Wi-Fi
The free, fast wi-fi on JetBlue is another wonderful selling point…you almost take it for granted when you fly on JetBlue, but fly on an AA codeshare on the same route and you’ll be paying $35 for the same thing.
A large collection of movies, TV shows, games, and music was available and I enjoyed watching a crazy movie called 18 1/2 about the 18.5-minute gap in one of President Nixon’s Watergate-era tapes.
JetBlue continues to use Master & Dynamic headphones, which work great but are collected early, which is always annoying.
Lavatory
The lavatory, located in the front of the plane behind the cockpit, was small, but clean. JetBlue does not offer additional amenities in the lavatory beyond soap.
Service
Flight attendants were chatty and very pleasant. I had an extended chat with one that I will detail in a future post.
CONCLUSION
It was a beautiful evening as we approached Los Angeles. As always, choose a window seat on the starboard side if you want a great view of Los Angeles during final approach.
I chose JetBlue primarily for comfort, though you can get a good deal on premium fares out of London (all the way to LA in my case). The in-flight product remains stellar, the seat comfortable in all positions, and I have yet to have a bad flight on JetBlue. Certainly, my aggregate loyalty will remain with United due to its global reach and partnerships, but flying JetBlue is always a reminder of what United’s soft product could be like if it just tried a little harder.
Not to nit pick, because I really like your blog… but what does this mean?
“I think JetBlue would do well to serve meals in courses, with a salad or soup first, then the main dishes, then dessert, but it worked out fine here. In fact, it worked quite well because the ice cream was hard when served but had melted to the perfect consistency by the time I got to it. Furthermore, I’m like the French when it comes to salad and like to eat it after my main courses rather than before.”
Why do you say they should serve meals in courses, when, in the same breath, you say it worked out well for you having everything served together? Why are you advocating for a change in meal service flow, when you go on to say how much you actually enjoyed it the way it was served. It ends up sounding like you’re talking out both sides of your mouth, rather than have a clear point of view.
It means it’s fine the way it is, but could be even better (luxurious, fancier, more service-oriented, etc) if served in courses.
It also means that some like to eat their salad first without worrying about their main course cooling off.
I agree, your comment does seem contradictory.
With regards to the service flow, they probably serve everything all at once since people can order any 3 dishes of the 5, you might have some people ordering all 3 of the hot dishes and none of the cold ones (like the salad). Or people ordering 2 cold dishes and 1 hot dish, or 1 cold dish and 2 hot dishes (as you did). So probably much easier for the FAs to just serve all the food at once.
If they changed things, they would probably have to have people choose one of the cold dishes and serve that first, then have people choose 2 of the 3 hot dishes and have that served after.
Was this cash payment? Are there any good redemptions for jetblue mint, can’t seem to find anything worthwhile.
£1644 r/t from London, outbound in business, return in “Core” economy (which I also want to review).
I always think it’s crazy that’s BOS to LAX is basically same flight time as BOS to LHR