Our journey from Paris to New York on JetBlue was very pleasant onboard the Airbus A321LR in “Core” economy class. JetBlue’s transatlantic economy class product is excellent in so many ways.
JetBlue A321LR “Core” Economy Class Review (CDG-JFK)
We took Uber from our hotel to CDG, arriving about 90 minutes before the flight departed. That cut it rather close, but we didn’t have lounge access (beyond Yotelair, which is not worth the time) and quite enjoyed the leisurely morning in Paris.
Check-In
The check-in area was deserted in Terminal 2B…my fellow passengers must have shown up early, because the flight turned out to be full.
While the seucerity checkpoint was a breeze, the passrot conorl line moved painfully slowly, with people in wheelchairs (and their familes) conitnuelaly cutting in line.
We finally boarded about 45 minutes before takeoff.
JetBlue 1908
Paris (CDG) – New York (JFK)
Thursday, October 3
Depart: 1:25 PM
Arrive: 4:09 PM
Duration: 08hr, 41min
Distance: 3,635 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A321LR
Seat: 19A,B,C,D (“Core” Economy Class)
Onboard, we found our seats in row 19. I sat with the kids and Heidi sat across the aisle from us…a well-deserved break for her, though these days the kids are very well-behaved onboard.
Seat
The Core cabin has 90 Collins Meridian seats in a 3-3 configuration featuring a four-way adjustable headrest:
- Seat width: 18 inches
- Row pitch: 32 inches
- Seat recline: 3 inches
JetBlue (at least for now) is the most generous US airline when it comes to standard economy class pitch. Instead of 30 inches, you get two inches extra on JetBlue. JetBlue also has an “Even More Space” section in the front of the economy class cabin: 24 seats with 35 inches of legroom.
While I certainly cannot sleep on these seats, I found them sufficient for a daytime flight. Each seat also had a universal A/C outlet, USB-C charger above it, and a USB-A charger on the (10.1-inch) seatback screen.
The cabin never got warm, but there were also personal air vents.
Amenties
Waiting at each seat was a soft blanket and a small amenity kit (what JetBlue calls a “snooze kit”) with an eye mask and earplugs. Complimentary disposable headphones were later offered prior to departure.
IFE + Wi-Fi
Free high-speed Wi-Fi (JetBlue uses ViaSat-2 Ka-band satellite wifi) is a huge perk to traveling on JetBlue. It functioned well during the transatlantic crossing and I got a lot of work done on the flight.
In terms of IFE, JetBlue uses the Thales AVANT system. Content included a large collection of movies, TV shows, games, and live TV.
I watched this movie called Ex Machina, which was very well-done, but I had to cut it off because it got a little graphic around the kids…
Food + Drink
It was with some dismay that when I pulled up the menu for my Paris to New York flight, I saw that all options were chilled. I ended up boarding the flight prepared with snacks (fruit, nuts, protein bars), but that turned out to be unnecessary.
On JetBlue, you order your meal on your screen, specifying what main course you want. On this flight, there were two appetizers and two main course choices: a pesto chicken salad or mushrooms with lentils.
The menu:
Pesto Pasta Salad
herb chicken, kale pesto, green beans, demi-sec tomatoesMushrooms & Lentils
roasted portobellos, herb green lentils, demi-sec tomatoes
Both were served with:
Tomatoes & Cucumber Salad
cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, pickled onions, parsleyBuffalo Cauliflower
cheesy cauliflower, scallions, sriracha
I chose the pesto pasta salad and thought it was delicious…the key for me was the quality of the chicken and whether it tasted “manufactured” or fresh. Thankfully, it tasted fresh and the pesto sauce gave it a nice kick. The cauliflower appetizer was excellent (nice kick to it) and the tomato-cucumber salad was very fresh and delicious.
Delicious chocolate ice cream from Beckleberry’s for dessert as well:
All drinks, including beer, wine, and spirits, are free on JetBlue transatlantic flights.
For what it is worth, my wife enjoyed her mushrooms and lentils, but my kids did not eat anything…they didn’t like the chicken, salad, or cauliflower (and that’s sad and somewhat surprising because they are usually much more adventurous eaters than I am).
If you’ve flown transatlantic economy in the past, you know there used to be at least three main courses and three appetizers you could choose from. That did create a lot of work, especially when the main courses and one of the appetizers had to be heated. But the pendulum has now swung too far in the other direction…I hope that JetBlue can find a “happy medium” and bring back some hot dishes onboard, perhaps without offering as much choice as before.
JetBlue may have “downgraded” its onboard catering, but it’s still something to look forward to. I hope this feedback does not make JetBlue less likely to bring back hot meals, but I’d be lying if I said that I did not enjoy my cold lunch onboard.
During the flight, snacks and drinks were available on demand, with a snack station in the rear of the aircraft:
I snacked on Popchips (since discontinued) and had a cup of (very weak) Dunkin’ Donuts coffee about halfway through the flight.
Prior to landing, a hot pizza snack was served (the same pizza United Airlines is now serving its first class passengers as a pre-arrival meal). I try to avoid processed food like this, but in terms of the ingredient list, I’ve seen far worse…
Lavatory
This aircraft has two lavatories in the rear of the aircraft for Core passengers. These are small lavatories, but they were clean.
Service
While I’ve found service on JetBlue to be mixed lately, the crew on this flight was excellent. Very chatty, friendly, and attentive.
I just wish I could have flown Mint…
CONCLUSION
We landed ahead of schedule in New York, giving us plenty of time to make our connection to Los Angeles. The JetBlue transatlantic economy class experience was excellent and one that I will continue to go out of my way to fly with my family. The extra legroom and fast, free wi-fi more than makes up for the annoying connection in New York. The food on this flight, though cold, was delicious.
There was one twist on the flight that requires a separate post…stay tuned tomorrow for that. A very bold seatmate.
“Prior to landing, a hot pizza snack was served (the same pizza United Airlines is now serving its first class passengers as a pre-arrival meal). I try to avoid processed food like this”
Good on you. I too try to stay away from uber processed food, and stick to healthy choices such as In N Out, Taco Bell …
ROTFL.
So guilty.
I flew JFK to LHR in Mint a week after service started. The food was some of the best I have had on a plane, I was able to sleep well, and despite some pandemic restrictions like wearing masks still being in place, the flight crew made it feel like any other flight. Personalized notes to Mint passengers. It was the same on the return flight (also in Mint). I enjoyed JetBlue mint more that Qatar business class (pre-Qsuites) on the A350-900.
@Matthew, I thought that they had switched to chilled food in economy because on certain aircraft there was not enough oven space, but maybe I got that wrong.
That’s true, but this was the LR aircraft with ovens.
Good to know the quality of the food is still there, even if there have been cuts to the amount of choices (in Mint as well).
As I get older, I can’t imagine sitting in a “regular” economy seat on a narrowbody on a trans-Atlantic flight. But this doesn’t seem so terrible. The legroom and seat-width is relatively generous for today.
As nice as the chilled food might have been, I’d still be unhappy if the meals weren’t hot. But it still looks like it was a nice flight.
Did the extra ~30 minutes on board (versus traveling on a wide-body) feel noticeable? That’s the biggest knock for me, although B6 tends to make economy pretty comfortable, even with only cold meals. But pretty sure I’d rather have 31″ of pitch and the more open feeling of a wide-body (plus an extra ~30 minutes) versus 32″ of pitch and a narrow-body.
Didn’t bother me, but understand why it might annoy others.
Thanks. The additional time may actually be preferable on the way over (assuming you are on an overnight flight) if you can get an extra 20-30 minutes of sleep, especially in Mint. Just something about “premium routes” like JFK-LHR or CDG that “feels” like you should be on a wide-body, although obviously not an issue in this case.
How are you just now seeing Ex Machina??
I finished it on United. Great movie.
What’s with that ‘Heads Up’ IFE movie disclaimer ? I can certainly see a ‘warning’ directed directly @ the viewer but why & how am I to be responsible for the tastes/mores of those seated next to, across and behind me ?
While I’d give B6 credit for offering a variety in the first place, they then ‘take it back’ by trying to guilt trip pax and deflecting the responsibility for their IFE content. Unrelated adjacent pax have no business watching what fellow pax are consuming on the airline;s own IFE, they can proceed at their peril !
Small TYPO:
…. the passrot conorl line….
Glad you enjoyed the service.
Want to return to Paris to fill in a few places I passed on in a prior visit.
B6 might be the option.
Interesting review — mostly subjective evaluative and less descriptive than generally found.
Questions:
1. What is a “universal A/C” outlet. Universale meaning which universe? North America NEMA 5-15R? European CEE 7/3? UK BS 1363? Which of these do YOU call ‘universal”?
2. “conitnuelaly cutting in line…” What is that first word? conitnuelaly. Too much of the free beer, wine, spirits?
Universal, meaning it fits all major ports (US, EU, UK, AUS).
Was the person in front of you wearing a winter hat the whole flight?
LOL. Oh, you’ll hear all about him tomorrow.
This looks as good as SQ Y to me,
conitnuelaly
WHAT IS THIS WORD? I CANNOT COMPREHEND THIS ARTICLE