My JetBlue Airbus A321LR flight from New York to London–my first-ever daytime eastbound transatlantic light–was pleasant and productive, even in economy class.
JetBlue A321LR Economy Class Review (JFK-LHR Daytime Trip)
After a quiet redeye from Southern California to New York, we did not have long before it was time to board our connection to London, which left in the morning but had the advantage of arriving the same day in London.
Our flight departed from gate 23 and boarded 40 minutes prior to departure.
JetBlue (B6) 1107
New York (JFK) – London (LHR)
Thursday, May 15
Depart: 8:31 AM
Arrive: 8:45 PM
Duration: 7hr, 14min
Distance: 3,451 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A321LR
Seat: 18D (“Core” Economy Class)
Walking through the Mint (business class) cabin, we found our seats onboard “behind the curtain.”
Seat
The Core cabin (JetBlue’s name for economy class) 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.
We were seated in the first row of Core.
Each seat has a universal A/C outlet under it with a USB-C charger. There’s also a USB-A charger at the base of the seatback monitor.
The flight was nearly full:
Cabin temperatures never got warm and JetBlue also offers individual air vents in the overhead passenger service unit.
Amenities
JetBlue offers nice blankets (better than the business class blankets on SWISS or Austrian) and an amenity kit in “Core” class, even on this daytime light. The amenity kit contained an eyeshade and earplugs.
Food + Drink
A cold breakfast was served after takeoff, with a choice between a turkey and brie croissant sandwich or overnight oats, both served with watermelon and coconut yogurt topped with citrus fruit. Passengers were encouraged to order via the seatback screen.
The sandwich was good…the overnight oats (topped in cinnamon and berries) were excellent…the sort of breakfast I would make at home. The kids enjoyed their breakfast as well, though I ended up eating half of my daughter’s meal as well.
Dessert also came with breakfast…a chocolate ice cream sandwich from Nightingale. This should have been held for midway through the flight, but the kids certainly loved the treat.
Self-serve snacks were available during the flight in “JetBlue Pantry” in the rear of the aircraft, including Goldfish crackers, plantain chips, granola bars, and Biscoff cookies.
Unfortunately, the pre-arrival snack left so much to be desired. Despite arriving after 9:00 pm into London, only a small loaf of banana cake was offered before landing…
Thankfully, I came prepared with nuts and apples, which helped to tide us over until we got home in London.
JetBlue would do well to offer a salad and sandwich combination as a pre-arrival meal on this flight…as of now, you must bring your own food.
Finally, all drinks, including beer, wine, and spirits, are free on transatlantic flights (though I skipped alcohol).
IFE + Wi-Fi
The kids spent the flight watching movies and were very well-behaved. My plan was to spend the entire flight working thanks to free high-speed wi-fi onboard and that went quite successfully, with the internet only briefly cutting out at a couple of points during the flight. The IFE selection included live TV, movies,
Service
Service was excellent onboard, with friendly FAs who not only were courteous, but also attentive during the flight with constant water offerings.
Lavatories
The JetBlue A321LR has two lavatories in the front reserved for Mint and two in the back for economy class. Lavatories in the back are on the small side, but were clean.
CONCLUSION
I went to bed at midnight in London and woke up refreshed eight hours later…that makes me more likely to travel this way again, at least if I am flying on JetBlue.
As for the flight, the internet and extra legroom make JetBlue a winner…period. JetBlue has fallen from the super-high quality “Dig” food it first offered when it first started transatlantic flights, but the breakfast onboard was still good. However, do bring your own food onboard because you will be very hungry by the time the flight lands.
So overall do you prefer these daytime flights to LHR over the night time flights?
He came from LAX, so basically has to do an overnight one way or another…
That doesn’t really answer the question.
I do, especially in economy class. Trouble is I don’t live in NYC, so the redeye the night before is not ideal. Nonstop still preferred, regardless of cabin of service.
Matt, no comment on the Charlie Kirk assassination?
Or yesterday’s school shooting in Colorado?
Or about Melissa Hortman and her husband?
We have run out of our airline miles for the moment. No more business class for our family until we can save up some more. I thought about doing a daytime flight that arrives the same day. This gives me some hope that surviving economy on a trans-atlantic flight is possible.
You can always buy lifemiles, aeroplan etc to bridge the gap. I use lifemiles all the time for biz flights.
We usually do. It’s just not in the budget at the moment for that expenditure.
Daytime flights from NYC to London are great, and given the relatively short flight time, are a good alternative in economy, especially when flying with the family. Makes adjusting to the time change easier as well. While I would still rather be on a widebody, B6 makes it humane enough and not the biggest deal I guess for a 6 hour flight. Certainly prefer the B6 transatlantic configuration to the AA XLR LOPA that was just released – so long extra space economy seats…
I’ve always leaned towards overnight flights but with medium aged kids I’m starting to lean towards day flights. For eg Syd to Tokyo on an overnight you arrive at 6-7am and feel pretty ordinary (even if flying in J). Can’t check into hotels etc.
I love these daytime flights to LHR—I can land and go to sleep when the rest of London is doing the same. Just wish they’d bring back the ORD-LHR daytime on either AA or UA.
Indeed. I was just thinking about AA’s ORD-LHR flight. Would love to see it added again. Also UA’s IAD-LHR flight.
I flew that ord lhr daytime flight twice once in coach once in business and it really is awesome. Amazing how much it helps with reducing the jet lag.