Last month, fellow FlyerTalker sbm12 made me aware of JetBlue loading their new A321NX into the schedule. At the time, the inaugural flight was to be flight 1701, JFK-FLL on September 24th. Later on, the aircraft would be swapped to a regular A321, and a new flight, flight 1, was loaded with the neo. Shortly after, flight 1701 was cancelled for this day, which allowed me to move onto flight 1 without a fee. Shortly after this, flight 1701 was reinstated, albeit with an A320.
For those who aren't aware, the A321NX is Airbus's second generation A321neo. neo stands for new engine option, which allows the A321 to have larger and more fuel efficient engines. The NX is a neo with the cabin-flex fuselage which eliminates a pair of emergency exit doors and instead can have of up to two pairs of emergency exit windows. This configuration allows airlines to put in more seats. For example, American Airlines has one pair of exits activated (the fuselage plug has both sets included, but only the sets that are activated are outlined on the fuselage). JetBlue opted to have both sets activated although they chose to retain the 200 seat configuration.
When hurricane Dorian caused mass evacuations in the Caribbean, JetBlue had an A321 that went out of service for mechanical reasons. Instead of cancelling the flight, JetBlue swapped their one and only neo (at the time) so that they didn't have to cancel the flight. So, the actual inaugural revenue flight of this plane occurred a few weeks before flight 1. The aircraft was kept in service, flying a few flights before the official inaugural flight.
On the morning of the flight, I flew to JFK from BOS on Delta. Knowing that I had plenty of time (hours) to get from T2 to T5 at JFK, I grabbed breakfast, ate it, and then headed over to the AirTrain and took it to T5. When I got to T5, the PreCheck line was quite long, and I ended up missing the ceremony at the gate.
I found JetBlue's founder, David Neeleman, and asked him to autograph my model airplane (I knew he was going to be present). Robin Hayes (JetBlue's current CEO) and Joanna Geraghty (JetBlue's President and COO) were also present, but I couldn't find them in the crowd, after meeting with David Neeleman.
Buttons were also given out at the gate to commemorate the event
Our plane was N2002J, JetBlue's first A321NX, named David Neeleman, after the airline's founder.
Soon after, boarding began, and I boarded and took my seat, 3F, an Even More Space seat. Looking out the window, I could look back and see the new larger engines.
As is customary with JetBlue's inaugural flights, they played seat bingo where they drew numbers (for rows) and letters (for seats) of lucky winners who would win a pair of systemwide roundtrip tickets anywhere that JetBlue flies. Well, guess who won?
Pratt and Whitney, the manufacturer of the PW1100G engines powering the aircraft, minted special commemorative coins to mark this occasion, and everyone on the aircraft received one.
When we arrived at Fort Lauderdale, we were given a water cannon salute, and parked at gate F2.
And, here's the video!