kmersh

Preface: I needed to be in LA for a wedding and due to some odd occurrences I ended up in NY first and thus found myself looking around for a way to get to LAX in a Premium Cabin a little hard to do last minute.

Enter JetBlue which up until that point I had heard of, but never flew due to their lack of presence in the Dallas area (might have changed, not sure really).

I want to say that I liked it and I sort of did, the Flight Attendant really tried hard and she made the flight, but the actual service was interesting, not bad, just didn't feel Premium and maybe I was expecting too much, I rarely fly transcons and I sort of had an idea in my head that maybe truly does not exist and I am willing to admit that. Granted, I am used to American and it has taken a nose dive since the merger, so maybe really nobody is amazing anymore?

The crux of the issue was the food and presentation and here are my thoughts, again truthfully I do not have much of a reference point as I do not live on the coasts and just do not fly all that much and the few times that I do fly in Premium Cabins it is generally to Europe to visit the Wife's parents, so I openly admit my reference point might be totally off.

5 choices with two being cold and 3 hot in theory makes sense, but in practice just seemed cheap. The taste was fine, nothing wrong there, but I would have preferred a real appetizer course, followed by a salad course, then an entree course and so forth and so on.

Instead I got three square casserole type dishes presented on a tray along with a cold piece of bread, it all seemed a little more like IKEA and less like a Premium Product. I asked the Flight Attendant if the bread is supposed to be served warm and she no, they want me to serve it cold, but I would be happy to warm it up for you. It was much better warmed up and I really fail to understand why JetBlue would want it served cold, does it cost more to heat it?

Then dessert, the theme continued and to be fair maybe they are providing really high quality Ice Cream (I truly do not know as I am not from NY and might have missed the reference to a Ice Cream company in Brooklyn), but would it kill them to serve it in a China Bowl? I am cool eating right out of the pint container when at home on the couch but in a Premium Cabin I sort of expect to be served on China or some sort of dishware.

All in all, it was not bad, the Flight Attendant, really everyone I came in contact with at JetBlue was really nice and helpful so credit where credit is due, but the service just felt really cheap chic. Granted, I was not paying serious amounts of change either, but I felt for the price the food and the presentation could have been better.

nsx

People here will probably criticize your expectations, but I understand your point. Yes, the seat is 90+% of what you paying for. And the seat is great.

I have flown UA first class to Europe and I have flown LH first class. The seats are very nice for both, yet the LH experience is so much better.

Travel is about creating memories. Over the top service is a memory you can keep for a lifetime. And, yes, dazzling the customer does build loyalty, as Apple has shown repeatedly. Just some friendly advice to the management at JetBlue.

kmersh

My biggest take away was the people, they all (at least the ones I interacted with) seemed to be genuinely happy and wanted to provide good customer service. While I was in the gate area an Asian Woman who did not speak English went up to the counter and handed over a piece of paper with some writing on it and the Asian lady pointed at one particular line.

The Employee read the line and then asked one of the Flight Attendants in the gate area if she would show the woman where the restroom was as she did not speak English and could not find it on her own. The Flight Attendant took the Asian Lady by the hand and escorted her to the restroom and even tried to use a few words of her language (Chinese). She then used her phone and some sort of translation software to compliment the passengers scarf, which made the passenger smile. I once watched a UNITED Employee deal with a similar situation and her solution was to yell at the customer, tell him we are in American and should speak English and then get frustrated when that did not work and her final solution was just to walk away, leaving the passenger to fend for himself.

Again, my biggest takeaway where the people, I will remember them for a long time to come.

Truth be told I did not have an expectation of JetBlue, I did have an expectation of a Premium Product and their Premium Transcon product did not check all the boxes for me, but as you said, "travel is about creating memories" and over the top service, be it positive (in the case of JetBlue) or negative (in the case of UNITED) does last (again as you said and I completely agree) a lifetime.

I was talking with a colleague who was from NY and flew JetBlue when he lived there (though never on their Premium Transcon Product) and he said JetBlue is about NY and thus maybe why I missed some of their references to NY (The Ice Cream Company, The Featured Restaurant, etc.) I never really spent any time there.

sbm12

Yes, the ice cream is "special" and having the branding is part of the value proposition there in some ways. Plus there are savings in terms of space, so it plays to those benefits as well. I agree that the bread is better warm than cold but that's the way the Mint service is; the bread is one of the quirks I've never quite understood.

As for the "tapas style" tasting portions, I very much prefer that over a traditional airline meal. Yes, it is different, and if that doesn't work for your preferences then nothing really to do there. But some folks (self included) prefer it that way.

Also, JetBlue now flies a few times daily DFW-BOS if you want to try them in another market, though that is only the core (economy class) product; no Mint offering there.

RWPrincess

Amen

bennos

It's not just the ice cream that is branded, the main menu is Saxon + Parole, the baked goods are Mah-Ze-Dahr, and the espresso drinks are from Brooklyn Roasting Company. There's definitely a New York-local theme going on.

IME the menu is a nice change from the legacy style. Not only am I tired of the DL pasta dishes, I'm also tired of feeling like I've got gout when I get off the plane. (#firstworldproblems, yes.)

That said, the Mint product does have a "not quite finished" quality to it. The tea (rishi!) is good, and even comes with a discard dish. But I agree that the bread and ice cream presentation could be better, the movie system is ancient (though that's not specifically a Mint problem), and the ground experience is less than premium (lack of lounges, and T3 at LAX is terrible in almost every respect).

All in all, though, at the price point it's hard to complain too much.

RWPrincess

Though I haven't tested it out personally yet, last week I noticed a new enclosed check-in area at JFK for Mint and Mosaic passengers. Still doesn't make up for the post security experience but I'd be curious as to how that's different from the prior dedicated line they had. I don't normally check bags but maybe I'll go in and ask for a printed boarding pass next time.

sbm12

The new space shares with special needs travelers and is challenging to get in and out of IMO. I'm not a fan.

The idyllic dream of the dedicated TSA re-clearance area for international arrivals and Mint/Mosaic turned out to be a bust due to insufficient volumes (TSA won't staff it and no PreCheck anyways).

Often1

It's all about the value proposition. B6 presents a good J product at a price which many consider good value on a route where people pay for premium tickets.

While there are a zillion variables (perhaps not quite), a midweek full fare Mint to LAX runs around $1,200 while full F on AA is $3,200. Even if you really like multiple courses as opposed to tapas, not many pay $2K for that. I do realize that it's likely that you can fly B6 J for a good deal less than $1,200 and AA F for less than $3,200, but the single data point is there.

In the end it really does come down to individual taste.

Carfield

I have used the new Mint/Mosaic check in room a week ago when I flew to Orlando. There are two Mint/Mosaic check in rooms - one at both ends of the terminal. They have two check in counters in each room, but when I used it, it was the mid-morning/early afternoon slow time. There was no one using the room. I asked about this new addition, and the agent told me that they were testing it out. I like it but the room needs some decorations if they are becoming permanent. It is also sort of narrow too and there is no clear exit lane, which might be problem during peak time.

Anyway I appreciate the effort.

BTW, the TSA-Pre situation at T5 continues to be sad, and I even got into some fights in twitter with TSA folks. But at least they seem to be less generous in randomly giving out TSA Pre status now. At least there is a TSA Pre line at all times, unlike LAX T-3, you only get the semi-TSA-Pre experience during slow time (still have to take off laptops).

JetBlue's Mint is a nice product, but I have noticed that the prices have gone up. $599 only appears in certain non-peak hours, like the early morning departures and late afternoon departures from LAX/SFO, and from JFK, the $599 fares only appear on the early morning and late evening flights (after 6pm, but most $599 appear on the 9pm and 10pm JFK to LAX flights). The next category is already $829... in that case, I find myself back on Virgin America and their one stop LAX to LGA via DAL flight usually is $600-780 range, depends on the week of the days. I can accept the tapas meal if it maintains at that $599 level, but if I have to pay $800, that tapas style meal will need some enhancement and some of the dishes need to have a bigger portion. While I might not need a separate appetizer course, the amuse bouche can be heartier or they can use an additional bowl of WARMED mixed nuts. The dessert is fine, as the ice cream is obviously good quality. I really like the fruit salad - good-sized too.

Anyway, while I don't expect free lounge access with $599, jetBlue should work with lounge companies to make sure that there is some lounge access options (they can eventually sell lounge passes too). LAX is great with priority pass and access to Loft. SFO and JFK (Eclipse lounge needs expansion, as it is already crowded at times) have some priority pass options too, but with JetBlue Mint at Boston, having some kind of lounge options is key. Talk to AMEX or the company that operates various Club at MCO/LAS/SJU, or the Eclipse lounge! Boston Logan is big station and many high end travelers, I am surprised that AMEX has not already opened a lounge (Centurion Studios in the minimal) at JetBlue's terminal.

Carfield

RWPrincess

For the TSA Precheck situation at JFK, best thing to do is reach out to Don Uselmann via Twitter. He heads up the terminal operations for B6 and does listen to customer feedback. I tag both him and JetBlue in any tweets about T5.

On one of my recent flights, a TSA Agent actually pulled an entire regular security line over to the Precheck line. And she was pretty obvious about it too. I've never seen that happen before to that extent. I was livid and reported it.