dpakman91

I was thrilled to see that JetBlue is adding two nonstop flights with mint BOS-LAS starting in January, I fly this route twice a year. I checked prices and they are $849 on the way there and close to $1200 on the way back. I figured there must be high demand given that the rates 'start at' $599 each way, but every seat is available, for some flights in April 2018. So, few questions:

1. Are there not necessarily ANY $599 mint seats available on every route?

2. could prices come DOWN between now and then or does jetblue's pricing not work that way?

3. does jetblue have options for buying an economy ticket and then paying to upgrade to mint at some rate lower than just straight up buying mint seats?

diburning

1. JetBlue uses a fare bucket system just like most other airlines. $599 fares may be available, but not being sold at the moment.

2. As mentioned in #1 , JetBlue uses a fare bucket system, so the price could come down between now and then

3. Yes. You can buy up to Mint at the fare difference at any time between booking and departure by calling in. If there are Mint seats still available just before boarding, the gate agent will announce an offer for a flat fee upgrade (~$250-350) for any seats remaining.

BOSTravels

No need to call to upgrade. Can do online.

sfozrhfco

April 2018 is way early to book flights unless you are sure it is a very high demand day. As there have been no Mint flights to LAS yet, there is no telling what the demand will be. As we get closer to the launch date and B6 has a better sense of the demand, prices will start to vary to meet the demand.

Unless you are Mosaic and can easily change/cancel the flight with no penalty, I would just set up a fare alert on Yapta or another free service and get an e-mail when the price goes down.

dpakman91

great idea and info, thank you!

tphuang

Routes like JFK-LAX/SFO no longer have $599 mint seat outside of Saturdays and I don't think they will ever come back.

On ex-BOS mint routes, you should have no problem finding $599 seats as long as they are further out. Just checking now, I see plenty of $599s.
https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...;tt=o;sc=b;s=0

sbm12

During the earnings call last week JetBlue noted that it has raised Mint fares 14 times since the product launched and it still sees strong demand. I agree that means it unlikely we'll see frequent $599 fares on the JFK transcons going forward.

jetsetter

It might be that the cheap mint seats book in I class, so one other technique would be to set up an Expert Flyer alert for I inventory. For example I booked next March 2018 BOS to SAN and the oneway has the $599 approximate fare while the other is about $849. I set up an alert for I.

I booked it so far ahead to try to make sure I got one of the suites and I'm Mosaic.

But cabin looks empty and just I0 for sale.

fly747first

As they should if the product is doing well.

Yoshi212

I agree, the product has demand and is still priced well compared to the market. A steady & moderate increase is the right way to retain flyers while optimizing the product.

With this B6 must maintain the standards of Mint service, which I think it does, and also maintain the fleet to keep the seats clean & operational which there has been some reports of issues with.

To stay competitive I think a lounge system will eventually be required at the JFK, BOS, FLL, LAX, SFO & maybe LAS, SAN & SEA bases with access only to Mint passengers & a new elite tier for HVCs.

MSYtoJFKagain

I actually disagree with the lounge requirement. Most B6 transcon traffic is point to point so there are few travelers needing long layover stints in a lounge. Personally, I spend as little time in the airport as possible when flying domestically especially for work. Most people I know that are transcon for work (Flying Mint or equivalent J products) are entirely focused on getting in and out from the airport as fast as possible.

Also, splashing out cash for Mint-only lounges seems... very unnecessary. The volume of Mint travelers is low, even at LAX (320 pax per day by napkin math, 160 inbound, 160 outbound) and the price point hardly necessitates a lounge IMO. I'd rather keep the ticket price low and eschew the traditional lounge.

As to the HVC status, I find it doubtful we see any higher status until B6 goes TATL.

diburning

JetBlue have a point to point operation, but it might also make sense to have lounges in airports where they have connecting codeshare partners, particularly if they're able to split costs or operation with those partners.

caburrito

The SAN-JFK route is about to begin shortly but has anyone been able to purchase seats for this class?

sbm12

Yes.

Yoshi212

Yup, got a sweet deal on Mint too.