JetBlue Mint: A Flight Full of Surprises

As I received an email from Jetblue informing me that my flight would depart at around 15:30, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement. However, things took a turn when I checked the Jetblue website, which stated departure was at 14:45. And to make matters more confusing, the monitor at Gatwick Airport showed a different time altogether - 13:30. Within just a few minutes, I found myself facing three different departure times. It's safe to say that JetBlue hasn't exactly covered itself in glory when it comes to communication.

As I sat in the Plaza Premium Lounge, savoring a portion of fish & chips, I was able to observe the events surrounding the delay from a more relaxed perspective. This lounge turned out to be a pleasant surprise, with plenty of space and à la carte service. Although I would have wished for at least a small meal voucher, I had been aware of this before departure, so it wasn't an exclusion criterion.

Unlike JetBlue's passengers who don't have access to a lounge regardless of their status or business ticket, I was able to visit the Plaza Premium Lounge thanks to my Amex Platinum. However, there was no mention of a fast track for security on my boarding pass or from any staff, so I didn't even try it. Luckily, there wasn't any waiting time for either economy or business class passengers.

From that point on, the Mint experience suddenly felt like a budget airline again. As a business class guest, I was asked to provide a negative Covid test, vaccination card, and passenger attestation form (which had to be filled out digitally via QR code). Then, I was referred to the Mint counter, where I was able to sort out the formalities with the help of two employees who were already waiting to check the Covid documents.

After searching for around 5 minutes in the left wing of the terminal, I finally found the JetBlue counter - only to discover that it wasn't signposted. It seems that since the first flight in August 2021, nobody has deemed it necessary to indicate the way to the check-in counter. As a result, I arrived at the North Terminal about 2 hours before the original departure time due to a 4-hour delay on my outbound flight.

Although JetBlue had informed me in the morning that the inbound flight would be delayed by around 90 minutes, this didn't pose a major obstacle. The only drawback was not being able to select my seat within 24 hours of departure, as row 1 was already taken and all other seats are identical anyway. Unfortunately, I was also unable to complete online check-in due to Covid regulations, which meant that I had to go through an OTA instead.

In fact, our flight path took us much further north than expected, with a stopover in Greenland before continuing on to New York JFK. Overall, while JetBlue's communication left something to be desired, the Mint experience still managed to impress - despite its budget-friendly feel at times.

Jetblue mint