Mint product review San Diego to Boston. MY first "Mint" experience was just OK... A million miller on American and 1K on United we have flown on all of the lay flat products in the US carrier inventory except Delta.
Staff excellent was warmly greeted and we were happy to see the lay flat seat product. Bag was stowed above and getting when sitting down i found a 'hard surface', the seat is a full lay flat seat and from the 'bed' standpoint its great. It is a 'hard' bed, this in comparison directly with the United product on the 757's (UA Domestic lay flats). Seats can be put in the 'relax' position that reclines a bit but the 'perfect' recline/legrest positioning angle cant be found its a mechanical issue with the seat not having room to recline in the relative 'sit up' up position. This leaves with a hard to get comfortable position. (lumbar support didnt function on this seat as the membrane switches seemed defective in the armrest) This would not compare to a international seat or one similar on a mainline US carrier.
Went to both forward and aft (mid) lavatory's to find them 'out of order' on ground. In inquiring we found 'they dont flush on the ground' as stated by the crew, shortly after the skipper excited the cockpit and used the 'out of order' lav. The 321 flushes on the ground not sure what the issue was as this would normaly be rectified immediately and may be due to the lack of operational power unit on board (APU)
Once the 40 minute boarding was completed we got greeted by our Mint attendee and got a great welcome and cocktail after reviewing the 'mint' product with us.
Additionally delayed as the ground power unit was not available or working to get the jets started. Oddly they waited an additional 10 minutes when the A321 has a on-board auxiliary power unit capable of a ground start and keeping the flight closer to on-time.
Underway, the seat didnt get more comfortable, having spent many DAYS in this type of seat I became more aware of how "HARD" the seat was. Finally frustrated it went straight up for meal service. I picked 3 of the 'choices' Chicken Pie, Pear Salad and something less worth remembering. While eating the meal all I could think is why could they not have made a really killer meatloaf, mac and cheese and or a super sandwich or tenderloin. The food was cold and average tasting with a great presentation and very special names, they really should try to be 'good and basic' before branching off to the special 'Pigs Cheeks', which was one of the choices. We determined the food was 'pre catered' meaning in our case it was out of Boston on the inbound flight, likely close to a day old as it was loaded in very early AM in Boston and served on the return flight out of San Diego at 3pm (not uncommon, but only as there is no 'hub' for jetblue in San Diego.)
When dinner was completed I put the seat in the bed position and relaxed for a few hours. Laying on my side with the super pillow and duvet comfy on me the hard seat never got any softer. Yes a bed and Yes much better than the coach set but why a 'hard' product?
The foot traffic back and forth up and down the isle during the fight never ended, staff continued to march up the isle and down never really finding a quiet middle flight moment. (we were late and it was a turnaround for the crew) so they were 'pushing' things to get back on time and off the clock on a long day. (we were woken from sleep on our 'initial decent' one hour prior to our landing) The crew didnt get the 'first class' part.
1200 plus dollars for the round trip Mint flight I wished I had not spent the money. It was too much and not worth it. While in my case it was nonstop and convenient the hard seat, bad food, rushed service was like a little mom and pop store trying to act like Safeway. The food was an attempt to be fancy, missed the spot and in the end I asked for a sandwich from the back.
Many reviewers rave over the Mint product. While it is good its not on par with any international business product and the reality is JetBlue is a 'economy' airline. They are ruff around the edges and may have been better off with a 'economy plus', premium economy type product seen on Singapore Air or other international carriers.
We really wanted to like this, we were disappointed with the food and 'rushed' feel of this flight as well as the 'hard' bed. In comparison with San Diego to Newark on United, we found the Jetblue service not on par with mainline first class or business products.
The seats and cabin look great, the service is good. Its not comfortable generally but looks so good many reviewers seem to miss the 'comfort' point. The bed needs softening. The food needs basic, good an upscale touch, with nothing in the back it wouldn't take to much decency in the premium product to be 'good'.
Tried to downgrade to exit row 'even more space' seat as I did feel ripped off at 1200 bucks. Not to mention the points don't get you far. read more