I had flown JetBlue one other time prior to our flight home from St. Lucia and had a very positive experience. The airline isn’t that popular out of Denver, but is quite prevalent on the east coast to and from the Caribbean. When I was researching returning flights from St. Lucia there were two options connecting through Boston or JFK. The route from St. Lucia to the northeast and then connecting to Denver isn’t ideal because of the increased travel time, but it was one of the few options that did not require an overnight layover on the way home. Paul and I were able to get first class on United on the way to St Lucia using points (a meh experience, but more on that in another post) and so when I saw the JetBlue flight offered their ‘Mint’ fare with flat lie seats, I was sold.
The Seats:
I didn’t take many pictures because we were sitting next to pilots and I didn’t want to look like a noob and also I was a little frazzled with the boarding experience out of the St. Lucia airport (more on that later). Our aircraft had five rows of Mint seats where rows 1, 3 and 5 are a 2×2 and rows 2 and 4 are single pods in a 1×1 format. As of now, if you opt for a single pod row, it is the same price. Since I was traveling with Paul, I picked out a 2×2 row. Prior to boarding, we were called up to the gate agent where we were given new seat assignments in the same row but on the other side because apparently the seats we booked were broken. Upon boarding the flight, we found out that the two pilots next to us who were deadheading back to New York took our original seats because the TVs were broken and the crew wanted to ensure we had properly functioning TVs.
When we got to our seats, we each had an amenity kit, a Tuft & Needle blanket pouch, headphones, and a menu. We were offered pre-flight drinks and told to review the menu. The amenity kit was cute and came with socks, face cream, a lip mask, a cleansing cloth, and vitamins of some sort. Overall, I was very pleased with the seats. They had plenty of room and they felt updated.
Service:
For lunch, we could pick 3/5 dishes from the list of options plus dessert. I believe the food has a local twist based on where you are departing from so I opted for the mani mahi salad, white fish entree (I forget what kind of fish it was) and carrot cake. Lunch was tasty and we were offered a snack from a selection of name brand goodies towards the end of the flight. JetBlue also offers signature cocktails, and although I didn’t get one, I thought that was a cool twist.
The service onboard was amazing as well. All of the flight attendants were very friendly and the team was attentive to making sure we had what we need in the Mint seats. I will say on our flight from JFK to Denver in a non-Mint seat (the fare was not available on that aircraft), the flight attendants were a little less enthusiastic but I think they were doing a redeye turn so I don’t blame them.
Entertainment
The entertainment on the flight was also great. Each seat including economy, has a personal tv. I watched two movies and once we got back into US territory, the free inflight wifi became available. I was able to text, surf the internet and look at social media.
Boarding
Boarding at the St. Lucia airport was a 2/10. It was very disorganized and the agents were not helping control the chaos. Instead of having passengers stand in the line of their boarding groups, one of the agents pushed everyone out of the lines and had us bunch together as she checked passports one last time before we could even walk through the line and scan our boarding pass. I thought for sure we would leave late due to the chaos, but surprisingly we took off on time. The boarding was more organized on our JFK to Denver flight. However, our original Mint fare included ‘Mint’ boarding (aka priority) on the second flight as well (even though there were no Mint seats), but our boarding passes indicated we board in group C instead. We checked with the gate agent and she said we could board prior to the A-F groups. I’m a JetBlue newbie so I still don’t fully understand the boarding process when you have a Mint seat on one flight and a regular seat on the connecting flight that is not a Mint-equipped aircraft.
Final Thoughts:
JetBlue’s Mint seats are by far my favorite first class experience. I feel like they go above and beyond to make the flying experience classy and comfortable. With Mint, your checked bags should come out first in baggage claim, which is a nice added bonus. At JFK our bags were definitely not even close to first out, but at Denver they were. I think it just depends on the airport. Overall, a 9/10 experience and I hope to fly JetBlue Mint again soon.
Interested in hearing about my experience in first class on other airlines? Check out my Delta and United reviews!
Our travel agent Lisa (also my mom) organized our St Lucia vacation and ensured our trip was A+. She also helped us navigate St. Lucia’s COVID requirements. If you’re thinking about booking a vacation in 2022, reach out to Lisa with Lisa’s Dream Destinations. Working with a Professional Travel Agent can save you both time and money and in turn, reduce stress that comes along with travel planning. Contact Lisa today: Destinationsbylisa@gmail.com
Want more Miss Olivia Says? Check out my latest posts HERE and HERE and HERE
xoxo Olivia
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