JetBlue Mint Studio Review: Business Class But Better
In April 2024, I flew from JFK to AMS on JetBlue’s A321neo plane in their signature Mint business class. Any day in business class is a good day, but it was even more special because I upgraded my business class ticket to experience the Mint Studio suites located in the bulkhead of the cabin. These seats feature a ton of personal space and a buddy seat, so a companion can come sit with you!
This flight was my first time flying JetBlue and I thoroughly enjoyed this flight. I hope JetBlue continues to add more long haul routes so I have more chances to fly this product again!
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HOW I BOOKED IT
I booked this flight via Qatar Airways for 62,000 points and $10.10 in taxes/fees per person. After finding award availability on Qatar’s website, I transferred points from my American Express account to British Airways Executive Club. (Note: British Airways is a transfer partner of American Express, Chase, Capital One, and Bilt. You can transfer directly to Qatar from Citi). From there, I transferred the Avios points from British Airways to Qatar and then completed the booking.
After I’d booked, I had to call JetBlue to select my seats because I’d booked through a partner airline. The Mint Studio suite was an additional $299 for my flight. I booked seat 1A and my husband booked 2F (a regular Mint Suite).
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LOUNGE ACCESS
Business class seats typically come with lounge access prior to your flight, but unfortunately, that’s not the case with JetBlue. If you have lounge access via a credit card or membership, check out what your options are at your departure airport and plan accordingly.
BOARDING
After my BLADE cancelled my flight to JFK, I barely made this flight, but thankfully walked up just as boarding began. On JetBlue’s Airbus 321neo, all boarding happens through the single forward door. Mint passengers are welcomed to board first, followed by economy passengers who did have to pass through the Mint cabin in order to get to their seats. This meant I had to quickly step into your suite to allow others to pass. However, it gave me plenty of time to get acquainted with my seat, order my food, enjoy a pre-flight beverage, etc.
The staff were very friendly and welcoming as we boarded. Our flight was landing on King’s Day in Amsterdam and the crew were all super excited. They were even wearing orange leis in celebration of the Dutch holiday.
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SEAT
My first impression of the seat: it’s huge! This was definitely the most spacious seat I’ve ever had on an airplane. The suite doors also gave added privacy, even though they leave a couple inches gap. These doors do have to be open for taxi, takeoff, and landing.
The most unique part of the Mint Studio Suite is the buddy seat, which was a really cool experience. The seatbelt was actually half missing from my buddy seat, but we had such smooth air that my husband decided the risk was worth the reward and the novelty of sitting together for dinner. The buddy seat has it’s own tray table, giving each person plenty of table space. My husband did note that the buddy seat wasn’t super comfortable to sit in for extended periods due to limited back support.
For the rest of the flight, the buddy seat gave me so much room. The bottom of the seat even pops up automatically when you put the seat flat to provide one giant sleeping surface. I was comfortably able to sleep in any position. During landing, we had to put our seats upright, but I could still kick my feet up on my buddy seat.
The TV screen was quite large. It could swivel out and angle down for the optimal viewing angle. You had 3 options to control the TV: the touch screen, the remote, or via your phone. I tried the last option but got an error message when trying to connect.
There was also large amount of storage in the seat, with a spacious side table and 3 storage cubbies.
JetBlue didn’t overlook small details in this seat. There were 2 lamps that added to the ambiance. Additionally, there were 2 universal outlets to charge your devices, along with USB and USB-C plugs. The seat was very easy to control via the control panel. You could also control the lighting easily and put on “do not disturb” to keep the flight attendants from waking you.
The seat itself was very comfortable and easy to relax into on a red eye flight. The seatbelt had a detachable shoulder strap that had to be worn during taxi, takeoff, and landing. I preferred this over the business class seats with airbags in the seatbelt because it’s more comfortable when I’m sleeping.
AMENITIES
JetBlue’s current Mint amenity kit is one of the more unique ones I’ve ever run across. The Caraa bag transforms into a drawstring bag, which can certainly come in handy during a trip.
Inside, there were socks, a Tuft & Needle eye mask, Tuft & Needle ear plugs, Plus Ultra dental kit, a deodorant wipe, Dr Dennis Gross daily peel, hand treatment, moisturizer, and lip balm. I’d never seen a face peel or deodorant wipe in an amenity kit, but appreciated the chance to freshen up after a red eye. There were also Tuft & Needle slippers and a bottle of water in the cubbies.
For bedding, there was a Tuft & Needle blanket and 2 pillows. The blanket had snaps so you could fold it various ways. I’m a big fan of the Tuft & Needle and have one of their mattresses at home, so I loved this collaboration.
We also had Master & Dynamic headphones we could use during the flight. They did collect these 30 minutes before landing.
One of the best amenities an airline can offer is invisible: free WiFi. If this hadn’t been a red eye flight, I would have used it a lot more. Do know that this perk is available to all passengers, not just those in business class. I did try it out for a little while and found it to be nothing remarkable, but even some WiFi is better than none.
FOOD
Ordering
Immediately after boarding, I was offered my choice from 3 pre-departure beverages: black currant mimosa, sparkling wine, or black currant seltzer. I chose the seltzer and was pleasantly surprised at how flavorful it was.
Prior to takeoff, we placed our dinner & breakfast orders via the in flight entertainment screens. Rather than picking a single entree, we could choose up to 3 of 4 small plates. There was also the option to choose the “Savor & Sleep” menu, which enables you to get your food faster and get more time to sleep. The menu even had a customized Spotify playlist to go along with it.
I ordered a “Limitless Spritz” zero-proof cocktail to go with dinner and it arrived first along with a bowl of room-temperature macadamia nuts.
Meals
For dinner, I ordered the tuscan kale salad, burrata, and spinach lasagna. My husband sat in the buddy seat for dinner and since he ordered the chicken cacciatore, I got to try that as well. I thought all the food was really well done and the only one that didn’t excite me was the tuscan kale salad.
I ordered the vanilla gelato for dessert, which didn’t disappoint either.
My biggest mistake when it came to my food choices was asking to be woken up for breakfast and eating it on the plane. JetBlue offers a to-go breakfast bag to take with you and I wish I’d done that instead because my body thought it was 1:30AM when breakfast was served and I was still full from dinner. I took just a couple bites of the salted yogurt and frittata, but they were good.
After breakfast I was handed a packaged lemon-scented hot towel.
I had read online prior to the flight that the Studio seats included a special snack basket. That wasn’t the case on my flight but I didn’t go hungry.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My biggest complaint about this flight is just that I wish it had been longer! At a total flight time of 7 hours and 41 minutes, I found myself a bit sad as we landed because I didn’t want to deplane.
While the $299 upgrade from a regular Mint Suite to Mint Studio is pricey, I felt it was easy to justify because I paid for the ticket with points. I would be open to paying for it again, but I’d also “settle” for trying the regular Mint Suite. Any day in business class is better than a day in economy!
Don’t forget to pin this post for future planning!
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