In July JetBlue added Mint service on its Vancouver–New York route. It is the older Mint cabin, but it finally gives this only YVR–JFK nonstop a business-class option, which is worth noting. The blog covered the news and how to buy or redeem the flight:
Best transcontinental business-class suite: JetBlue Mint shows up on YVR–JFK | How to buy and redeem
冰吨吨 used a Canadian long weekend to try it. Mint had only just launched on the route, and at airport check-in we were told there was no lounge. A partner lounge may come later.
Flight details
The scheduled times are below. The departure I took was more than two hours late.
- Outbound: leave Vancouver at 10:30 p.m., arrive in New York at 6:40 a.m. the next day, about 5.5 hours
- Return: leave New York at 5:45 p.m., arrive at 9:00 p.m.
JetBlue flies this route with an Airbus A321. Mint has 16 seats. The layout looks like this:
From the official site, why choose Mint?
- In-seat USB and 110v power outlets in every Core row and every Mint seat
- Free high-speed wi-fi
- 10.1″ seatback touchscreen TV
- Free on-demand shows, movies and live flight map
- 100+ channels of DIRECTV®
- Stylish seats designed with comfort in mind
If you book early, rows 2 and 4 are the best. The space is generous and the privacy is good. More on that below.
Hard product
Middle of the pack. The photo below is the single seat in row 4. An amenity kit and a blanket were already on the seat. The armrests on both sides are very wide.
Lie the seat flat, close the sliding door, and you have the space to yourself.
A single Mint seat from the aisle:
The photo below is a Mint pair. The space is a bit tighter, but the service is the same.
Unpacked: a pillow and a thin quilted blanket.
Amenity kit and socks.
It was the Paris Olympics, so you could watch live DirecTV in the air — a few dozen channels.
Food
A welcome drink after boarding. I picked a non-alcoholic option. It was fine.
Because of the late hour and the short flight, the crew brought the main meal soon after takeoff: pizza, salad, corn soup, and a cookie.
It looks simple. It actually tasted pretty good.
Dessert was tiramisu. Average. You can skip it.
A snack before landing.
Menu and wine list:
The pair-seat tray table opens from here.
Other notes
- The lavatory is fairly small. It is a narrowbody, after all. Cleanliness could be better.
- Wi-Fi is free on board. WeChat chat worked.
How to connect is on the official Wi-Fi page.
Bottom line
This is the only nonstop from Vancouver to JFK, and it now has a lie-flat business cabin. Even if it is the older Mint, and even if it is a red-eye, that is still a plus. Sleep well on the plane and you save a hotel night. That math works.
If 冰吨吨 had not been writing down the details of this flight, the plan would have been: wait until the aircraft is settled, lie the seat flat, put on an eye mask, and sleep through to New York. Five hours of decent sleep is enough to get through the next day.