It's been more than a year since JetBlue introduced Mint, the airline's first business- class section, on transcontinental flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Already a success, the service last week expanded to the Caribbean and next year will launch from Boston.
For years, JetBlue resisted an upper-class seating section, essentially ceding the lucrative transcontinental business market from New York to California to the legacy carriers as well as Virgin America.
When the airline finally got around to offering the seats, customers responded so positively that JetBlue has now launched Mint to Barbados and Aruba from New York and will add the service from Boston to LAX, SFO and Barbados.
JetBlue invited me to try Mint on a one-way flight to LAX from New York's Kennedy, and it became very clear to me that what stands out about Mint is that it is unique in the way that JetBlue is unique.
The airline has always offered a distinct product: Its WiFi is free, it was among the last carriers that did not charge for the first checked bag, it still serves unlimited free snacks and its terminal at Kennedy has a working farm that grows blue potatoes that the airline eventually plans to use for the Terra Blues chips it serves on flights.
Mint feels like a hybrid between first- and business-class on most airlines, especially for travelers sitting in one of the four "pods," or suites, with doors that close for privacy. All 16 Mint passengers get lie-flat seats with massage and a cushion-firmness selector.
The biggest difference from other airlines is in Mint's food and amenity offerings. Paying homage to its hometown, Mint menus are curated by New York restaurant Saxon + Parole. Passengers get to choose three small dishes, adding a little excitement to the normally staid airline eating experience. On the new Caribbean routes, the meals will include the flavors of that region (think plantains). Mint's was the most enjoyable and interesting meal I've had in-flight, starting with the truffled portobello mushroom mousse welcome taste and ending with Brooklyn's own Blue Marble organic coffee ice cream. And maybe so passengers don't forget the experience once they've deplaned, they leave with a small box of pastries from Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery, which in my case included a melt-in-your-mouth brown butter blondie.
Then there's the Birchbox, which is no typical box of thin socks, toothbrush and a sleep mask. (JetBlue offers those things, as well, separately.) What's fun about Birchbox is you have no idea what you're going to get, as the amenities change monthly. This can be a double-edged sword because not everyone needs a stain remover bar, but I was very pleased with the hand lotion and refreshing faces wipes that came in handy both in-flight and over the weekend I was traveling.
Travelers can expect to see a lot more Mint in JetBlue's future and hopefully at the price point it has been luring passengers with since it launched: Tickets starts at $599 each way.