I rather enjoyed these last few days here in New York. I tried some excellent food and manged to go to the theatre three times! This was my fifth visit to New York, and the place is slowly starting to grow on me.

Getting from the Sofitel to JFK

I think what has amazed me most about this trip to New York is the incredibly high density if human beings on such a relatively small surface area. I‘ve never seen anything like it. Going anywhere on foot takes forever, and there are people spilling out into the streets, making progress by taxi equally slow and cumbersome. My easiest option is to walk nine blocks from the Sofitel on 44th Street to the subway station at 53rd and 5th, from where the E line runs to Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica and where you can connect to the AirTrain to JetBlue‘s Terminal 5.

In total, it takes me just over an hour door to door from the Sofitel to JFK’s Terminal 5.

Check-in

There are dedicated check-in counters for MINT passengers in the terminal. However, I already checked in on the app before leaving the hotel, which means that I can head straight for security.

Airside

As in CDG, travelling in MINT gives you access to fast track security. Alas, I‘m not fully sure where the benefit is supposed to be because the lines are long and crawling at a snail‘s pace. By the time I‘m through security, it‘s coming up to 13h30.

I stop at a restaurant in the terminal for lunch, and then park myself at the gate and fire up my laptop.

Boarding

Boarding starts at 16:48 for our 17:33 departure. I really wonder what the point is of having such oddly specific departure schedules.

Being New Year‘s Eve, the load on tonight‘s flight is very light, and boarding is quickly completed.

There are only nine passengers in MINT, of which four are staff, which is nice because it means it‘s going to be a quiet flight to Paris.

The flight time is six hours and 31 minutes.

The Cabin

The cabin layout is identical to the one of my outbound flight. If I had to guess, I‘d say that this aircraft is older and shows more signs of wear and tear. It‘s still an attractive cabin, mind. Also, as on the previous flight, a packaged blanket and memory foam pillow, earphones and a vanity kit are already at my seat when I arrive.

The Service & Crew

There are three female cabin crew working the MINT cabin, and two in the rear. The purser is not unfriendly but just seems very serious. All three crew are professional and work together very well as a team. The service on the ground starts with the welcome drinks, served in what is undoubtedly some of America‘s finest… plastic cups. There is a choice of elderflower with sparkling wine or with sparkling water, or just plain sparkling wine or water.

First Service – Dinner

The meal service is something they do really well at JetBlue, especially given the short flight time. Orders for both the first and second service are placed electronically, through the inflight entertainment system. The cabin crew only take orders for drinks. As a result, the meal service is very swift and efficient, allowing passengers to maximize their rest.

First, my Ginger Ale arrives with a small ramekin of almonds.

The meal is then served with all dishes on one tray, including dessert.

The presentation on the tray looks a lot more appealing than on the outbound. The food is mostly good, and especially the pasta is quite spicy. The chicken is not quite so good. It has a slightly odd taste and it‘s very rubbery. The dessert is lovely, though. 75 minutes after take-off my tray is removed. I extend by seat to the lying position and go off to Noddy Land. I awake 80 minutes out of Paris.

Second Service – Breakfast

For the breakfast I have the joghurt and the frittata, served with a croissant and a surprisingly good coffee.

Arrival in CDG

Eventually, we land in Paris at 06:33, twenty minutes ahead of schedule. We taxi to our stand at Terminal 2B, where the flight ends. I enjoyed my trip to the US, but I‘m glad to be back. I step off the plane and immediately I‘m struck by just how fresh and crisp the air smells.

Conclusion

I‘m glad I was finally able to sample the JetBlue product, which had been on my wish list for a long time. Strangely, I‘m still not quite sure what to make of JetBlue. On the positive side, I greatly enjoyed their onboard experience. The Airbus A321 NEO is a lovely aircraft and JetBlue‘s MINT cabin offers a lot of space which makes you forget you‘re actually sitting on a narrow body aircraft. For hardware, JetBlue gets ten out of ten. On the negative side, the lack of lounge access is inconvenient. Second, there is the lack of an attractive loyalty programme for European passengers. The JetBlue experience is clearly very much oriented to its American customer base. Both are fairly minor issues on their own. But competition cross the Atlantic is fierce, and if this is to work for JetBlue, they’re going to have to come up with some pretty compelling arguments that will convince European travellers to choose them over the competition. In terms of pricing, my ticket on JetBlue was comparable to what I would have paid with other carriers – just without mileage collection and lounge access.

And before I forget: happy new year!