JetBlue’s New First Class Is Its Biggest Bet on a Comeback

Outside its Mint business cabin, JetBlue has never sold a first-class seat. That changes next month. On November 11 the airline showed off BlueFirst, a first-class section for its regular, non-Mint aircraft, and called it the largest single piece of its JetForward plan to return to profitability. The first BlueFirst flight is scheduled for December 8 between Boston Logan and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, followed by Fort Lauderdale to New York LaGuardia and Washington Reagan from December 12, Fort Lauderdale to Liberia, Costa Rica, from December 26, and Fort Lauderdale to San Juan from January 5.

The cabin is three rows of 2-2 recliners, so every seat is either a window or an aisle. Seats are about 21 inches wide, with up to seven inches more legroom than the main cabin and five inches of recline, and use foam developed with mattress maker Tuft & Needle. Each seat has a 13.3-inch screen with Bluetooth audio, in-seat ordering for food and cocktails, and free Fly-Fi. On flights of 899 miles or more, passengers get a boxed entrée, side and dessert. To make room, JetBlue is cutting its extra-legroom Even More Space seats from 42 to 30 per aircraft.

BlueFirst is sold in three fare types, from a base fare that includes one checked bag up to a fully refundable Flex fare. Introductory fares start at $299 one way on routes such as Boston to Fort Lauderdale, though peak-day fares listed in the $500 to $1,500 range. Seats have been on sale for roughly three weeks on more than 30 routes, and JetBlue plans to retrofit its A320 and A220 fleets by 2028. Chief executive Joanna Geraghty said domestic first class had become predictable and that the airline wanted a fresh take.

The stakes are high. JetBlue lost $257 million in the third quarter, carries roughly $8.4 billion in debt and finance leases, and has not posted an annual profit since 2019. It is aiming for an operating profit in 2027 and expects BlueFirst to lift seat revenue by close to five points. Competition is arriving fast: Frontier’s first class starts flying on March 5, 2027, and Allegiant plans its own next year. For travellers, the near-term effect is a new premium option on East Coast and Caribbean routes and fewer extra-legroom economy seats on refitted planes.

Sources: Reuters via Investing.com, The Boston Globe