JetBlue introduced on Thursday it could open its first-ever lounges, at New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK) and Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS). The brand new premium areas are set to debut in late 2025, first on the airline’s JFK Terminal 5 hub adopted “quickly after” by a JetBlue lounge area in Boston Logan’s Terminal C.
The JFK lounge will span 8,000 sq. ft; in Boston, the world will cowl 11,000 sq. ft. Whereas these aren’t huge areas by lounge requirements, it’s been a very long time coming for JetBlue vacationers, lots of whom have waited years for a lounge announcement.
Entry to those lounges shall be pretty restricted—a minimum of to start out. Mint cabin passengers (Mint is JetBlue’s model of enterprise class) flying to Europe will get entry, however notably, transcontinental Mint vacationers won’t. As well as, top-tier standing members, within the Mosaic 4 class, will be capable of entry the lounge (together with one visitor), as will holders of a brand new, soon-to-be-announced premium JetBlue bank card.
Day passes and visitor passes shall be obtainable for buy by further prospects, primarily based on area availability.
“Clients love the JetBlue expertise, so we’re pulling by way of these considerate touches you discover on board our flights into the lounge expertise,” Marty St. George, president of JetBlue, stated in a press release.
The lounges will function the airline’s iconic blue branding, unfold throughout three distinct areas that JetBlue is looking “play,” “work,” and “lounge.” There shall be a full-service bar, barista-made espresso drinks, personal workspaces, and complimentary foods and drinks choices. Sadly, no images or renderings had been made obtainable on the time of publication.
These new lounges are a part of JetBlue’s effort to deal with leisure and premium leisure journey on the East Coast whereas concurrently culling unprofitable routes from its portfolio. Up to now few months alone, JetBlue has lower dozens of routes, notably from the U.S. West Coast, and deferred deliveries of greater than 40 new Airbus A321 plane till 2030 and later.
As an alternative, it’s placing its efforts into an initiative referred to as “JetForward,” a $400 million infusion into premium merchandise that can happen between 2025 and 2027. Primarily based on this newest JetBlue announcement, lounges are clearly part of that imaginative and prescient.
“Clients have requested for a JetBlue lounge for years. . . . Lounges have develop into an important providing for the rising numbers of shoppers in search of premium experiences,” St. George stated.
Whereas few particulars have been launched, the lounges will seemingly put JetBlue on higher footing towards its rivals, particularly on the subject of flying to Europe. On the whole, the onboard Mint product is first-rate, and having a floor expertise to match would serve the airline effectively.
Bank card entry to JetBlue’s lounges will presumably additionally come within the kind of a better annual payment product (a minimum of greater than the $99 payment at the moment on the JetBlue Plus card). If that’s the case, that may be much like what the likes of American Airways, Delta Air Traces, and United Airways provide: lounge entry in return for paying $400+ per yr for a bank card.
It stays to be seen whether or not JetBlue’s late entry to the lounge recreation shall be value it. In any case, there have been quite a few new gamers of late.
Delta Air Traces lately launched its flagship premium lounge at JFK, a 40,000-square-foot behemoth with sit-down eating and spa providers. Boston Logan may even get a Delta One Lounge later this yr. American Categorical, Chase, and Capital One have all been on a lounge-opening spree too.