JetBlue president says its new premium feature won't be called Junior Mint

The airline's president told TheStreet the name for the new seating arrangement will suggest luxury, not candy.

Mar 8, 2025 - 16:46

JetBlue president says its new premium feature won't be called Junior Mint

At the end of 2024, JetBlue Airways (JBLU) revealed that it was looking to turn certain rows on its smaller Airbus (EADSF) planes into a higher fare class similar to premium economy on other airlines.

Since the business class JetBlue runs on select cross-country and international flights on the larger A321 aircraft is called Mint, the natural follow on would be to call the new seats "junior" or "mini-mint." When announcing the news, JetBlue President Marty St. George said that this was what executives have started calling the new section internally when they were exploring the idea.

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The new feature will not be called Junior Mint

But despite the playful nature of such a name, the New York-based airline has no plans to make it the official one. In an interview, St. George told TheStreet that this will definitely not be what the new fare class will be called when it launches in 2026 — and not just because of the trademark issues that will arise given the name of the classic candy treat.

"It's launching next year and it's not going to be called Junior Mint," St. George said. "It's not going to be called Mini-Mint either. That's good for internal use but it's not the right name [for the new product]."

JetBlue launched Mint in 2014; the business class offering provides lie-flat seats to travelers on longer flights. While St. George would not reveal any more details on what the new product would look like, the standard for premium economy on most airlines is to have armchair-style seats as well as certain perks like early boarding and free in-flight Wi-Fi.

In a past memo sent to JetBlue employees, the airline said that the new seats would be laid out "two-by-two featuring more legroom and deeper recline."

Aside from wanting to avoid less-than and snack-food implications, St. George said that any name that is assigned would need to bring forth connotations of luxury and not count on customers knowing the term Mint.

This is the amenity kit for JetBlue Mint domestic flights.
Veronika Bondarenko

Not all JetBlue passengers know about Mint

"You have to know what Mint is," St. George said further. "We know Mint very well but [for the average traveler] it needs to be a two-step education process about how we have the main first-class product and another product that we're going to call something else."

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Looking forward, JetBlue also recently announced a major renovation of its terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The airport's Terminal Five, which was opened specifically for the New York-based airline in 2008, will get 40 new food and other concession spots among which will be classic New York chains such as Shake Shack (SHAK) , Serafina, Eataly, Leon's Bagels and The Halal Guys.

The $19 billion project will also transform the seating area around the gates into a park-style green atrium full of trees and planters.

"Creating a uniquely New York sense of place at JFK through the additions of iconic local concessions, art and design will make this terminal a memorable part of the customer journey through our region," Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said in a statement.