JetBlue is teasing an upcoming premium product announcement

Could JetBlue’s first domestic class be around the corner? Some top industry analysts think so.

Speculation on this topic gained momentum last week when the New York-based carrier reported its quarterly earnings, executives used the occasion to reveal a far-reaching plan they call “JetForward” – a strategy aimed at returning the carrier to profitability for the first time since before the pandemic.

The plans include delaying the delivery of 44 new Airbus jets, and the ongoing network shakeup TPG has reported for months, as JetBlue tries to double down on its East Coast leisure roots.

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But the leaders also left breadcrumbs on a possible big announcement in the coming months – about some kind of premium product.

“We plan to announce more exciting developments to our product later this year. So stay tuned,” CEO Joanna Geraghty told analysts.

President Marty St. George echoed the teasing.

“Stay tuned in 2024 for more announcements about JetForward’s plan to provide additional products and benefits that matter most to our customers,” said St. George. “It includes enhancements to our premium offerings.”

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Analysts predict the first domestic stage

To be clear, JetBlue leaders didn’t get any clearer than that.

But analysts on Wall Street are already predicting what that might mean.

“We expect JetBlue to enter the domestic first class market by 2025,” wrote Jamie Baker, an industry analyst at JP Morgan Chase, joking that the carrier might consider naming the cabin “Junior Mint” — a nod to its international business style. The Mint cabin has been a favorite among customers since its introduction ten years ago.

JetBlue has not confirmed any such plans, and has not publicly used the name “Junior Mint”.

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What else could be on the table?

It won’t be far off to see plans for some kind of restoration of the plane with the legacy Mint seats, now ten years old, which is a very different experience than the new suites and studios that have been unveiled this decade: Planned. in a 2-2 configuration instead of 1-1, and it doesn’t have direct universal access.

In the end, time will tell if JetBlue has it covered.

Renewed premium focus

What is clear, however, is that JetBlue is doubling down on the premium.

Its forward-looking plan unveiled last week calls for an estimated $400 million between 2025 and 2027 in “products and benefits … [a] a growing share of premium customers.”

The carrier is certainly not alone in that focus.

Budget airlines have made waves in recent months, announcing significant changes aimed at boosting their premium – or at least more premium – offerings that have helped the likes of Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in recent years.

Southwest Airlines in late July said it was abandoning its open-seat policy in favor of assigned seats and more legroom options. Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines offer premium ticket options, and reserve middle seats on certain rows like you’ll find in European business class.

JetBlue’s premium positioning

On the other hand, JetBlue already has an ultra-premium product in Mint, available on its transatlantic routes and a growing list of domestic flights, too.

Its new Mint suites and studios offer privacy doors, lie-flat seats and comfort food that ranks near — and perhaps — the highest among US carriers.

But jets without premium cabins remain a big gap in the airline’s business, said senior industry analyst Henry Harteveldt, speaking to TPG earlier this summer — before JetBlue teased an upcoming announcement of a premium product.

“JetBlue is currently very binary. You are on planes with Mint, or they are all coach,” said Harteveldt, president of the Atmosphere Research Group, noting that the product gap is particularly visible among travelers with a connecting flight.

“You can get on a Mint flight and have a great experience,” Harteveldt said. “Then, you get off and get on an all-coach JetBlue flight, and you’re a front passenger, and you’re sitting there saying, ‘I don’t want to be on this airline.’

The long awaited announcement

Ultimately, adding the first domestic-style recliners could help JetBlue better compete with Delta, Baker, the JP Morgan analyst, wrote. The latter carrier has had widespread success with its first-class domestic product, and is JetBlue’s top competitor in key destinations, particularly Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) – where Delta recently launched its amazing new Delta One lounge.

JetBlue has no such plans to compete with Delta — or other US legacy carriers — in that regard.

“They are expensive,” said St. George in the June interview.

Bottom line

For now, it’s a waiting game for JetBlue’s premium product announcement at last. Either way, it comes at a time when the carrier is intent on its next chapter — coming after its failed merger attempt with Spirit Airlines and its failed alliance with American Airlines.

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