JetBlue A321LR Redeye: Solid, Even In Economy Class
I’m live-blogging my SAS EuroBonus SkyTeam Milion Mile challenge this week. Click here for background and route information.
I find JetBlue such a positively consistent product. While it is never ideal to fly in economy class on a redeye flight, I was happy to fly JetBlue from Los Angeles to New York onboard a snazzy A321LR (long-range) aircraft.
JetBlue A321LR Economy Class Redeye Review (LAX-JFK)
I booked a 9:39 pm departure from LAX so that I could arrive early in JFK, giving me several additional options if I ran into a flight delay or cancellation ahead of kicking off my EuoBonus challenge. Our seats were assigned at the gate and we were placed in the “Even More Space” extra legroom section, perhaps so that Augutine and I would not be separated (I was not going to quibble…). It was a fairly full flight and JetBlue’s regular (“Core”) legroom is already generous, but I appreciated the few extra inches of legroom.
JetBlue 2124
Los Angeles (LAX) – New York (JFK)
November 2024
Depart: 9:39 PM
Arrive: 5:59AM+1
Duration: 5hr, 20min
Aircraft: Airbus A321LR
Distance: 2,475 miles
Seat: 13C (“Even More Space”)
We boarded midway through the boarding process, but here are some cabin pictures I took on a previous flight:
Our flight was operated by an A321neo LR, featuring JetBlue’s latest Mint product but more interesting to me, its latest IFE system.
The new system, with movies and videos on-demand, is so much snappier and easier to use than the older, clunkier system featuring DirecTV and a limited number of movies. Even though I planned to just sleep, it was nice to have this option as well as lightning-fast wi-fi internet access, both on a complimentary basis.
Headphones, however, cost $7. The new system has Bluetooth compatibility but bring your own headphones. I bought some for Augustine even though I had a pile of them at home…I will start leaving a pair or two in every bag I travel with. He watched the first Home Alone…you should have heard him giggle!
We departed on-time and once we leveled off, the flight attendants came through the cabin offering a choice of beverages and snacks. I had seltzer water and Pop Chips, which served as a nice light snack prior to sleep.
Whenever I do a redeye these days I bring my own bedding, including a duvet and pillow. Those items help me to sleep, even sitting up. Thankfully, I was able to sleep on this flight (Agustine did too) and we awoke about 30 minutes outside of New York when the flight attendants turned the lights on to prepare the cabin for arrival.
I briefly used the lavatory in the back, which was small but clean.
We landed almost an hour ahead of schedule, which shows me that JetBlue pads its schedule way too much. I’m not sure anyone, particularly those who paid for business class, enjoy arriving an hour early, especially if they have an onward connection.
I had planned to head to the TWA Hotel for coffee at Intelligentsia, but we arrived at just after 5:00 am and the coffee shop does not open until 7:00 am. Instead, we headed over to Terminal 4 to see if we could access the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse.
> Read More: Why My First Stop At JFK After A Redeye Is The TWA Hotel
CONCLUSION
Another solid flight on JetBlue. On the one hand, I am getting too old for redeyes and they do take a lot out of you, even if you do manage a few hours of sleep. On the other hand, they represent such an efficient use of time and JetBlue offers a consistent product with excellent legroom and fast wi-fi. The A321LR was icing on the cake.
It was tough to see this flight go out with an open seat in Mint and me sitting in the back, but it would have been a bit pricey splurge for a trip that is already costing a lot of money….we survived just fine.