Palm Springs is the next destination to see JetBlue’s Mint premium cabin service. The carrier will operate its daily JFK-Palm Springs flight with the lie-flat beds for the winter holiday season this year, December 21, 2017 – January 3, 2018.
Fly Mint between JFK to Palm Springs from 12/21/2017 through 1/3/2018. 🌴🌴🌴 https://t.co/yNKRoNxC4f pic.twitter.com/G7MiPxWl63
— JetBlue (@JetBlue) October 9, 2017
Palm Springs joins the collection of seasonal Mint destinations JetBlue serves as the only west coast entry on the list. The other seasonal destinations are centered in the Caribbean markets such as St. Lucia, Barbados and Aruba.
The company is able to offer Mint service in those markets based on slight reductions in business travel schedules during the holidays or slight increases in aircraft utilization. Given the historically higher fares into those markets around holidays and JetBlue’s typically lower Mint pricing these seasonal services are generally a gold mine for the company.
In the Palm Springs market this winter JetBlue will be the only carrier offering lie-flat seats, but not the only NYC nonstop service. Alaska Airlines/Virgin America has the route on its schedule for Saturday-only service during the Winter season but, of course, without flat beds on board. That arguably matters less given the flight times; Virgin America’s flight operates in the morning westbound and mid-day eastbound. Still, the carrier is charging as much as $1400 one way for the premium cabin seats. JetBlue’s intro pricing comes in well below that point. Fares are still propagating but I’m seeing $759 one way in some cases. On higher demand days the price creeps up towards $1000 but the coach fares are only $200-250 lower. That’s arguably a smart upgrade to pay for.
As part of today’s announcement, the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau is helping JetBlue celebrate Mint service in Palm Springs with an exclusive giveaway. One lucky winner will receive roundtrip travel, including a pair of one way Mint seats from New York, to the 2018 Palm Springs International Film Festival in January. Accommodations, opening reception tickets and screening passes will be provided by the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau. For a chance to win this exclusive package, follow the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau on Twitter at @thegpsoasis and on Instagram at @palmspringsoasis for details on the giveaway in November. For more on the 2018 Palm Springs International Film Festival visit psfilmfest.org.
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Does PSP have a catering kitchen or will the flights be double catered?
Much to my surprise they’re actually trucking the catering in from San Diego. That means SoCal ice cream as part of the ride.