JetBlue has take delivery of their first Airbus A321LR, with Airspace by Airbus installed. What does it hold for the passenger?
First A321LR to JetBlue – Image, Airbus.
The airline took delivery of its first A321LR at the Airbus centre in Hamburg. They represent the first of 13 A321LR aircraft that will join the JetBlue fleet.
They will be used initially to launch the planned service between New York JFK and London.
JetBlue has a backlog with Airbus – with 57 A321neo variants on order. These will all feature the Airspace by Airbus cabin
The Airspace by Airbus cabin features a constant design language, with passenger experience touches across the cabin. The design-language and cabin features will also consistent with Airbus’ A330neo and A350 Widebody aircraft.
What does Airspace by Airbus bring to the JetBlue cabin?
We’ve covered the concepts of Airspace by Airbus on this blog at our trade show visits, with addressable lighting and tighter integration on the passenger experience.
The JetBlue A321LR interior – Image, Airbus.
In practice for JetBlue passengers, there are some passenger experience highlights
- In Business Class 24 business class lie-flat seats will be installed for the Mint Suites product, with two of those the Mint Studio Product
- In Economy Class, there will be 114 seats. These will be contoured seats, with some important numbers – 32” Seat seat pitch with 18’4” seat width – this compares with some carriers who have 17” across seating in economy class.
- Four rows of Economy Class will have “Even More Space”, boosting legroom to 37” (five more inches than default).
JetBlue’s passengers in these A321LRs will also be able to stay connected throughout the flight with the airline’s unlimited, free high-speed Wi-Fi. In addition, they will have access to a curated selection of live TV channels focused on news and sports, and an extensive library of seatback entertainment – allowing for a ‘multiple screen’ experience onboard.
Seats will also feature easy-to-reach in-seat power, featuring AC and USB-C ports to keep their hand-held devices fully charged.
As well as offering a rich portfolio of entertainment and connectivity options for each passenger, the in-seat equipment on these aircraft will also put the customer in control of their food choices, allowing them to customize their meal right on their seatback screen.
In Quotes
Robin Hayes, CEO of JetBlue Airways Corp on the delivery said:
“At JetBlue we are eagerly looking forward to introducing the Airbus A321 Long Range single-aisle aircraft with Airbus’ Airspace interior for our new transatlantic services. These aircraft will allow us to offer our customers attentive, boutique-style service, while also ensuring ample personal space, larger overhead bins, customized lighting and a design that gives the cabin a wide-body feel.”
“We are thrilled to have JetBlue set yet another trend and introduce Airbus’ new Airspace cabin on its long range service,“ said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer. “For sure the outstanding comfort and in-flight transatlantic experience on board these aircraft will be a winner – for JetBlue, its valued passengers and crew alike!”
Its been some time in the making
Airspace by Airbus has been a thing in the wide-body space when TAP Air Portugal launched the product at Aircraft Interiors Expo a few years ago.
Airspace by Airbus A330neo mockup – Images, Economy Class and Beyond
JetBlue launched the product in 2017 at the APEX Expo in Long Beach.
The Mock-up at APEX 2017 – Image, Airbus
Since the announcement, Airbus and JetBlue worked together to bring to reality a new level of passenger experience for JetBlue’s passengers in its A321LRs featuring Airspace for the first time.
Narrow-body flying isn’t new across the pond. And this could be the experience to beat (especially in economy class)
Narrowbody flying across the Atlantic isn’t new – not by a long shot, with Boeing 757’s happily plying the thin and long routes for many years.
There were also Airbus A319s (flown by Air Canada), Airbus A321LR (with AirTransat) and the Boeing 737 MAX (that flew with Norwegian and WestJet).
However, there is much to like here – with 32” seat pitch. I’m struggling to remember when I had a 32” seat pitch on a transatlantic flight in Economy, let alone with the seat width (which airlines have chosen to skip and install an extra seat aboard – see the Boeing 787 family).
With the final destination in London yet to be confirmed, I will be keeping a close eye on JetBlue and its product
As well as where the aircraft lands up.
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