Now that a few hours has passed since the discovery of a video showing off the interior of the new JetBlue Airbus A321 premium transcontinental product, we can take a few moments to break down what we see.
The video starts with an overview of the economy section of the aircraft, showing completely redesigned seats. The color of the leather seats has changed from grey to a mix of grey black. At the top of the seat, we see the addition of a new headrest with adjustable edges, a first for JetBlue. In order to differentiate Even More Legroom seats, the headrests have an orange trim around the headset. The seat back pocket also appears to now include a cup holder, and has changed to a see-through mesh design.
The entertainment system also seems to have changed substantially. The current system has been showing its age for quite a number of years, and JetBlue seems poised to change this. The new IFE system has larger widescreens with a new user interface, which would appear to be controlled by touchscreen. The current model can only be controlled by the remote embedded in the arm rest, which has remained in the new version.
As expected, there are dramatic changes in the front portion of the new aircraft. Between the first two sets of doors are approximately 5 rows of a new premium cabin. The seats looks very similiar to what you may find on an international long-haul aircraft of a premium airline, such as Singapore or Emirates. A control panel for fully automatic adjustment can be seen, as well as a set of two very interesting buttons. As previously rumored, it appears that a minimum of one row in the new cabin will include a privacy partition, creating a “mini-suite.”
These changes represent a major overhaul to the current JetBlue cabin, which has not seen much change since the airline began service over a decade ago.