JetBlue Airways’ new first class product, BlueFirst, will take to the skies on December 8 between Boston and Fort Lauderdale, and be progressively rolled out across the carrier’s network where its Mint lie-flat product is not offered.

But a seat supply crunch means that the rollout of BlueFirst is slated to take longer than JetBlue would like.

While “the majority” of the fleet will be equipped with BlueFirst in 2027, installation of the 2-2-configured recliners across JetBlue’s A220s, A320s, and A321s is expected to be formally completed “later in 2028,” management confirmed today during a conference call to discuss Q3 earnings — including the carrier’s 21.1% year-over-year revenue growth to $2.8 billion.

This somewhat protracted equipage timeline is due to the supply chain bottleneck in industry, particularly around integrated IFE/seats. While JetBlue has selected a customized version of Collins Aerospace’s highly popular off-the-shelf MiQ platform — with 13.3” Thales IFE screens and Bluetooth connectivity — “frankly, the issue right now is supply chain,” JetBlue president Marty St. George said candidly.

“In fact, I was with Collins on Friday and had this exact conversation. Like, we would love to get these seats in faster, but unfortunately, as is the situation with so many products in the industry right now, supply chain is a critical path factor. But I would gladly take these faster, if we could.”

BlueFirst is part of JetBlue’s wider, multi-year JetForward transformation plan, and an important driver for the carrier’s future growth.

“At run rate, we expect BlueFirst to deliver nearly five points of RASM improvement, with its revenue and margin contributions building through 2028 and beyond,” JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said on today’s call.

Indeed, since BlueFirst inventory went on sale twelve days ago, JetBlue has fielded strong take up for the product, which will fly on select Fort Lauderdale-New York LaGuardia services after the initial debut from Boston.

“I think by far our favorite fact is seeing how many of the seats being sold are being sold to existing customers,” St. George said.

“I think there’s a lot of speculation that this is a business model that was predicated on stealing customers from our competitors, and it’s just not what we’re seeing at all. We’re seeing our current customers flocking to fill these seats. So, we think that’s actually a very good finding for us.”

TrueBlue Mosaic elite status members account for “nearly a quarter of seats booked thus far,” he revealed.

Mosaic frequent flyers have even more reason to celebrate. From February 1, 2027, members at every Mosaic level, and up to one traveling companion on the same reservation, will be eligible for complimentary, space-available upgrades to BlueFirst when traveling on eligible fares. So too will JetBlue Premier Cardmembers when they use their card to book eligible fares.

With high fuel prices and a challenging macroeconomic environment affecting its bottom line, JetBlue posted a Q3 net loss of $257 million, despite achieving strong revenue growth. However, management feels confident that the New York JFK-hubbed airline is on the right path.

JetBlue ended the quarter with $2.2 billion in liquidity and approximately $7 billion in unencumbered assets, including $2.8 billion in aircraft and engines. It expects positive free cash flow in 2028.

“We will remain focused on disciplined execution and capital management to drive sustainable earnings growth and create long-term value for our shareholders,” Geraghty assured.

Underscoring the importance of BlueFirst to JetBlue’s ambitions, St. George ended the call with another message for Collins: “I will say again to our friends at Collins, if they can get us seats faster, we’ll take them. We’re very bullish about BlueFirst.”

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All images credited to JetBlue