Launched out of JFK Airport with an inaugural flight to Fort Lauderdale in February 2000, JetBlue Airways flies to more than 100 U.S. and international destinations while positioning itself as the quintessential New York airline.
Terminal Five at JFK, which cut the ribbon on three classic New York restaurant chains Nom Wah, The Halal Guys and Melt Shop earlier this spring as part of a $100 million renovation, was built especially for the airline in 2008.
The newly-opened lounge at JFK is especially full of touches to the city: the 9,000-square-foot space was designed to look like a multi-level NYC brownstone apartment and offers visitors a menu full of iconic city dishes such as bacon-egg-and-cheese and pastrami sandwiches, lemon cheesecake and cocktails designed from the popular West Village speakeasy Please Don’t Tell.
JetBlue to bring dishes from two cool NYC restaurants to some flights
The airline’s latest effort to hammer home its New York connection through food will come down to a recently-announced partnership with Kent Hospitality Group and its partner Four Clovers Hospitality Group. T
he two Manhattan-based restaurant groups are behind Michelin-starred Crown Shy and the Brooklyn pastry and coffee shop Birdee.
From July 31, the airline will bring several dishes from the two restaurants to the in-flight menus for Mint travelers on select domestic and transatlantic flights (Mint is what JetBlue calls its business class).
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These include a bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwich from Birdee and dishes like a citrus-marinated chicken and pork katsu from Crown Shy.
Dishes from other New York restaurants under Kent’s portfolio, including Brooklyn’s Red Hook Tavern and Hometown Bar-B-Que, will be part of a new menu launched in early 2027.
JJetBlue
“A natural partnership between two brands that are proud to call New York home”
“New York has always been a city shaped by movement, culture, and great hospitality,” Kent Hospitality Group Partner Kelly Kent said in a statement. “As a hospitality group born and built here, we’re excited to partner with JetBlue, New York’s hometown airline, to bring a taste of the city’s dining scene to travelers around the world. It’s a natural partnership between two brands that are proud to call New York home.”
With airlines constantly tweaking their menus to stand out from competitors and give travelers something to look forward to, some of the other latest food updates came from American Airlines at the start of June for its Flagship lounges.
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Along with adding new summer dishes like a watermelon and feta salad and pineapple carpaccio, the Dallas-baed airline confirmed several new activation stations including a cheese cart and a station where guests who wander by will be able to order ready-to-made sushi and sashimi.
United Airlines has also recently announced a collaboration with celebrity chefs from cities to which it flies for dishes in its premium Polaris class menus. These include a deviled egg with white soy, aged cheddar and chives from Chef Justin Yu in Houston and a lobster with grilled peaches and tomatoes from Chef Tomos Parry in London.
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