JetBlue is pressing Collins Aerospace to accelerate deliveries of seats for its new BlueFirst domestic first-class cabin, as supply-chain constraints limit the pace of installation across the airline’s Airbus fleet. BlueFirst sales are open on more than 30 routes, with the first service scheduled for 8 December between Boston and Fort Lauderdale, but most aircraft conversions will not be complete until the end of 2027 and the programme will continue into 2028.
President Marty St. George raised the issue with Collins before JetBlue’s third-quarter earnings call, indicating that the airline could install the seats faster if more were available. The bottleneck is seat supply rather than installation capacity, and JetBlue has not disclosed how many aircraft are awaiting equipment or whether Collins has revised its production commitments.
BlueFirst will use Collins Aerospace MiQ recliner seats in a 2-by-2 layout, offering up to seven inches more legroom than standard Main Cabin seating and up to five inches of recline. Early bookings have been encouraging, with many purchases coming from existing JetBlue customers rather than passengers switching from competitors.
The cabin is the largest initiative in JetBlue’s JetForward strategy. The airline expects BlueFirst to improve RASM by nearly five points at maturity, with revenue and margin benefits building through 2028 and beyond. Additional routes will enter service in phases after the Boston-Fort Lauderdale launch.