Some people go out of their way to fly on the newest airplane or to check out a new interior design. Others will schedule trips on older planes that are going out of service, like when Delta retired its 747 fleet. However, sometimes, you get lucky and end up flying on one of the last versions of an airplane before it gets renovated.
I’ll admit that most of the time, it’s an upgrade when planes get new interiors. For most airlines, updating their fleet means adding amenities for passengers, like power ports or better Wi-Fi. The exception would be American Airlines, which ripped out their IFE systems when they went to the Oasis interior across their small-body fleet.
While I love JetBlue’s new A321 planes, which have great IFE systems, the slimline seats aren’t as comfortable as those on their older planes. This is why I was happy to find out we would be flying on one of the 11 remaining A320 Classic planes for our trip from Newark to Orlando.
JetBlue A320 Classic
JetBlue has been updating its A320 fleet since at least 2018. While most of the aircraft have been updated, I knew something was up when I received an email saying that our plane would not have power outlets. One difference in the restyled A320s is that they have in-seat USB and 110v power outlets in every row.
It didn’t register on me that this meant we’d be on an older A320. It wasn’t until I entered the door that I noticed the smell of the old leather-ish seats. I was somewhat excited to get another chance to experience the old JetBlue plane, which made me like the carrier back in the 2000s.
We were flying on Shades of Blue (N504JB). Yes, JetBlue still names each of its aircraft. Although this plane did not have power outlets, it did have free Wi-Fi like all of the JetBlue fleet.
In-Flight Experience
The IFE was the same as when this plane went into service back in 2000, complete with the TV, which is only 5.6 inches wide. This was cutting-edge 20+ years ago, but it’s almost comically small today. They’ve admittedly tried to squeeze as much functionality from these screens as they can by offering live TV and Sirius XM radio stations, along with movies. However, the movies are not available on demand. You have to tune to a specific channel on the IFE at the beginning of the flight and there’s no pausing the movie if you need to go to the lavatory.
Seats
This aircraft offers JetBlue’s industry-leading legroom, which, combined with the extra padding from these older seats, makes for a comfortable trip. It almost looks like this is a premium product instead of having as many slimline seats crammed together as possible.
With a width of 17.7″ and a pitch of 34″, these seats are a throwback to another time. i find that there’s sufficient padding where I don’t need to use my travel pillow as a back support.
Final Thought
JetBlue only has a few planes remaining that offer the A320 Classic setup. The flights we’ve seen travel between the Northeastern US and Florida or to and from the Caribbean. While these aircraft may seem outdated, they’re comfortable for shorter flights. The padded seats are more comfortable than the slimline seats on newer planes, and it’s easy to deal with the smaller IFE screen and no in-seat power for shorter flights.
It’s been years since JetBlue was supposed to convert these aircraft to the new configuration. However, if you get an email before your flight warning of no in-seat power, that’s a good indication that you’re scheduled to be traveling on one of JetBlue’s classic A320s.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
2 comments
Writes article about A320, uses a photo of E-190
Heads up: Your article is about an a320 but your headline image is of an E190.
I agree that the padding on these classic configs is quite nice, and the extra couple inch or two of knee room vs the new configs is quite nice too. I’m a fan of B6 and hope they are able to keep chugging along in the face of financial headwinds (and the denied merger/acquisition).