Go back 12 years, and JetBlue was an airline known for its egalitarian experience: all-coach cabins, no long-haul flights, and few bells and whistles beyond its trademark seatback screens and free Wi-Fi.
Over the past decade, things have certainly changed.
2014 ushered in the airline’s lie-flat Mint cabin. Then came flights to Europe, and — most recently — the promise of domestic first-class.
And next week, the airline will launch its biggest new product in years: Its first-ever airport lounge, which will debut at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
JetBlue debuts ‘BlueHouse’
JetBlue’s club at JFK Terminal 5 won’t just be a new outpost. It will double as the launch of its new lounge network — which, on Thursday, the carrier said will be called “BlueHouse,” a name that draws on the airline’s brand and its hope to create a “New York City apartment-style” feel.
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BlueHouse JFK will open at 5 a.m. on Dec. 18, spanning 9,000 square feet across two floors near the T5’s Gate 527.
The chic space sports two bars, grab-and-go meals and space for 140 customers. That’s at the smaller end for a new lounge in 2025.
However, JetBlue has made clear: it’s hoping to make this an exclusive (and line-free) experience for a small number of its top customers — not a sprawling outpost for the masses.
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“What we heard over and over again in customer research is that customers love lounge products,” JetBlue President Marty St. George said at a preview of the lounge on Wednesday. “They hate the experience of having to stand outside in queue.”
Who can access JetBlue’s lounge?
With that in mind, access rules for BlueHouse will be tight, with entry limited to:
- Credit cardholders with the JetBlue Premier World Elite Mastercard®, which comes with a $499 annual fee
- Top-tier Mosaic 4 elite status members of the airline’s TrueBlue loyalty program
- Passengers flying to Europe in its upscale Mint cabin
JetBlue lounge design
JetBlue’s new lounge digs at JFK sport an Art Deco-inspired design, with navy blue features accented in gold trimming, wallpaper, eclectic lights and locally-sourced artwork.
Entering on the main terminal level, the front desk gives “apartment mail room” vibes with post office-style mailboxes that contain small gifts for members.
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You can take the old-timey elevator up to the second floor — or proceed down a navy blue-painted tunnel into the lounge’s open-concept primary space.
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Anchoring this room is the bar, where you can grab a cocktail curated by Long Island City-based The Greats of Craft — or ask a barista to whip up an espresso drink from Joe Coffee, which was founded in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village before expanding across the city.
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Don’t forget to look up. One of the most prominent design features on the ceiling pays homage to the celestial pattern that famously adorns the ceiling of Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.
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Down below, there’s a smattering of padded chairs, booths and work stations for guests to relax, eat, or get work done during a visit.
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Or, they can opt for the gameroom, which features JetBlue-branded card and board games in front of a large television.
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There’s a library setting with books sourced from The Strand Bookstore, and — one of the quirkier touches — a photo booth that, come February, will sport a retired flight deck jump seat from an Airbus A320.
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“It really should be a space that is welcoming, playful — not pretentious. Kind of like your house,” St. George said during a tour of the new space.
“This lounge is just fundamentally New York,” St. George added. “And also fundamentally JetBlue.”
Second floor
Heading up to the second level, skip the elevator and you’ll pass by some timeless New York (and JetBlue) artwork on your way up the staircase.
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There’s a second bar serving up beer and wine, and a snazzy breakroom-kitchen-type space where you can grab self-serve coffee, soft drinks or bites to eat.
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The main space upstairs offers additional working, lounging and quiet spaces — with the focal point a seating area beneath bookshelves and adaptable mood lighting reminiscent of the lighting patterns you’d see on one of JetBlue’s Airbus jets.
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Dining
If there’s a weakness in the lounge, at least from the beginning, it likely surrounds the meal service.
You won’t see a fully-stocked buffet or a la carte menu; JetBlue is primarily doing grab-and-go dining options.
Beyond snacks, heartier selections include a bacon egg and New York cheddar sandwich at breakfast and a hot pastrami sandwich at lunch, along with an assortment of salads, wraps and other dishes (some of which are served hot, and prepared same-day).
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I love a good pastrami sandwich, and there’s a clear effort to give the food some local flair — but I do think that, early on, the dining at BlueHouse may not headline the experience in the same way that the cuisine in JetBlue’s Mint cabin does.
But that could change. The carrier said it hopes to add kitchen space to the facility later in 2026, which could expand its offerings after the club is up and running.
At launch, JetBlue is collaborating with Brooklyn-based Union Square Events on its culinary options inside BlueHouse.
Cracking down on crowding — from the beginning
A key theme JetBlue executives really drilled home with the launch of this new lounge portfolio was their disdain for the overcrowding that’s plagued many airline- and credit card-affiliated outposts in recent years.
“We are fundamentally focused on making sure that the customers who are Mosaic 4s, Premier card members [and] transatlantic Mint customers never have to wait outside,” St. George said.
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That’s a big reason the carrier is keeping its access rules tight.
What about guests, day passes and annual memberships?
Beyond top-tier Mosaics, transatlantic Mint passengers and premium credit cardholders, there will be a few other opportunities to enter the space later in 2026.
Beginning in February 2026, JetBlue plans to sell annual and day passes to its club. Lower-level Mosaic members and certain other JetBlue cardholders will have opportunities to buy their way into the clubs on a more limited basis.
As for guests, here’s how the policy shakes out:
- Mosaic 4 members and Premier cardholders can bring one complimentary guest; then, it’s $39 for each additional guest
- Transatlantic Mint customers can bring one non-Mint guest in for $39 per person
Note that Mint customers not flying to Europe are not entitled to BlueHouse access. Neither are United Airlines Premier elites or United Club members — the new Blue Sky partnership between JetBlue and United does not include reciprocal lounge access.
Just the beginning
From the outset, JFK will be the lone lounge in JetBlue’s BlueHouse network — but more are in the works.
Beyond its New York home base, the carrier is planning to unveil a second BlueHouse location during the latter half of 2026 at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). It’s also eyeing a third location at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty revealed last week.
The carrier is also leaving the door open to another airport or two … and to an eventual expansion of its JFK lounge footprint, while noting that airport space comes at a premium — and thus, at a considerable cost.
“The more people who get the [premium] credit card, the more Mosaic 4s we have,” St. George said, “[and] the more we can afford to build more lounges.”
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A push for loyalty
It’s worth noting, this investment for JetBlue — along with other new customer-facing products like domestic first-class — comes as it simultaneously works to return to profitability for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
But executives believe this boutique JFK outpost — a “home away from home,” as they call it — is well worth the expense if it drives deeper loyalty in the airline’s base of TrueBlue members.
It’s also just the start of a lounge portfolio that, like JetBlue’s lie-flat Mint seats, once seemed unthinkable for the airline.
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