JetBlue’s Simply Touched Down in Edinburgh — and I Was on the Inaugural Flight

It could have been evenly raining on my remaining descent into Edinburgh, however the trace of gloomy climate couldn’t dim my pleasure on this milestone journey throughout the pond.

Nearly seven hours earlier, I had left New York on JetBlue’s inaugural flight from John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK) to the Scottish capital. The flight, which was first introduced final 12 months, marked the fifth European metropolis for the airline.

“It is unimaginable to assume that in simply 24 years, we have grown from being a small service to now serving greater than 100 locations,” Warren Christie, JetBlue’s chief working officer, mentioned on the gate forward of a ribbon chopping ceremony. “Including Edinburgh to our community… units us as much as introduce JetBlue’s low fares and unimaginable service to the remainder of the world.”

JetBlue will fly to Edinburgh each day for the summer season season by means of Sept. 30 on its Airbus A321neo plane. Flights will take off from New York at 9:12 p.m., arriving at 9:30 a.m. native time the following day. JetBlue will then take off from Edinburgh at 12:30 p.m. and return to New York at  3:06 p.m. native time.

And now could be the time to guide because the airline is celebrating the launch of its Edinburgh flights with introductory fares beginning at $499 roundtrip for Core and beginning at $2,999 for Mint. To take benefit, vacationers should buy a roundtrip flight and keep for no less than three nights and guide by Might 24 and journey between Might 28 and July 31.

Along with Edinburgh, JetBlue operates flights to London (its first foray into Europe, which it launched in 2021), together with Paris, Amsterdam, and Dublin.

On Wednesday night, the celebrations started on the gate with blue and white Scottish bunting, beef stew, and shortbread cookies welcoming vacationers. The treats continued as soon as on board with Tunnock’s teacakes (a Scottish model of the beloved Mallomar), coconut snowballs, and extra, together with American and Scottish flags laid out at every seat in alternating order.

Settled into seat 2F within the airline’s Mint cabin, I positioned my meal order on the 17-inch TV display and prolonged my leg relaxation. I watched Wonka and sipped a spicy margarita with pineapple, chile, and lime, earlier than having fun with a set of small plates (a spotlight was the chilled pea soup with mint oil and puffed wild rice).

Every JetBlue Mint menu is curated by the New York-based Scrumptious Hospitality Group, which incorporates eating places Charlie Chicken, Pasquale Jones, and Legacy Data. The airline additionally affords an specific “Savor & Sleep” menu, which comes full with a number of programs however served collectively so you’ll be able to drift off to sleep rapidly.

After having fun with each final chew of my dinner and indulging in a chocolate marshmallow cream, I pulled out the Tuft & Needle bedding, fluffed my blanket, slid my door shut for privateness, and turned my seat into a totally lie-flat mattress to catch a pair hours of sleep earlier than touchdown.

The plane encompasses a whole of 16 Mint seats, together with two front-row Mint studio seats, that are bigger and embody extra storage and even house for a visitor. There are additionally 144 Core seats — JetBlue’s model of economic system — through which passengers are handled to meals from New York-based Dig together with a self-serve snack pantry. 

After we landed, I peered out the window to discover a group of passengers boarding a Ryanair flight fortunately waving at us as a welcome from the tarmac and couldn’t assist however get excited for what lay forward. I then headed into town, previous stately Victorian buildings, and checked into the enduring The Balmoral lodge.

The property options 167 rooms and 20 suites overlooking the hum of town and boasting attractive views of metropolis landmarks like Edinburgh Fort and the Scott Monument (and even contains binoculars in some rooms to take full benefit). The lodge makes for a powerful facade set proper between Edinburgh’s Outdated City and New, and affords an awesome leaping off level to discover town.

From there, I’ll discover the intricacies of whiskey at a number of deliberate tastings (it’s Scotland, in spite of everything), pop into bespoke tartan workshops, and discover the fort and decommissioned The Royal Yacht Britannia — which followers of the Netflix present The Crown could keep in mind as a favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Ultimately, I’ll head north to the Highlands, and I do know I’m not alone in desirous to discover extra of this wild and delightful nation. JetBlue definitely agrees.