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

It could have been evenly raining on my last 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 unbelievable 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 reducing ceremony. “Including Edinburgh to our community… units us as much as introduce JetBlue’s low fares and unbelievable service to the remainder of the world.”

JetBlue will fly to Edinburgh each day for the summer season season by 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 subsequent 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 would 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 at the least 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 group 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 Fowl, Pasquale Jones, and Legacy Information. 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 shortly.

After having fun with each final chunk 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 completely lie-flat mattress to catch a pair hours of sleep earlier than touchdown.

The plane includes a complete 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 — wherein 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 the town, previous stately Victorian buildings, and checked into the enduring The Balmoral resort.

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

From there, I’ll discover the intricacies of whiskey at a number of deliberate tastings (it’s Scotland, in any case), pop into bespoke tartan workshops, and discover the citadel 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.

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