TRAVEL TEST

WHAT: JetBlue flight 43, Mint business class seat.

WHERE: New York JFK to Gatwick North, one-way fares from £2,055. jetblue.com EXPERIENCE: Major US domestic and regional airline JetBlue is now shaking up the transatlantic market from Gatwick and Heathrow, operating new single aisle Airbus A321neo aircraft and running a really slick app for managing your trip.

Mint is of course at the front of this new jet (named Allow Me To Mintroduce Myself) and consists of 24 gorgeous booth-like suites, with sliding privacy screens and a fully lie-flat seat made with Tuft & Needle adaptive foam cushions.

I stored my cabin bag and settled in to explore. Tuft & Needle amenity bag? Nice. Heaps of handy storage spaces? Check. A 17in TV and UK AC power plus USB-C and USB-A points for charging devices? Plus wireless charging? Yep. So far, so very good.

I’d already been introduced to the crew Eric, Amanda and Christina via the app before check in and they were swiftly on hand with bubbly and sparkling water as I perused the menu from top NYC restaurant Pasquale Jones.

Nibbles and a modern take on an Old Fashioned helped me opt for a flat iron steak with pine nut crumble accompanied by a cucumber and goat’s cheese salad plus a pea, radish, pistachio and parmigiano salad, a roll and chilli oil.

It was rounded off with stilton, cheddar and biscuits, plus a glass of Oregon pinot noir. Fabulous food – restaurant quality at 35,000ft.

Time to settle down a bit for the new Spider-Man movie before grabbing some shuteye, and here’s the very important bit – the seat controls are very simple (not all are) and it was easy to find a chill-down position for the film.

My Spidey-sleep senses were tingling before the end, though, and I adjusted the seat to a fab flatbed, settled under the lush blanket and managed about 90 minutes on what was a quick 6hr 39min trip. If only it had lasted longer.

QUIBBLES: None, it’s flawless. VERDICT: A genuinely brilliant product, aided by a stellar ‘can do’ crew. 10/10