Brand naming & positioning

Naming JetBlue’s first premium cabin

When JetBlue decided to disrupt the industry with its first premium cabin, the challenge wasn’t simply to name a new product — it was to redefine what “premium” could mean for a brand built on egalitarian seating and human service.

I competed against external agencies to develop the name. The brief was nuanced: It couldn’t sound elite, exclusive or like a legacy carrier. It had to feel unmistakably JetBlue. Instead of leaning into aviation clichés or traditional luxury language, I focused on the emotional shift the product was designed to create. Long flights leave people tired, cramped, and spent. This cabin was built to do the opposite: restore, refresh, reset.

The name Mint captured that transformation.
Simple. Unexpected. A breath of fresh air.

Mint became more than a name — it became a strategic platform. It gave teams permission to rethink the category, influencing everything from seat and suite design to menus, amenities, service touchpoints, and partnerships. From launch, JetBlue Mint exceeded expectations across customer satisfaction, press coverage, and financial performance, demonstrating that premium doesn’t have to be pretentious to be exceptional.

JetBlue Mint was simply mint to be.

My role: Copywriter and brand strategist, responsible for naming and contributing to the positioning of JetBlue’s first premium experience.