What’s the next best thing to business class?

After all, many of us can’t afford it. A coast-to-coast business fare can run about $2,000 or more. But let’s say you can spend around half that. That’s enough to buy certain comforts thanks to premium economy and new products such as Mint, JetBlue’s more affordable stab at business class.

I recently conducted an unscientific test to see how to get the most deluxe domestic experience for around $1,000, traveling round trip between New York and Los Angeles. On one leg I flew JetBlue’s Mint; on the other, Virgin America’s Main Cabin Select.

JetBlue’s Mint

Mint seats start at $599 each way and include expedited screening, priority boarding, Wi-Fi, dozens of channels including DirecTV and SiriusXM Radio, food, an amenity kit and lie-flat (up to 6 feet, 8 inches long) seats. Each side of the aisle has one or two seats. The single seats are “suites” with doors. A door! It was the same price as any other seat in the Mint cabin.

Before takeoff a flight attendant offered a “RefreshMint” — a honey-infused limeade with a sprig of mint.

While other passengers were boarding, an attendant showed me the suite’s features: two outlets alongside a wide workspace; an illuminated water bottle holder and a reading light; a 15-inch monitor and a “glove compartment” below it to stash glasses and books; a coat hook; the control panel from which I could convert the seat into a bed; and an indicator to press if I wanted to be woken for meal service.

Given JetBlue’s emphasis on low prices I did not expect high-caliber amenities or service but I was surprised again and again. At one point, the flight attendant asked if I wanted anything from my bag in the overhead compartment. She brought a hot towel and a “snooze kit,” as well as an amenity kit by Birchbox.

Next came the food. “I have a tasting for you,” said an attendant. “It’s a feta cheese frittata,” she added as she placed it on a shelf along with a cup of Rishi jasmine green tea.

The courgette and feta frittata with harissa aioli was wonderfully spicy. How nice not to be served a bland dish at 36,000 feet. Just as I was scraping the little bowl clean the attendant returned. “May I set up your tray table?”

Meals on Mint are tapas-style. The brunch menu (“Nourishmint”) features small plates by the Manhattan restaurant Saxon & Parole. My favorites: the Santa Barbara smoked salmon with dill sour cream and confit shallots, and the spicy eggplant shakshuka with feta cheese.

After the fruit and the organic spiced apple cider sorbet (meh) from Blue Marble Ice Cream in Brooklyn came the food coma. Time to test the bed. The seats truly lie flat and the firmness of the air cushions is adjustable. I was able to stretch out on my back, side, even my stomach. And with my door closed, no one could see.

My only quibble was with the Internet, or Fly-Fi as JetBlue calls it, which the airline’s website notes is in a Beta testing phase. I was not able to get online.

Virgin America’s Main Cabin Select

It isn’t fair to compare a domestic premium economy experience with Mint, a competitor to business class. For a less costly alternative, I turned to Virgin America’s Main Cabin Select because, although not new or cheap, it’s from an airline that trades on its particular brand of sex appeal.

The company’s slick advertising is alluring, so the key to not being disappointed is to manage your expectations: What you are fundamentally paying for in Main Cabin Select is more legroom and priority security and boarding. I originally found a one-way fare for $398.10, which dropped as the departure time neared.

As the name suggests, Main Cabin Select comprises a few rows in coach. My seat had an overhead bin but no additional workspace, handy compartments or amenity kit. Wi-Fi was extra, but it worked. Seats reclined but did not lie flat (again, this is not business class), and there were three across, so there was little privacy and a lot of climbing over others or being climbed over. I missed my door.

The seat pitch is 38 inches —that’s 6 inches more than the rest of the seats in the main cabin. That makes a big difference and is the primary reason to opt for these seats.

As with all Virgin coach seats, there’s television, movies and music, and you can order food and drinks from your touch-screen. None of the food options were warm. I could say the same about the service.

Flying Mint felt like being courted. Virgin’s Main Cabin Select felt like a waning long-term relationship. That said, Mint is a newer contender. Let’s hope the romance lasts.