American Airlines debuts new amenities kits in advance of Memorial Day weekend, part of its premium cabin soft product refresh meant to accompany new business class suites that are delayed by Boeing 787 production problems.
I had the opportunity to get my hands on a first class, business class, and premium economy amenity kit. Here’s what’s inside of each.
A Look Inside New American Airlines Amenity Kits
Here’s the new premium economy amenity kit. I think it’s quite generous for the cabin. The bag has a nice feel. You have socks, so you can take off your shoes and not have your feet on the ground (or dirty your ‘real’ socks) as well as lotion, ear plus, and a tooth brush and tooth paste.
The business class amenity kit comes in a stylish bag, but for business class I don’t love that the bag doesn’t have a lot of structure to it.
Contents of the bag are almost identical to the premium economy kit. There’s no socks – American Airlines is adding slippers to all flagship business flights, though ultra-long haul will no longer receive pajamas – and in their place you’ll find eye shades.
I feel like this kit could have been more differentiated from premium economy, especially since you’re getting not just the same items but even the same brands.
Finally, the first class amenity kit comes with a more substantive bag. On top of business class kit contents, the socks are added back, and you get a single use hand towel and face mist. Using the same products for first class as premium economy, though, feels cheap.
How These New Amenity Kits Compare
Is it strange to say that I’m most impressed by the premium economy kit? It’s not that it’s the nicest – the business and first class bags are better and first class has more stuff – but I think they did a really nice job for premium economy. It’s a good premium economy kit – especially since it’s basically the business class products in a different bag.
The new business class kit is also an improvement compared to what we’ve seen recently. That’s not surprising.
I don’t love it like I did with the 2019 ThisIsGround kits. It’s not an EVA Air kit, and I personally prefer a leather (or similar) bag. I don’t foresee a big eBay aftermarket, like a Tumi kit, but it’s a respectable showing. It does feel like they could have invested more in the products, though, than they did for premium economy.
2019 Business Class Amenity Kit
The first class kit is nice, but I don’t think it’s better than the Shinola kits, nor as nice as the 2019 ThisIsGround bags which were nicer still.
I’m glad to see American Airlines continue to differentiate its first class product with a different amenity bag. Meals have been virtually identical in first and business (first gets a soup course). So having a first class kit that’s more or less in line with what they’ve been offering is something I’m happy to see.
And I guess seeing first class right next to the business and premium economy bags, and realizing that they’re almost identical in their contents is not surprising. Sourcing the same products is cheaper, and giving first class passengers products that the economics of a premium economy fare supports is in line with philosophy. But since this is a first class kit, where’s the comb, tissues, hand sanitizer, pen, mouth wash, and chap stick?
2022 First Class Amenity Kit
2019 First Class Amenity Kit
These kits are broadly competitive with what other U.S. and European airlines offer in business class and premium economy. They aren’t competitive with Asian and Mideast carrier kits, of course, and I wasn’t expecting them to be. There does seem to be less inside the bags compared to previous efforts though.
Why Amenity Kits Matter
Amenity kits make passengers feel cared for. When you have a house guest stay over, you might make sure the bathroom is stocked with things they might need – indeed, things they even could need but probably won’t. It shows thoughtfulness and hospitality.
And the kit isn’t just about delivering useful items for use inflight. It’s a nice branded takeaway. Key elements of an amenity kit are:
- Useful inflight items. A good kit ought to include toothpaste and toothbrush; comb; tissues; hand sanitizer; perhaps cologne; a pen (for those countries that still require paper forms); mouth wash; moisturizer; chap stick; body lotion.
- Premium brand partnership. Singapore Airlines always stood out to me for large-sized amenities, not just small sample sizes. For years they offered Ferragamo, hard to pick a more premium name. I really liked Ferragamo Tuscan Soul. Full-sized premium items are great for my home guestroom bath. Air Canada business class has an Acqua di Parma partnership. It introduces the premium passenger to the premium brand, and associates the premium airline product with high quality.
- A useful premium bag as a takeaway. Not only is it a reminder of the flight, but it’s a cool giveaway that leads to telling stories about the flight and airline to loved ones at all, both spreading the word about the product and reinforcing positive emotions about the airline. For many years I used an ANA first class amenity kit as my shaving bag. For the past three years I’ve used an old Cathay Pacific one.
I’ll die on the hill that amenity kits matter more than you think they do for passenger experience, and play into each passenger’s experience more than they realize.
