On my last frequent flyer award trip I flew Egypt Air, Turkish Airlines and Continental (now United Airlines) in business class. On each long haul flight I received an amenity kit which was given to all business class passengers. Most flights were two cabin flights: BusinessFirst on Continental, Business Class on the new A330 on Egypt Air and Business on Turkish Airlines 777 (trip report coming soon). Turkish Airlines’ 777 was configured for three classes, but it was Business, Comfort Class and Economy Class. I also have a Swiss Airlines business class amenity kit from a family member’s travel the week before.
If I had to devise a rating system for amenity kits I would break it out as follows:
- Amenity kit case: should have multiple compartments to make finding items easier
- Should have a light colored inside – preferably bright color so you can see the contents more easily
- Ideally has a hanger built in for hanging in the bathroom so you don’t have to place it on the wet counter
- A decent zipper or other closing mechanism that lasts more than a few times
- At least the basics of: a toothbrush, non-awful tasting toothpaste, eye shades, socks, and a pen! Please a pen! I know I’m a frequent traveler, but when they give me the custom declaration forms to fill out – all the pens in my bag disappear like Houdini!
- The rest of the amentities like cologne or lotions are nice but not required. If they are product samples of something I’ve never tried before it falls into the “nice to have” category. But if it’s a random cologne from a random factory in a random country, please just leave it out.
- I’d give 30% of the score to the case itself, 40% for the mandatory items, and the remaining score as bonus points. So 4 out of 5 or better is completely acceptable since it meets all the above requirements.
United Airlines BusinessFirst Amenity Kit
- Escents Mojito (lime, peppermint) moisturizing lip balm
- Escents Verve (Bergamot, Honey) hand and body lotion
- earplugs
- tissues
- mints
- pen
- eye shades
- socks
- toothbrush
- comb
- Crest Complete .85 oz
- Escents (Grapefruit, Bergamot) refreshing cleansing cloth
The lie flat design of this amenity kit matches nicely with the lie flat business class seat. It’s easy to see what’s in the kit and the hanger makes it easy to use in the loo. 5 out of 5 as it has all the contents necessary.
Turkish Airlines Amenity Kit
- Shoe horn
- Bvlgari Lip Balm
- Toothbrush
- Hair Brush (instead of comb)
- Bvlgari Body Lotion
- Socks
- Colgate toothpaste
- Bvlgari perfume
This kit is smaller than the Continental kit, but it has most everything I require. The only thing missing is a pen – but perhaps I’m being too greedy. 4.5 out of 5.
Swiss Business Class Amenity Kit
- Socks
- Eye Shades
- Toothbrush and worlds smallest toothpaste
- earplugs
- And a note that you can ask the FA for shaving kit, nail file, comb, shoehorn or sewing kit
Ok Swiss, efficiency works well for pocket knives, but let’s not be skimpy here. Although they meet all the basic requirements of mine, this just doens’t seem like a business class amenity kit. At best I rate this 2.5 out of 5 due to the poor case.
EgyptAir Business Class Amenity Kit
- Socks
- Eye shade
- Earplugs
- Toothbrush and small toothpaste
- Comb
- Leonard Lip Balm
- Leonard Moisturizer
- Cologne
The EgyptAir business class amenity kit itself is not very good. I hate amenity kits that are just a bag. It’s hard to see the contents and use. The contents itself our sufficient but has a long way to go to catch up with other Star Alliance member amenity kits. 3 out of 5.
What airline has your favorite kit? What’s important to you and how would you rate the above?
